hardboard floor

[kmk]

Hi! Further to my previous query re 'floor for tour', I'm thinking of using hardboard or MDF panels for the show I'm designing for tour. It seems dancefloor is too expensive for my budget, and also paint might be a problem. I only need about 4 by 4m. So I'm thinking board sheets taped together underneath and dismantled for transportation, either painted with latex underneath or on an anti-slip rug thing. Anyone out there ever tried this? Crap idea? Reasonable idea? Comments gratefully received! :unsure:

[the kid]

We use a combo of gaffa and double sided tape.

 

If you have the board, where the edges join use gaffa on the underside.

 

Down the middle of the board a strip of double sided, then a strip of gaffa on top. This is because we find that the double sided leaves allot of residue that is VERY hard to remove.

 

When the whole floor is down we then edge it with gaffa.

 

We have only ever done hardboard so if you do go with MDF might be different.

 

Oh and of course this is going to use a lot of tape. I'm sure I have seen anti slip tape somewhere though.

[Bryson]

I still think a floorcloth is the correct answer for your situation. No joins, you see, and much easier to transport. I suspect that unless your crew are supernaturally careful with it (which, even if they are most of the time, what about at 1am during the out?) then the corners and edges of a thin board floor will get destroyed quite quickly.

 

Floor cloths are really cheap to buy, too.

[kmk]

Thanks a lot both!

The Kid, do you mean you only tape on the underside? In which case why double-sided AND gaffer? Or do you mean to stick it to the floor? Sorry being slow!

Bryson, thanks, I had thought a floorcloth might get creased and look crap and not lie flat after a few venues of the tour. Sounds like you think board would be worse though. Does floorcloth have to be attached to the floor? Or could I paint back with latex (maybe you suggested this before?!)

Cheers :unsure:

[Bryson]

Well, if you can make the crew roll it before storage, the creasing will be minimal, and certainly less prominent than the joins between hardboard flooring.

 

Most floorcloths I see are stuck down with gaffa, or a gaffa "loop" that hides under the edge. The latex sounds fun, but I've never seen it done.

[bruce]

In which case why double-sided AND gaffer? Or do you mean to stick it to the floor?

 

He's suggesting that you apply double-sided to the underside of the board, then apply the non-sticky-side of the gaffa to that. So the double-sided is sticking the gaff to the board, and the gaff adheres to the floor.

 

The justification being that gaff leaves less residue on the floor than double-sided.

[the kid]

Hope this explains a little more

 

The use of both gaffa and double sided is because, as I said the double sided we found leaves a nasty residue.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/m1ndy9876/br2.jpg

 

Hope that makes sense.

[kmk]

AHA! Now I get it! Thanks a lot y'all. Can't believe you actually drew me a diagram, how nice of you! And cheers Bryson, will also pursue the neglected floorcloth option and gaffer loop. Bye for now!

[DavidLee]

Consider 1/4 inch oil tempered hardboard sheets (that's twice as thick as normal hardboard with two smooth faces). Much less prone to curling and less likely to be damaged with re-use. Cut sheets into half - ie 4ft squares - and they will be robust but still reasonably easy to handle. Ideally fix with a nail in each corner but you can also use tape if the floor is precious. Since the material is quite heavy you can probably get away with Gaffer tape underneath - sticky side up. Fix it under one row of "tiles" and then carefully drop the next row on top of the tape - by sliding off the already-fixed tiles.

 

David

[andy_s]

use of oil tempered hardboard essential if you intend to paint it. MDF prone to damage if lifting and relaying it many times. If there's lots of vigorous action on the floor, even the weight of the oil-tempered may not be enough to hold it in place - I toured a much heavier floor made from 25mm ply that was always moving apart during the action as we couldn't fix it down, only to itself....although the weight may have been a factor itself, as it would have momentum once it did start to move.

 

If you go for the floorcloth / latex option, you need to sprinkle fullers earth over the latex (even if you think the latex is dry)before folding the cloth or you will find it will stick to itself and give you more problems.

 

 

also - there's no substitute for good quality gaffer - the cheap stuff will also leave a residue or pull paint off - perhaps not quite as annoying as the double-sided tape.

[robloxley]

I once toured a floor that was made in sections of 2 sheets of ply stacked 1" out of alignment to create half-lap joints that were secured with T-nuts and machine bolts (as we couldn't screw down in some venues).

[Ekij]

What about that stuff that B&Q sell for DIY loft flooring?

 

Basically 18" * 3' sheets of MDF but tongue and groove to help it stay together?

[david.elsbury]

I feel this is the appropriate moment to share with you all the wonderful Gaff Triangle.

(This comes from Andy Leviss' blog, One From the Road, hope he doesn't mind me sharing the link.)

 

Very very useful, and so much stronger than just a "loop" of gaffer.

 

 

(PS, I'm back after ages of show and stuff. Lots of reading to catch up on!)

 

Regards

David

[kmk]

Thanks very much everyone! It looks like I might end up using dancefloor now for various reasons, but that is all extremely useful for future reference! Good idea to look at tongue ad groove loft flooring in b&q. And I love the gaffer traingle, simple but ingenius! Cheers :P I'm not stage crew but I love that smiley.

[Suzette]

A bump to the end of this thread - I need to lay a painted floor onto a stage that cannot be screwed/nailed into. So needs to be gaffa or similar type of fixing.

Small upstairs pub theatre. Show is on for 2 weeks only, so no lifting/re-laying of floor needed, goes down once and hopefully doesn't move until the get-out.

I'm thinking of using 4mm (or maybe 6mm) MDF sheets which are pre-painted and then stuck with gaffa tape on the underside of the joins and then gaffa around all 4 edges to hold in place. Maybe with the use of gaffa triangles to assist with the sticking!

As I say, its only small space so will be maximum of 15 sheets of 8'x4' MDF. The only thing I'm worried about is the corners of the joins lifting and causing a trip hazard - does anyone have any experience of using MDF in this way and know whether this could be a problem? The only other times I've used MDF flooring is with being able to screw to the stage so any problem corners were easily fixable.

 

The MDF will be new and just painted the once - I don't want to use hardboard or 4mm ply as I think the corners are much more prone to warping and we don't have time in the venue to paint the floor or paint strips of gaffa laid on top of floor joins. For various reasons a floor-cloth has been dismissed as not practical for this particular show.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on this matter?