The Dance UK says on its website that the first step in making a dance floor is deciding on the requirements.
These depend on the kind of dance--ballet, modern, jazz, tap, flamenco, folk or a mix of several. Different dance styles call for different floors.
Another consideration is whether the floor is to be permanent or temporary. If the dance group doesn't have a permanent base, or the landlord won't allow them to install a permanent floor, portable temporary floors make more sense.
Other issues include whether to build a shock-absorbing sprung floor, which is more expensive, and whether the floor will go in a new building or an existing one.
Dance UK says the key elements of a dance floor are the floor itself and the "sub floor" under it, which could be anything from tile to wood to carpet. The working surface of the dance floor depends on the type of dance: Ballroom, folk and social dancers favor wood floors, but most other schools of dance consider wood an unpredictable surface because there are so many finishes. The preference is vinyl sheet, which is different from commercial vinyl in giving slip resistance to reduce injury. Vinyl floors can be made with foam backing to make them elastic and both vinyl and wood floors can be made as sprung floors.
Dance UK says that sprung floors were originally made with springs underneath, but these proved too bouncy for ballet. Now sprung floors are made with resilient rubber or polymer blocks underneath them, which provide resilience without bouncing.
The Sprung Floors website says that before installing a sprung floor, the sub-floor must be clean, dry and flat: No more than 1/8 inch of rising within a 10-foot radius circle. Cement floors must be cured---kept moist---for 30 days before installation, then sealed with plastic or cement sealer. The floor can then be screwed in, or placed panel-by-panel, fitting together along interlocking tongues and grooves. The panels or screws can be removed if the floor has to be moved.
Floor Advice says that you shouldn't put vinyl floors in place until the vinyl has been at room temperature for 24 hours. Sweep and vacuum the sub-floor or sprung floor completely: Even the smallest grit can cause lumps under vinyl. You can install the floor using vinyl floor tape, which will have to replaced later; or double-stick tape to secure the surface panels tightly and semi-permanently. For permanent floors, glue the vinyl down and hot-weld the seams.