floor for tour

[kmk]

Hello, please redirect me if I'm in the wrong place!

I'm designing a low-budget touring show. I want to define an acting area, in a square of a colour of my choice. I possibly would like a paving stone effect. I have looked at interlocking tiles from softfloor.com and others, but this would be much too expensive and I would not have control over the surface. Might a stage cloth be an option? (I have not used one before). The crew would have to get in and out of each venue quite quickly, and the venues vary a lot in size. So I would probably have to design the floor piece for the smallest venue (I had thought of something that could be made bigger and smaller for different venues, but this would of course mean changing the lighting for each venue which is not an option). I wonder if I used large wood tiles (eg. chipboard) in a grid (which would have the thickness of paving and I could paint up) if these would need to be fixed or not?

I would be grateful for any ideas! Thanks a lot

[the kid]

Last year doing casual work we had a tour in that carried 2 floor sizes. they had 4ft x 4ft 6mm chip I think that was routed to 4 squares and then had some plaster rendering on and painted, and they screwed there floor in to the house floor.

[Bryson]

The touring crew will thank you for a floorcloth or painted dancefloor-type solution. I've made floors out of tiled bits of ply and they were a real .

 

Also note that many venues won't let you screw into the floor (mine, for example!) so watch out for that.

 

Finally, a floorcloth will be easier (and therfore cheaper) to transport, and also require less local crew. Saving lots of money!

[kmk]

Hello Bryson and the Kid,

Thank you so much for your swift replies! The wood floor sounds good but dont' think I can screw into the floor in a few venues. I did have visions of tiled wood being laid in each venue as resulting in a possible 'hang the bloody designer' scenario! I'll look into floorcloths and dancefloors.

Cheers!

 

I've been reading around this topic on this amazing website (restores my faith in humanity that people bother to help complete strangers for no personal gain!) and I am gathering the impression that a dancefloor is better than stage cloth for painting and laying quickly in venues where you aren't allowed to fix things down. Am I right or have I got the wrong end of the stick? I'll only need about a 4mx4m area. Thanks!

[PhilT]

Have a think about how you're going to attach the cloth to the floor (if at all). Some venues have floors with finishes that don't respond well to certain tapes. Personally I hate peeling up a floor to be met with double sided tape resolutely stuck to the stage floor......

[kerry davies]

Has anyone used "paving stones"? Very cheap, sometimes can be borrowed with interesting patterns from the local garden centre, usually good enough for non-physical work by the best professional artistes and very realistic as paving stones. Corin Redgrave picked them up locally for each night of his tour of "The Ballad of Reading Goal".

[Andrew C]

Corin Redgrave picked them up locally for each night of his tour of "The Ballad of Reading Goal".

I'll bet good money that he didn't! Those things are d@mned heavy. I know, I'm re-doing my patio over the summer. :D Ohh, my poor back!

[kmk]

Sounds great, and they probably wouldn't slip(?)...but may be too heavy - will visit local garden centre and talk to my stage manager (who's not likely to take too kindly to the idea!) Thanks

[casey_cole]

The problem with using anything bulky is, A transport, and B fixing it to the floor - so unless you do some seriously freaky stuff with a frame for slabs they won't be much use...

 

CC

[kmk]

Yeah could be tricky. OK I'm getting a quote from le Mark for dance floor tomorrow. Otherwise I'm thinking maybe sheets of hardboard taped on the underside with a non-slip thing underneath (the sort you put under rugs). Sound potentially feasible? Ta!

[Boggy]

I recently bought some bathroom carpet which may be a posibility. The carpet had a very short pile (5mm) and a rubber back which would help to prevent it from slipping (I think gaffer would also stick well to the rubber). The rubber back would also help to keep the surface flat.

 

You could probably paint the top surface (test it and see) but the closer the carpet design is the better. I visited several carpet stores (after phoning to identify the right price) and got a carpet pattern that matched the job I was working on very well. A carpet store may also have alternatives that are better.

 

BTW Phone serveral places as I found the price to vary from $120/m to $40/m (AUS dollars) and got an even cheaper price as I bought a damaged end of roll.

[Tom]

Yeah could be tricky. OK I'm getting a quote from le Mark for dance floor tomorrow. Otherwise I'm thinking maybe sheets of hardboard taped on the underside with a non-slip thing underneath (the sort you put under rugs). Sound potentially feasible? Ta!

Le Mark will provide you with reasonable dance floor which will suit your needs well.

You could also try talking to Harlequin (0800 289 923) who are probably a bit more expensive but for a better product.

J C Joel also do a dance floor.

 

Be aware that very thin dance floor may take time to settle properly when unrolled.

If you're not looking for a very big area you might be able to get hold of some second hand dance floor. I know that the Jerwood Centre in London had a load last year just sitting in a store room. Talk to Liz Ferguson 020 7654 0171.

Obviously, if you want a 4m deep stage, you should go for 2m dance floor, rather than 1.8m, or 1.6m, if you can. You'll then need to tape them together on site which is fairly easy. Ask again for our top tips.

 

I don't like the sound of any of the domestic solutions proposed above. However, I have successfully used domestic vinyl flooring on a couple of small scale tours. It has the advantage of being cheap and coming in a variety of colours and patterns (stone and plank effects for example which while not fantastic are certainly passable for a low budget job and if that is the look you're after may be the only practicable way of doing it). It can also be painted into if required. It will obviously not be as resilient as proper dance floor though.

Be aware, there are two types of domestic vinyl, one of which seems to have a paper "core" and which tears far to easily. When looking at the samples in the shop, have a good go at tearing it. If it tears, don't touch it as it will fall apart on tour. The good stuff will stretch but otherwise remain intact (well, it will tear eventually but you get the idea).

 

Both DF an Vinyl will probably require fixing down. By far the easiest way it to run a line of gaffer tape around the edge. You can double side it from underneath but this is more work and often a pain to lift (if you do go this route, ask again for handy tips). Check your venues will allow you to tape to their floors. Remember to budget for reasonable quality tape - Le Mark will gladly supply but avoid the cheapest stuff which leaves a residue and looks horrid. I prefer mat tape but many don't.

 

When it comes to painting vinyl or dance floor, just make sure you use appropriate paint. Domestic emulsion will just crack and fall off when you roll it. Both Rosco and Bristol Paints 01923 779 333 do the right stuff (and also sell dance floor now I think of it). Or talk to Flints http://www.flints.co.uk/who are very helpful as long as they are not too busy. (Thursday afternoon is their busy time by the way).

 

Finally, the sheets of hardboard route is do-able but by no means ideal. Lots more work on fit up. Lots more tape. Doesn't allow for uneven floors.

 

Good luck.

 

T

[kmk]

Wow, thanks so much Tom that's extremely useful! My budget is now slightly more than expected so I could run to £200ish on the floor. Am now thinking about a black and white squars tile effect rather than paving stones. I want it to look clean and slick - do you think dancefloor or stage cloth would be the best, I'm wobbling between the two! I'll check out Jerwood, ta. Thanks again very much!

[andy_s]

floorcloth needs to be stretched really tightly to make a nonslip suface, otherwise it moves with the grip of people's shoes) this can be done with gaffer tape, but better with carpet tacks and a hammer (see above about venue rules!) also, if you have a geometrically precise pattern, every time it's stretched the pattern will distort a bit. I'd say dance floor is your best option for this, and would need less painting - if you buy white, you'd only have to paint the black squares, vica versa if you buy black... if there's a difference in the "sheen", apply a suitable glaze (matt or gloss as required) over the whole thing to tie it together visually.

 

make sure the paint and glaze you use is flexible - ordinary emulsion paint may crack and flake off as the floor is rolled and re-rolled. I think Rosco paint is OK, and you can get a Bristol product called Aqualak which can be mixed 1 to 1 with paint and then used on vinyl dance floors.

 

I would "undertape" (i.e. lay the gaffer tape on the stage sticky side up, then butt the floor up on top. the easiest way is to lay the floor without tape, roll back one side of the join, apply tape to other side then let rolled-back edge fall back into place). (Not as difficult as it sounds when you write it down) for preference rather than using the clear dancefloor tape which is available - firstly it's "clear" not "invisible", and secondly when you pull the tape off in the getout, you risk pulling the paint off as well, and having to touch up every time.

 

regarding the use of doublesided tape, I agree with everything people have said - if you use the wrong sort, you will be villified by every venue you visit, or spend hours on your get-out making sure they can't complain! However there is a product called expo tape which has a lo-tak side and a hi-tak side,which is more venue-friendly(make sure you use the right side on the stage!) It's not horrendously expensive, and it's approved for use at the NEC in Birmingham, so you know it must be good........

 

Oh and I'd say a definite no to hardboard unless you're really strapped for cash.

[David]

Last year I toured a small show which needed a floor cloth, we used 8 sheets of 8x4 5mm ply covered in carpet tiles. It was a pain to tour.

 

The next tour we went for painted dance floor. NOW, hear comes the good bit. we phoned a well known dance floor suppler and asked for a end of role.

 

we got a piece of brand new double sided dance floor 12m long for £45 plus vat.

 

The nice chap said he always have end of roles, nobody ever asks for them.

 

David