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This tutorial will show you how to build a dance floor using 2 x 2’s and sheets of plywood. So easy and less expensive than renting one.
I shared with you in a previous wedding post the story of our dance floor. When we decided to book a live band for the wedding I thought we needed a dance floor. My husband did not. We have a large backyard and plenty of grass and he thought dancing on the grass would be just fine.
I am not easily dissuaded or discouraged.
I got on line and immediately started pricing dance floors from rental companies. They are not cheap, between $700-800 for the size we needed. It wasn’t in the budget so I decided I needed to get creative.
To make a somewhat long, 5 month long story short, I had a dance floor and then I didn’t have a dance floor, I had a dance floor and then I didn’t. In fact I thought I had a dance floor until the Sunday before the wedding. It fell through five days before the event.
Remember I am not easily discouraged so I decided we were going to build a dance floor. Or rather my daughter Cali and her friend Hannah were going to build me a dance floor (with some help from dad of course.)
By this time I had totally broken Jim down and he agreed so we headed to Home Depot on Monday night (the Wedding Carnival was Friday).
Dance Floor Supplies
- 6 sheets of 1/2″ plywood
- 30 eight foot long 2 x 3’s – cut 18 of them into two 45″ pieces (you will have pieces leftover) This will leave 12 of the boards 8 ‘ long. They cut them for free for you at Home Depot.
- Nails and hammer
- Floor Paint and supplies for painting
- Painters Tape
- 6 Mending plates to join the pieces together
How Big is the Dance Floor?
The dance floor measured 12 x 16 and was created out of 6 sections that were 4 x 8 which is the size of a sheet of plywood.
How to Build A Dance Floor
The whole neighborhood got involved or enjoyed watching the process taking place out in front of our house.
The above photo is about how involved Tessa got – she held a hammer for a photo but she was working full time so we need to cut her some slack.
- Create 6 frames from the 2 x 3’s that measure 4′ x 8′.
- Add four support pieces to each frame
- Nail a sheet of plywood to the top of each frame. Nail it down along the edges and across the support pieces.
- The moms got involved in this step of the process. Had to bring in the big muscles!
How to Paint a Dance Floor
The next step was the painting process. I decided that I wanted the floor to be checker board to go along with the carnival theme so I purchased black and white floor paint. We primed the boards first and then added a coat of white paint to each section.
Yes, I sat in a chair and watched it dry! I like watching paint dry.
After it was dry, the girls used blue painters tape to tape off the squares. The squares measured 24″ x 24″ so each 4 x 8 section had 2 x 4 squares.
Using small foam rollers the girls rolled the black paint into the taped off squares.
We waited for the paint to dry, removed the tape and we had a dance floor!
Finally, we numbered the pieces so that we knew how to put it back together once we moved it into the backyard.
The mending pieces were hammered into to hold the pieces together.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Dance Floor
Total Cost of Dance Floor (including paint but not including labor) Approx. $300.00.
It was perfect and it was a wonderful addition to our carnival and YES, we needed a dance floor. Even my husband admits that now. It added such a fun element to the wedding and really got people dancing.
Who wouldn’t want to dance on a black and white checkerboard dance floor!!!
Shiloh Barkley says
Love it!!! you never know!!
Nancy says
I have questions! 🙂 Did you attach the sections to each other in any way? How did you manage to keep it all level once it was down? Did they ever tend to separate as people danced? Just wondering! I should also say, the wedding seems like it was just lovely and a lot of great fun!! Congratulations to the happy couple and your family!
Leigh Anne says
Nancy, Those are all good questions because I had them too. The sections were attached with some metal plates that were about 2 x 3 inches that had little metal claws sticking out of the back that we placed over the seam of two of the sections and hammered in. We got them at Home Depot – can’t remember what they are called.
Our lawn is fairly level so the floor laid nice and flat and the sections didn’t separate at all or come apart as people danced on it. I was worried about it being level but I think it just settled into the grass so that it was nice and flat. We thought we might have to use some shims to get it level but we didn’t have to.
Shandra Harris says
How far apart are the support beams?
Leigh Anne says
Each measures 4 x 8 and there are 4 cross beams spaced evenly in the space. The dance floor is in storage and I can’t access it to measure exactly.
Pauline Navarro says
This is going to sound crazy, and i probably am, but by chance do you rent out your creations? If not, you should. And if by chance you are near the SF Bay area, let me know because I would LOVE to rent your dance floor for a Farm shindig we are having to raise money for a non-profit (that will help employ disabled and “abled” , whatever that means haha)
Leigh Anne says
Pauline, sorry I’m in the Portland Oregon area.
Sabrina says
This looks great, I’ve been looking for a DIY dance floor for my daughter’s graduation party. Were the metal plates attached to the bottom of the dance floor? How many metal plates do I need to purchase?
Leigh Anne says
The metal plates were put on the “seams” where the sections of the dance floor comes together on the sides. There were 6 pieces to the floor and 6 seams or places where they pieces came together so we had 6 metal plates. So the plates were visible on the sides – they were not underneath the floor. They were put on after the floor was put into place.
Jenna says
If you look at the bottom of the first picture with them dancing, with the 2 guys, you can slightly see where the metal piece was, it is only JUST in the picture…
Laura says
Thanks for sharing your awesome dance floor with us! I have the same questions about how you attached the metal plates to keep the pieces together. I think it would be super helpful if you posted a pictures of the bottom of the dance floor. That way we could all get an idea about how to do it ourselves and not bother you with all of the same questions over and over. Thanks again for sharing.
Leigh Anne says
Laura, The metal plates are just hammered into the wood. The next time we have the dance floor out I will take a photo of the metal plates. They just have little metal claws in them that go right into the wood.
Joey says
How do you get the top surface smooth if it’s plywood?
Leigh Anne says
We bought a higher grade of plywood that was smooth.
Lisa Davis says
Thank you so much for sharing this and all of the wedding carnival projects/awesome creations with us, I have really enjoyed them! You are so creative, kind, a wonderful cook, mother and wife. Please keep sharing and blogging. I receive your blog thru my email and I really enjoy it.
Kymberlee says
Just like the carnival booths, I will be renting my dance floor from you should the need ever arise LOL! Amazing and FUN! Thankfully you live close enough to allow me to do this.
Michelle says
Awesome. Don’t anticipate needing a dance floor any time soon…. but it’s good to know! Are you going to have Jim post about how to make the carnival booths? I think he should. They looked great- and I could see that coming in very handy for me.