# Clear Flooring? Help!



## mhcopen (Dec 18, 2012)

I'm new here, so please. . . be gentle. . . . 

I am CONSIDERING creating a "frosted flooring" outcrop from my stage (3' high". Essentially, I want to create a 8' X4' walkway that "T's" with a 8' x8' platform. My idea was to place some LED lighting BENEATH the frosted flooring to give the floor a wide variety of coloring wash, with the "translucent" material able to "hide" the LED lights. 

Am I crazy? Can this be done and be safe for walking? No more than two actors on the floor at any time. 

This is one of those, "I have an idea", but can it be done. . . . 

What type of material would you suggest for the flooring? The support underneath? 

Thanks!


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## Dustincoc (Dec 18, 2012)

Definately can be done. There are a number of translucent flooring materials available. I'd suggest a steel frame.


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## mhcopen (Dec 18, 2012)

Dustincoc said:


> Definately can be done. There are a number of translucent flooring materials available. I'd suggest a steel frame.




Any suggestions where I can buy? What brand? Thanks so much for the confirmation!


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## derekleffew (Dec 18, 2012)

I believe I've seen Steeldeck riser s with a Lexan surface, 3/4" or 1" if I'm not mistaken. 
Tait even builds platform s with LED screens as the surface.
.


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## BKing904 (Dec 18, 2012)

Grainger carries Lexan (brand name) in a variety of thicknesses and sizes. I would recommend at least a 3/8" or 1/2" thick sheet depending on the minimum spacing you are going with in the framing. But you can spray it with the aerosol type window frosting and even attach it to a wooden frame if you want. But it won't be cheap: LEXAN Sheet, Poly, Clear, 0.375 In T, 48 x 96 In - Plastic Sheets, Film, and Flat Stock - 1ETU1|GRA0112001108 - Grainger Industrial Supply


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## MPowers (Dec 18, 2012)

Time travel to 1975 and steal the dance floor from most any disco!  Did my first translucent floor back in '70 using 1.25" thick, 3'x3' tempered glass panels. I was in grad school at IU Bloomington and they were doing a major renovation of the Victorian era library. One section had the glass panels as the floor. One of the reasons for the renovations was the floor was failing due to the tremendous weight of the books. It was the frame work that was the problem, not the glass. When we found out they were just going to trash it, like good theatre people everywhere, we chimed up and said we'll take it.

Back to the OP's subject, today there are LED floors on the market, just like led walls but designed to walk on. I know that's probably far beyond the budget you have in mind for purchase, but there might be a rental company in your area that has some floor panels. If the Frederick you're from is Maryland, then you are close to several large markets, can't hurt to try.


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## JCarroll (Dec 19, 2012)

Accurate staging has LED stage decks. We demoed them and knowing what a sheet of that lexan costs, you'll probably be better off renting.


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## MPowers (Dec 19, 2012)

Josh,

What make and model floor did you use? We have four 30'x20' video walls in our rental inventory now and looking to add two more. We are also looking at the possibility of getting a couple of floors.


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## mhcopen (Dec 19, 2012)

Wow! Thank you so much for the suggestions! Yes, rental is the way to go! I was afraid it was going to be cost prohibitive. I have the ideas of Andrew Lloyd Weber, but the budget of Arthur Miller......


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## len (Dec 19, 2012)

We rent plexiglass staging on occasion. We use it for fashion shows. I think 4' x 32' is about $300 for a weekend.


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## JCarroll (Dec 20, 2012)

MPowers said:


> Josh,
> 
> What make and model floor did you use? We have four 30'x20' video walls in our rental inventory now and looking to add two more. We are also looking at the possibility of getting a couple of floors.



I believe they were made in house by accurate staging. They claim they have the same weight capacity of the wooden decks, which we have parked full size trucks on.


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## BillESC (Dec 20, 2012)

I was once asked to provide a 20' x 20' x 2' underlit stage for a commercial shoot at Silver Cup Studios in NY. The called me on a Thursday afternoon and needed it for Monday by noon.

Using 1" square aluminum tubing, we welded 4' x 4' x 2' frames and using 3/4" Lexan for tops got the job done and delivered for $ 16,000.00 On Wednesday, they called us to ask if we were interested in buying it back from them which we did for $ 2,000.00


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## TxMedic (Dec 22, 2012)

Cheapest way to do this - rent industrial/refinery catwalk decking (grating) that is used in many scaffolding applications. The grating is very strong, comes in 32 to 36 inch widths, and can span 8 to 12 feet easily. Because of the size of the grating holes, the material is about 85% light transmissive. On top of this rented decking, you can place very thin (far less expensive) lexan sheet, or something even less expensive like acrylic. Bolt the thin plastic to the grating. Keep it DRY during performances. It's amazingly slippery when wet. We joke a lot that the thing that killed disco was the chicks doing a "Bon Jovi" (pun intended) and all the lawsuits brought when they slipped and broke something on the Saturday Night Fever lexan floors. 

Next least expensive method is to rent the real thing which you might find online. But if it's not close by, freight will be pricey...

Building your own, which meets a 50 pound per square foot minimum load rating (and you may need much more than that in your locality for code) will cost $80 to $100 per square foot, easily. The plastic is crazy expensive in the 3/4 to 1 inch thickness you need to make even a 24 x 24 square without intermediate supports. To prevent shadows, you will need to copy the old school light box dance floors, where the light box had translucent sides as the framework as well. Otherwise, if you frame it with (too small) 1x3 tube steel, you get shadow lines at every tile edge. To reduce the shadows, now you need a light (or more) for every tile. Now you've got your SNF John Travolta Album cover look, but also a lot of lights and extra expense.

Try the steel or aluminum catwalk grating with some thin plastic on top. I think you will be surprised at how inexpensive you can pull this off. Good Luck!!!


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