I posted this elsewhere, and wondered if anyone here could offer suggestions too...
i've strip mined usenet and found some excellent suggestions, and found an esp. helpful jumping off. I have a room at home where i can put up to a 16'x19' (about 300 ft. sq.), on a concrete slab addition, currently my "great room"/formal dining room, and i AM going to put in a dancefloor. I'm putting this in for my own personal wants/pleasure, and intend to (please don't gag) make it more or less my own personal disco, which is to say i want to build a floor which will stand up to some fairly abusive percussive-type stuff, the not infrequent use of platform shoes and even taps. I've wanted my own dancefloor since i was a kid, taking my first tentative steps to James Brown in 1972 and FINALLY, i can have the real thing. But I'd like to do it well. I'm provisionally planning on putting in a basket weave floated floor. Does anyone have strong feelings or experience as to the difference between three and five levels of spring layers? I'm thinking a 3/4" plywood subfloor with 3/4" thick unfinished solid plank surface, sanded after installation and finished to med. fast surface. I've been to Menards and looked at the engineered flooring and really want to stick with traditional massive wood as opposed to the 1/16" that modern snap together stuff has. (ymmv) Could i have opinions on durability/maintainability/dancibility of Maple (i gather it's the gold standard) vs. Walnut, Cherry, or Oak (the meat and potatoes of dance floors)? I noticed that several of the 3/4 wood was available in up to 5" widths ... wider is better, yes? I'm also considering the putting some lighted panels in the floor too.... Any other thoughts or tips or dire warnings from those of you who've gone before me? .max