Currently “low budget†and “plywood†do not belong in the same sentence.
Although more labour intensive your best bet is likely 99cent/SQF cheap 8mm laminate flooring. Not as good as vinyl but your not doing anything else for a buck a square.
2c
Maurice
Since I don’t want to pull up my carpet, can I “click” this together over (very low pile) carpet, and will it be “rigid” enough? or will it flex, come apart, etc.?
Thanks.
I “think†it might be ok…the floor floats so it will have a slight bounce to it…say a couple mm…this may or may not be good for your dancing application.
Obviously this is not the proper way which is to rip out carpet and put the popcorn film or sill gasket type foam below.
You could just go to a flooring place and get 5-6 pieces, click them up then jump around.
I would go with the OSB and then linoleum flooring over top. That would be the quickest and easiest. Using vinyl flooring would work but it does have the potential to unclip and move around if you aren’t anchors in some way.
Since you’re on carpet, the constant up and down can work the joints apart.
The Linoleum would also help with the dancing aspect as well. A lot of the dance studios have a cheap linoleum stick down tiles.
Not sure what kind of MDF you purchased. I have never had an issue with off gassing of MDF.
I would be concerned with most of the solutions here, if the off gassing of MDF was an issue.
A bit more, but you could get sheets of melamine coated mdf, or ply.
Still really confused about the off gassing of the MDF. How many days later was the smell still present?
I won’t deny that the MDF still has a chemical smell a month later. However, as to whether any regular person would care about it? That is a different question entirely. 20 years ago I used to argue this sort of thing with my wife. I have now just accepted that she either has the nose of a bloodhound, or is nuts. Probably both, but she puts up with all my bikes and related irritations, so it’s a fair trade.
But that’s my point.
Your problem isn’t the flooring, your problem is to find a solution that pass the wife’s nose test.
Currently “low budget†and “plywood†do not belong in the same sentence.
Although more labour intensive your best bet is likely 99cent/SQF cheap 8mm laminate flooring. Not as good as vinyl but your not doing anything else for a buck a square.
2c
Maurice
Since I don’t want to pull up my carpet, can I “click” this together over (very low pile) carpet, and will it be “rigid” enough? or will it flex, come apart, etc.?
Thanks.
I “think†it might be ok…the floor floats so it will have a slight bounce to it…say a couple mm…this may or may not be good for your dancing application.
Obviously this is not the proper way which is to rip out carpet and put the popcorn film or sill gasket type foam below.
You could just go to a flooring place and get 5-6 pieces, click them up then jump around.
…Or jump up, jump up and get down!
Maurice
I think some form of click flooring is going to be the best hope you have for this project (including passing the nose test)
Might get lucky at a flooring store find some remnant / close out since you only need 64 sq ft. and don’t care about looks. Thats where i would start. Lumber liquidators in your area?
I just had a flashback to when I let my ex wife be in charge of having the carpeting replaced at my house. They installed the cheapest possible carpet padding and it was like walking on cement.
Your problem isn’t the flooring, your problem is to find a solution that pass the wife’s nose test.
All I will say is GOOD LUCK.
That’s why I was looking for something like plywood - I already know she is ok with that, or laminate is a good solution - we had it in a previous house. Melamine or MDF seem to be a problem. The better plan is just to wait it out until we get out of lockdown, but I have time on my hands so trying to find a (cheap) solution is somewhat entertaining for now.
There’s this stuff here called Strandfloor; not sure if it’s available where you are. Comparably priced to ply of the same thickness (18-19mm), way flatter, and way smoother. I really like working with the stuff.