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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 Carnival post the story of our dance floor. When we decided to book a live band for the Wedding Carnival 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 Carnival. 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 carnival and really got people dancing.
Who wouldn’t want to dance on a black and white checkerboard dance floor!!!
Yoleata says
We built the dance floor with no problem but when we put the panels together we discovered that some of the panels were uneven. Have you experienced that problem? If so, how do you go about getting all the panels level with one another? Also, when you rent your floor out, is there a delivery & setup charge included in your $200 fee?
Leigh Anne says
If the place you are putting the dance floor is not level you will need to use some shims to get it level – it’s a matter of trial and error. The fee did not include delivery and set up.
Sarah says
Question for ya…I showed this to my hubby and told him that it requires 30 2×3’s, but he told me that there is no such thing as 2×3’s? How did you obtain those? The Home Depot website does not offer 2×3’s either.
Leigh Anne says
I guess technically they are 2 x 4 but measure more like 2 x 3
Julia says
Actually, I don’t “need” a dance floor either, no weddings or carnivals coming up. But I keep remembering the little dance floor squares that have been installed when I’ve been at groups that were hosting a dance, and I keep remembering the smaller 2′ square or maybe 3′ square “recovery boards” used in between stations at the Curves Fitness for Women, and I keep wishing for something similar to have at home to put on top of the carpeted floor….soooo that I can do exercise videos at home on my carpeted floor. You’d think with commas and periods and other punctuation marks being essentially free, that I would actually use more of them to make the above “paragraph” a series of shorter sentences? But in any case, this was an awesome idea! Curious if the paint wore off after one day of dancing? or maybe I should just put some layers of clear polyurethane on the top to make it more wear-resistant?
Chris says
How did you get the surface to be so smooth? Was it the regular plywood covered with paint ?
Leigh Anne says
There are different grades of plywood and we bought a smoother one and then painted it.
whimwhams says
What a fun idea! Love it and I might need to make one. Just wanted to let you now the metal piece you are describing is called a nail plate.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Halex-1-1-2-in-x-5-in-12-Gauge-Zinc-Plated-Steel-Nail-Plates-62850/100165368?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-202241088-_-100165368-_-N
They are used on studs behind drywall to protect you from accidentally drilling into plumbing and electrical. You could also just use a flat stage bracket like this
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Superstrut-3-1-2-in-2-Hole-Flat-Straight-Bracket-ZAB206EG-10/202077368
Hope this helps! ????