# Stage floor concerns.



## ethelirene (Nov 29, 2012)

Our space could less be called a theater and more an event space with a stage. We host a huge range of events for the school, from lectures to cultural events to concerts. We have a really rapid turnover from event to event, and an enthusiastic but somewhat limited student staff along with myself.

One issue that has arisen with this is the stage floor. It's yellow pine, and takes a great deal of abuse. In particular, a few of our Greek organizations hold step shows that occasionally involve dancing with canes, or in heels. Like Irish step dance, the goal is to be loud. The long term effect is that the yellow pine pits and splinters. Asking them not to use canes or heels is out of the question, so is there any way I can work around the inevitable abuse it serves the stage? Marley is obviously out...is the cost of a maso dance floor worth the maintenance saved? has anyone else come across this?

EDIT: Our Physical Plant is suggesting replacing it with maple...which seems to me like a horrible idea. They seem to think we should treat it like a gym floor?


----------



## venuetech (Nov 30, 2012)

rent floor sander: (dusty)



or strip old finish 


apply Tung Oil according to instructions.

touch up worn spots as needed.

you could try tung oil on just the worn spots and see how that works.


----------



## JLNorthGA (Nov 30, 2012)

Some questions - does anyone ever screw into the floor for securing scenery? Does the floor have to be painted?

Nothing is wrong with maple (hard or soft). Reasonably tough, pretty flooring. They use it for bowling alley floors - any you can imagine what abuse they take. Gym floors also take a lot of abuse. If you don't have to secure anything to the floor - that may be a reasonable alternative.

Other thoughts - bamboo flooring. I've been surprised at how tough it is. A friend put some in his house and it has held up quite well. It has resisted dog toenails quite well.

You can sand and refinish your pine floor and then install a flooring cover. We've got a masonite covering over our stage floor. It has resisted many stage plays, concert and dance recitals with cloggers and tap dancers. Typically we replace it every 5-8 years. After it is installed, it is caulked and painted. However - we screw into the floor to secure sets - so it is the best alternative for us.


----------



## museav (Nov 30, 2012)

Possibly some conflicting factors. A very hard surface may resist damage but when damage does occur it may be more significant, i.e. splitting rather than dents. Also, a hard, unresisting surface may resist damage from the performers but cause more damage to the performers. Do you happen to know the construction of the floor under the finish surface?


----------



## ethelirene (Nov 30, 2012)

It's a single layer of yellow pine on sleepers. It can't be painted, and only rarely do we screw into it. It's held up for 10 years without being refinished, and at this point they're telling us we might just have to replace it.


----------



## DuckJordan (Nov 30, 2012)

if its never been refinished, I bet you could get a couple more years, by sanding it down and restaining/ laquir, Our stage is multi purpose and its a yellow pine stained dark, We've refinished it at least 8 times in the last 20 years and we will have to do it again because gaff tape pulls off the pine so quickly...


----------



## teqniqal (Nov 30, 2012)

ethelirene said:


> Asking them not to use canes or heels is out of the question



This is a facility management problem. Rules / policies _must_ be established and enforced or you will never make any progress towards a long-term solution. Explain to the management that this is causing severe damage to the floor and must not be allowed. Damage = $$$. $$$ they understand.


ethelirene said:


> is the cost of a maso dance floor worth the maintenance saved


Be careful what you ask for, you may get it. The "Meso" you refer to is probably 'Masonite' which is no longer manufactured by Masonite Corporation. The industry term is "Hardboard", and it comes in five classes (grades) from 0 to 4. Big Box retailers and most lumber yards only sell grade 0, and this is what most people think of when you say 'Masonite'. This lasts a few weeks and then promptly swells up and disintegrates if it gets wet. Class 3 or 4 hardboard is needed to maintain the durability needed. This is what is used as the 'sacrificial' top layer of a good a good multipurpose production floor.


ethelirene said:


> Our Physical Plant is suggesting replacing it with maple...which seems to me like a horrible idea. They seem to think we should treat it like a gym floor?



GYM / BASKETBALL FLOORS ARE NOT DANCE / MULTIPURPOSE SHOW FLOORS! They _must_ be made to understand that. Hardwood floors are more expensive to install and maintain than a good multipurpose production floor, and a good multipurpose production floor will serve the customer (performers and audience) better.

Other considerations are:
- Fire retardancy of the floor (a public assembly space requires a certain level of fire-proofness of the floor assembly).
- Energy absorption and return (the 'springyness' of the floor both locally and regionally).
- Acoustical nature of the floor (can't sound like a herd of buffalo are trampling across the stage).
- Lighting (how the stage, work, and house lights reflect off of the surface affects both the performer's safety and the audience's perception of the production).

Depending upon the construction needed and the local building codes, it may be necessary to involve an Architect and/or a Theatre Consultant to design a workable solution. I have only touched on the high points here. There are many more issues involved in this type of retrofit than most people consider. A floor is a system of parts that must all work together to satisfy many different requirements (aesthetic, maintenance, cost, health & safety, day-to-day use, etc.).


----------



## JohnSB (Dec 5, 2012)

See the "refurbishing stage floor" thread, I got some good advise there. I have the same problem with our floor. Basically I think we're going to put a floating floor of 1/4" tempered hardboard on it (providing the school board will pay for it).


----------



## artdeco18 (Dec 26, 2012)

It's a stage and multi use... the big issue with pine is that it gets dented when someone drops a hammer on it, or a lighting tech forgets what the wrist strap is floor and drops a wrench from the grid. The big concern with sanding is that the dust is going to get everywhere... in your lights, in your curtains, into your HVAC. Replacing the stage with maple is going to be expensive and brings with it other problems. If the existing pine deck is stablel, the easiest solution is to cover it with 1/4" tempered masonite and paint it. You won't have issues with dancers any longer and it will probably make the lighting techs happier because they aren't having to cope with light bounce caused by the yellow pine.


----------



## RickR (Dec 26, 2012)

A multi-use stagey space here has masonite floors that were stained dark dark dark brown. It's a lot more "event" friendly than theatrical black and doesn't quite show dust as well.


----------



## 2mojo2 (Jan 1, 2013)

Regarding floor refinishing, newer equipment has been developed that provides very good dust control. You should be able to find a floor contractor who can collect over 90% of the sanding dust. I would hope that contractor would be able to offer additional dust control measures.

On the problem of attaching scenery to the stage, I insist that our crew use 8d scaffold nails rather than screws. The nails do punch small holes in the stage surface, but they always come out cleanly and seem to do a lot less damage than screws.


----------



## dbaxter (Jan 1, 2013)

The tempered masonite is probably your best solution. We've used it both at Blackfriars and at a high school where I help. After it gets a couple coats of paint, it's even acceptable to the dancers. A suggestion would be to make a template for the mounting screws so that each piece has screws in the same place. In case you need to replace a sheet, the template will show you where to unscrew.


----------

