Flooring (spring step, woodstep ?)

sancho

sancho

Cathlete
I am finally getting to put in a "real" aerobic floor in the gym in my new house (I've been on very thick puzzle mats for the past 10 years). I called Stage step and the woman completely confused me. I will be installing on a concrete floor. I thought the best product for high impact was a floating wood sub floor (the springstep product). But she told me that the Woodstep product would work just as well and that I don't need the sub floor. But now I'm doing more reading on this site and now I'm questioning what she told me.

I've read many threads about flooring and Cathe's blog. But now I'm just confused.

Can anyone help me make sense of all this. Should I just call them back and talk to someone else ?????
 
Congrats on new home and workout room!

sancho said:
I am finally getting to put in a "real" aerobic floor in the gym in my new house (I've been on very thick puzzle mats for the past 10 years). I called Stage step and the woman completely confused me. I will be installing on a concrete floor. I thought the best product for high impact was a floating wood sub floor (the springstep product). But she told me that the Woodstep product would work just as well and that I don't need the sub floor. But now I'm doing more reading on this site and now I'm questioning what she told me.

I've read many threads about flooring and Cathe's blog. But now I'm just confused.

Can anyone help me make sense of all this. Should I just call them back and talk to someone else ?????
Click to expand...

I've researched Stage Step but haven't purchased yet...I think she was trying to let you know that there is another option with built-in vs the "floating sub floor" Stagestep: Woodstep Collection WS plus/ultra for installing on concrete. ;) or maybe that you could use WS covering instead of Hardwood. Stagestep: The Best Floors for How You Move.


Because this is an investment, be SURE, and definitely call back and talk to another rep. If it helps, I too have concrete and my choice would be the floating subfloor with hardwood covering :rolleyes: Stagestep: Hardwood Dance Flooring System

.
 
My DH and I recently redid the basement level of our house. We installed ceramic tile throughout the entire basement over concrete. In one of the rooms, I installed the stage step springstep II subfloor over the ceramic tile and then a glueless laminate floor over the subfloor. Here are the steps we took to install the flooring:

  1. Rolled out a layor of vapor barrier ordered from stage step over the ceramic tile and used cloth tape to secure the seams.
  2. Used the peel and stick 2" cubes of the springstep II subfloor to cover 1/2" thick solid core plywood using the pattern on the stagestep site (same link as above).
  3. Layed the plywood cube side down over the vapor barrier.
  4. Layed a second layer of plywood over the first layer (crisscrossing the boards so as not to line up the seams) and screwed the two layers together using 3/4" deck screws using the pattern on the stagestep site (same link as above).
  5. Layed a moisture and sound barrier over the plywood.
  6. Installed glueless, locking laminate flooring over the barrier.

We spent about 6 hours on a Saturday doing items 1-4 and then about 4 hours on Sunday installing items 5-6 and moving all of my workout equipment into my room. We did put stair nosing in the two doors in the room (one leading to a closet and one into the rest of the basement). We did not put baseboard around the perimeter of the floor. That was to keep our cost down and I didn't feel it really took away or added to the room one way or the other. It also allows for a little air circulation under the floor too.

I didn't really keep a good tab on the total cost but it was probably around $800. Of course, my room is small at only 11' x 12' so if your room is bigger it will cost more.

We are by no means DIY experts so the fact that we got it done so quickly (and rather painlessly) is pretty impressive to me anyway.

I love the floor and belive it was worth the time and monetary investment. I will note that this flooring systems is about 3" tall by the time everything is installed. So if you have low ceilings and/or are tall, you may want to consider that you are losing 3" of height space with this system. I am 5' (on a good day ;)) so the loss of those 3" didn't make a difference to me but if I was a couple of inches taller, I probably would be hitting my hands on the ceiling during knees around the world.

Here is a picture of my room (the equipment set up has changed around a bit but you can kind of get an idea of the floor):

http://cathe.com/forum/members/jldx2in2000/albums/workout-room/5122-ready-get-work/

Feel free to ask me anything else about it!
 
sancho said:
I am finally getting to put in a "real" aerobic floor in the gym in my new house (I've been on very thick puzzle mats for the past 10 years). I called Stage step and the woman completely confused me. I will be installing on a concrete floor. I thought the best product for high impact was a floating wood sub floor (the springstep product). But she told me that the Woodstep product would work just as well and that I don't need the sub floor. But now I'm doing more reading on this site and now I'm questioning what she told me.

I've read many threads about flooring and Cathe's blog. But now I'm just confused.

Can anyone help me make sense of all this. Should I just call them back and talk to someone else ?????
Click to expand...

We've built a lot of these floors through the years and there is nothing better than the sub floor with the rubber blocks underneath.

You can use a hardwood system, but hardwood is just that - Hard!. Sure, putting rubber squares they provide for underneath the hardware floor will greatly lessen the impact problem and will probably be more than adequate for your needs , but it will not match a good sub floor energy return system.

Both systems will work for you, but the sub floor is the least expensive and will be the best floor for your joints. The only thing you need to purchase from stage step is the rubber blocks for this type of flooring. The advantage of the hardwood floor is the kit contains everything you need and is easier to install.
 
Thanks for the replies. I called back this morning and talked to a rep (Karen x 118) that and she cleared up my confusion. I think I had just talked to the receptionist.

My room is 15 X 15 and I am going to get the Stage Step IV which is the tounge and groove plywood that fits together (so I don't have to glue and screw). This means that I am buying the plywood from Stagestep instead of Home Depot. BUT, this would allow me to easily move the floor in a few years. She said that because I do a lot of high impact, I should get the 2 inch foam. I will have to peel and stick all the foam on to the plywood. If I get the 3/4 inch foam, it would already be attached to the plywood but I do a lot of high impact and I think the 2 inch foam is better for me. I'm getting 65 panels of wood (for anyone curious, it's $12 a panel) and they require 21 pieces of foam each, so that's 1,365 pieces of foam to attach (sounds daunting . . . but maybe not?).


Julie - was it a huge pain to stick the foam on the plywood ? I have people that can help me (kids, inlaws, husband . . . 6 people total that would be 11 panels each). Do you think it's better to do the 2 inch and stick it myself than to do the 3/4 already assembled ?
I'm planning to get their plywood because of the tounge and groove thing. That way when I move again, I can disassemble and take it with me.

Karen told me that when I put the laminate layer on, I should use double face tape and then a clear seam tape on top. She said that the double face tape will need to be replaced in about 3 years (just the time I'm hoping we move again). So, I will roll up the laminate, disassemble the floor and then just bring it with me. (does that sound possible based on your familiarity with the product ?)

Julie - what laminate did you put on top of the sub floor and how much was it ? was it hard to pick a laminate? I want to be sure I get one that I can torque and twist on and that the step doesn't move around on. The woodstep is just too expensive especially with shipping.

Also, she told me it's better to not put the weights and cardio equipment on the subfloor. What did you do (from your picture I'm not sure if the mats are on top of the laminate or instead of)? In addition to the 15 X 15 space, I have another little alcove for my cardio equipment and weights. Although I don't know that it will all fit there. I may have to put the weights in the area with the subfloor. It's not like I throw my weights down. Are the black mats more or less expensive than the subfloor with laminate on top?

Thanks so much for your help !!!!!
 
It was not a big deal to put the foam cubes on the plywood. My DH and I did it in less than an hour and that included measuring and cutting the plywood pieces to fit the room. I would maybe suggest having older kids do it rather than younger ones. They do need to be spaced apart in a pattern so I wouldn’t have a 5 year old doing it and sticking the cubes in haphazard places (or smiley faces :)).

I didn’t use double face tape so I am not sure what Karen is meaning by that. Is double face tape used with linoleum and not laminate? Maybe it is meant to help keep the linoleum from shifting place on top of the subfloor? I guess I don't have a problem with that because of the sound/insulation barrier I put down between the subfloor and the laminate and because my weights act as .. well weight to hold down the laminate floor in place.

We used Shaw laminate (my post above includes a link to what I used-purchased at Menards). It is basically tongue and groove particle board made to look like hardwood floor. I have no problems whatsoever pivoting but it also gives enough traction so neither the step nor myself are sliding all over the place (my dogs on the other hand have a problem with slipping and sliding :p).

You mentioned rolling up the laminate flooring when you move but laminate flooring doesn’t roll. Laminate flooring is sold as planks (8” x 48” planks) that you snap together end to end and side to side. Linoleum will roll up. I believe they sell glueless linoleum but I didn’t look into it as I liked the look of laminate and we don’t have plans to move anytime in the near 30 years.

Karen told me I shouldn’t lift weights or store the weight equipment on the flooring but I figure Cathe uses the same flooring and she has had tons of weight on the floor (think STS-all those people--all that weight) and it doesn’t seem to be hurting it. I did decide to put my treadmill in a different room as I figured that was definitely too heavy for the floor. However, when I got my spin bike this June, I am keeping that in the room and it is on the floor.

I put down the thin weight equipment mat (like the kind you would put under a treadmill) on top of my laminate to store my weight equipment on. I just bought these at Wal-Mart. Basically I didn’t want the metal pieces of the dumbbell and plate racks scratching my floor. When I bring out my weight equipment, I have some scrap pieces of that same mat that I set the dumbbells on while I am not lifting them. I am just paranoid about scratching the floor so this is probably overkill. I actually already scratched it when I tried scooting the turbo tower on the floor. The tower scratched the floor a little so now I put a mat under that when I pull it out.

While the flooring has only been in for a couple months, I have not had any problems with storing/lifting weights and with having my spin bike on the floor (other than my tower mishap and scratching the floor-that was all me though :eek:). Let me know if I didn’t get one of your questions answered or if you have more questions to ask.

Hope that helps!
 
Sancho, at least you don't have to cut the foam.:)
My boyfriend and I are in the process of putting down a gym floor in our basement.
And he (I say he - I wanted to buy the pre-cut foam) had me cutting :mad: 6" by 6" block of foam so he could glue it to the plywood. And he over-estimated. So I have two full bags of extra cut foam blocks.

We got 1 1/2 inch foam. and Julie is right. You do or will loose a nice bit of floor height.
Right now we got all the subfloors down and my boyfriend is in the process of putting hardwood flooring over it.
Because of his work schedule, we have to fit the install in when we can. Hopefully, my new Gym will be all done by October.

Good luck with your flooring.
 
DH and I installed the Springstep II system a couple of months ago. I previously worked out on cement floor covered with 5/8 " puzzle mats. There is a huge difference working out now--no sore knees anymore!

We followed the same procedure as Retrofit with a few exceptions. We didn't need to use the vapor barrier because we have radiant heat in our floors so it's already down. Our 2" cubes were not self-adhesive (ordered before they had them) so we spent a couple evenings gluing the cubes to the plywood. ;-) IMO, the hardest part of the entire process was putting in all the screws, all 900+. My floor area is 12 x 12 and it cost between $900- $1000.

I have not put any cover on top of the flooring (for now) except for my puzzle mats nor a baseboard around the edge. The only things I have setting on my floor are my steps, stability balls, med balls and the tv/tv stand. We are going to put a flat screen on the wall when we remember to get the right mount bracket. ;-D My weights, weight bench, DBs are all on the basement floor because weren't sure how they would affect the floor if they were on it.

You won't be disappointed with your new floor!


Saundra---Very cool! ^5 I'll be anxious to hear how you like your new floor!
 
Thanks for all the posts. I was getting vinyl and laminate mixed up. Wow, laminate on top of subfloor on top of 2 inch foam. That will add some height.
 
Julie,

I just followed your link to the laminate . . . did you do the Nostalgic Pine color that the link goes to or is that the main color that just comes up ? How do you like the color you chose ?

Lauren
 
just wondering

this is a little different question, i workout on a think carpet with great padding and my shoes have great grip. So my question is there any thing I can lay on the carpet to help make it easier to do spins and stuff? I was thinking of the hard plastic that offices uses for their office chairs. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you :D
 
sancho said:
Julie,

I just followed your link to the laminate . . . did you do the Nostalgic Pine color that the link goes to or is that the main color that just comes up ? How do you like the color you chose ?

Lauren
Click to expand...


My color is Bengali Teak. It is a medium finish-almost cherry colored. I love the color and it goes perfectly well with the Cathe orange walls I painted.

Most laminate flooring is less than 3/4" thick so the laminate does not add as much height to the floor as you think. If you put hardwood down, that would add another 2" to the height but would be hard on your joints. I would think vinyl would be just a bit thinner than laminate (maybe 1/2").

Pussycat is right in that you will love the springstep II flooring. I used to work out upstairs on carpet and had knee issues. No more of that with the new floor.
 
jldx2in2000 said:
Pussycat is right in that you will love the springstep II flooring. I used to work out upstairs on carpet and had knee issues. No more of that with the new floor.
Click to expand...

Just to be sure . . . the Springstep IV is what I am doing because it is easily moved. But it is the same product as the Springstep II . . . right ? (it's just tounge and groove verses screw together . . . right ?)
 
sancho said:
Just to be sure . . . the Springstep IV is what I am doing because it is easily moved. But it is the same product as the Springstep II . . . right ? (it's just tounge and groove verses screw together . . . right ?)
Click to expand...

That is my understanding. The springstep II is just the foam cubes that you then have to buy plywood and screws separately for. The springstep IV is the foam cubes plus tongue and groove plywood tiles that you don't need screws for. I wanted to get the springstep IV but it was cheaper going with the springstep II and we had to try to keep our costs down. If you can afford the springstep IV, I say go for it. It will save you the time of screwing 800+ screws in all the plywood.
 
I've got a 7'10" ceiling. Do you think it's tall enough to do the 2" blocks ??? I'm only 5'3" but I use a 10" step to do step aerobics. I'm not going to put a ceiling fan in the middle of the room (I'm putting a hook for the TRX). How tall are your ceilings Julie and Pussycat ???
 
I think my ceilings are 8' (maybe an inch or so less). You might have problems when doing step aerobics and lifting your hands above your head while on the step. You might knock your hand on the ceiling (but at least you won't hit a ceiling fan).
 
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