Marley Dance Floor cart advice
- Thread starterGrog12
- Start date
Portable Dance Floor Transportation and Storage - Gerriets International
Ooooooh pretty....still searching if anyone else has ideas.
Ooooooh pretty....still searching if anyone else has ideas.
I like that one in the link. I've always just mad my own, but I really like the fold down sides on that one. I may have to incorporate that feature into my next one. That would be useful for large soft goods builds too.
LightStud
Active Member
First, Marley has not been manufactured since the 1970s.
Second, OP: You didn't say if your application is for Touring or House use, but the one you have found is awful. Send an email to All Access Staging & Productions and/or B and R Scenery: Contact Us and see if they have any pictures of theirs. The
one you have found is horrible. Gimme a day and 200' of 2x2 SqT and $100 worth of misc. materials and I'll fix you a better one. Where's the detachable crank handle so one never has to pick up the rolls? How can that thing pack in a truck? Fork pockets? Tape storage in the unused/wasted space?
The Rock Show carps are more advanced in so many ways.
Second, OP: You didn't say if your application is for Touring or House use, but the one you have found is awful. Send an email to All Access Staging & Productions and/or B and R Scenery: Contact Us and see if they have any pictures of theirs. The
one you have found is horrible. Gimme a day and 200' of 2x2 SqT and $100 worth of misc. materials and I'll fix you a better one. Where's the detachable crank handle so one never has to pick up the rolls? How can that thing pack in a truck? Fork pockets? Tape storage in the unused/wasted space? The Rock Show carps are more advanced in so many ways.
This is what you want. Courtesy of B and R Scenery.
Whether or not you can afford it is a different matter.
Whether or not you can afford it is a different matter.
dcolson003
Member
We are in the proccess of determing what kind of Marley Dance Floor we would like to purchase for our theatre. I'm kind of in a bind since I don't know much about them, I was wondering if poeple could share what kind of dance floor they have. Suggest where to purchase the floor from, what kind of tape you use to to adhere the floor, and how to store it, wen its not in use.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
dcolson003
Member
I believe our stage floor is a tongue and groove oak floor. The space used to be a gym and in the 70's they converted it to the theatre. So it's the originaly gym floor when the school was built in the 50's.
It will fall under our tech crews responsibility to lay it, mostly students and myself.
They will do all types of dancing it on it.
No Rosin.
It will fall under our tech crews responsibility to lay it, mostly students and myself.
They will do all types of dancing it on it.
No Rosin.
If budget permits, Harlequin is the way to go. They make a wide variety of products depending on if you need springyness or just traction. Rosco also makes a great floors. It all just depends on what your budget is and what your use case is.
For taping, I usually use gaff tape to tape the ends down and vinyl "dance" tape for the seams.
Storage is the real issue with any marley. Bad storage can destroy a new floor in less then a year. Good storage can make the floor last years. First, you want to ensure that the rolls are rolled squarely. Usually rolls are rolled on 4" to 6" PVC pipe. Ask your floor manufacture what works best for your floor. Idealy each piece will have its own pipe. The next task is getting the rolls off the floor. Usually this is done on some kind of triangle shapped rolling cart. If you want to go high tech and expensive, B&R Scenery has a great cart.
For taping, I usually use gaff tape to tape the ends down and vinyl "dance" tape for the seams.
Storage is the real issue with any marley. Bad storage can destroy a new floor in less then a year. Good storage can make the floor last years. First, you want to ensure that the rolls are rolled squarely. Usually rolls are rolled on 4" to 6" PVC pipe. Ask your floor manufacture what works best for your floor. Idealy each piece will have its own pipe. The next task is getting the rolls off the floor. Usually this is done on some kind of triangle shapped rolling cart. If you want to go high tech and expensive, B&R Scenery has a great cart.
We also use a Harlequin floor here AND we have the B&R dance floor cart too. together the whole investment was expensive but WELL worth it. The Harlequin (a Cascade model, as we vary in the types of dance that gets used for) is the best and most durable we have tried--lays flat every time and stretches nicely. Have also used Rosco Floors in the past and they are good too. Our floor is sprung but the cascade really gives it a nice performance that dancers enjoy. The B&R cart however is THE GEM of our floor system--its the best storage we ever had (we used to do PVC and sadly the floor would sit stacked in rolls on a sled). The cart stores the panels suspended, so there is no pressure or uneveness in the floor from storage and its heavy enough you don't have to worry about it tipping over. We got one of the first models B&R made and its beyond great. The floor panels are easily rolled and unrolled on the aluminum spindles in place with a crank handle (no need to remove spindles or stack anything), and with a little patience and skill its fast to use. We can roll 5 50' rolls of cascade floor up in less then 10 minutes with two people if needed and we don't break our backs and our rolls are flat edge squared every time. It takes very little practice to get the hang of using the cart. If you get a cart--get the one with the road box on top for tape and misc storage needs. I've used other storage carts and B&R has them beat in design & durability.
We use 2" and 3" gaff for securing it & seams and clear dance floor tape if needed. We have had some top russian tours & dancers use our floor without a single complaint. Our floor is going on 7-8 years old now and because of the way we store it on the cart it is like its brand new every time we pull it out (about 22 weeks per year its down). We use plastic wrap to cover the rolls during our maintenance sessions to keep it clean. I highly recommend the cart--if you are investing in a good floor you want to last, then get a good storage system for it that will extend its service life and not break your back.
good luck...
-w
We use 2" and 3" gaff for securing it & seams and clear dance floor tape if needed. We have had some top russian tours & dancers use our floor without a single complaint. Our floor is going on 7-8 years old now and because of the way we store it on the cart it is like its brand new every time we pull it out (about 22 weeks per year its down). We use plastic wrap to cover the rolls during our maintenance sessions to keep it clean. I highly recommend the cart--if you are investing in a good floor you want to last, then get a good storage system for it that will extend its service life and not break your back.
good luck...
-w
I believe Stage Step, like most manufacturers, makes several different products. One shouldn't expect the "economy" model to perform the same as the "professional" model.
dcolson003, since you may be new to portable dance floors, consider a tape applicator of some sort, as discussed in this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/scenery-props-rigging/14556-gizmo-day.html .
What hasn't been specifically mentioned is to avoid storing the rolls with pressure on the material or even worse, on their ends! The core, 4-6" PVC or aluminum 12-18" longer than the width of the panels, needs to be supported only at the ends, and not in the middle, or the floor will develop flat spots in storage. See also this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/scenery-props-rigging/8546-marley-transportation.html .
As for installation tips & tricks, see the thread Laying a Marley Dance Floor.
dcolson003, since you may be new to portable dance floors, consider a tape applicator of some sort, as discussed in this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/scenery-props-rigging/14556-gizmo-day.html .
What hasn't been specifically mentioned is to avoid storing the rolls with pressure on the material or even worse, on their ends! The core, 4-6" PVC or aluminum 12-18" longer than the width of the panels, needs to be supported only at the ends, and not in the middle, or the floor will develop flat spots in storage. See also this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/scenery-props-rigging/8546-marley-transportation.html .
As for installation tips & tricks, see the thread Laying a Marley Dance Floor.
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While I agree with you that most MFG's make several models of floor, I can assure you we didn't buy the economy model. With a rack and following thier instuctions for cleaning we found ourselves with a floor that lost its grip to the point where the cleaner and/or SlipNoMor where not helping.
There were several things I loved about the floor, don't get me worng, it practically layed itself because of the thickness and weight of the floor. But it was a beast to move for the same reason. Our floors see daily use for at least 10 hours a day. We keep a strict cleaning regiment on them.
We've actually layed our touring floor into 2 of our studios which needed new marley and purchased a Rosco floor for traveling.
