Open Forum

It sounds to me that that a Masonite covering was used and was not properly applied, I recommend you have the administration contact the installer, the question is was the proper material used? Was it properly sealed prior to installation? Was it properly spaced for expansion?
I have seen this before due to all of these conditions, and I strongly recommend having the company back out who installed it to provide solutions.

------------------------------
Jerry Onik
V.P. Theatrical Supplies and Equipment
Omaha NE
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-13-2018 11:09
From: David Valdes
Subject: Stage floor

This is my first year at this school but I have been a Director of Theatre for 33 years so this is not my first rodeo.  When I was hired I was told that the stage floor was going to be replaced over the summer.  When I arrived, the floor had bubbling material that could pose a real liability to anyone who used it.  However, once the year started, the floor was never touched.  I directed two shows on it and tripped and caught set pieces on it.  My first thought was to put masonite on the whole floor and be done with it - however, I am not a technical person and there is not a tech director on staff to help me decide how to move forward.  Any suggestions?  The floor seems to have a good wood base but of course I can only see the parts that have bubbled or ripped through. 

Does anyone know who I could consult or do the work?  

d

--

David Valdes

Director of Theatre

UNIVERSITY LAKE SCHOOL

4024 Nagawicka Road

PO Box 290, Hartland, WI  53029

ph: 262.367.6011 x1322   fax: 262.367.3146

em: david.valdes@universitylake.org

              

SO I am all prepared to use masonite on our floor and then the technical director from another theatre suggested we use Luan over masonite.......thoughts?

d

------------------------------
[David] [Valdes]
[Director of Theatre/Arts Administrative Asst.]
[Miami Country Day School ]
[Miami] [Florida]
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-14-2018 06:14
From: Jerry Onik
Subject: Stage floor

It sounds to me that that a Masonite covering was used and was not properly applied, I recommend you have the administration contact the installer, the question is was the proper material used? Was it properly sealed prior to installation? Was it properly spaced for expansion?
I have seen this before due to all of these conditions, and I strongly recommend having the company back out who installed it to provide solutions.

------------------------------
Jerry Onik
V.P. Theatrical Supplies and Equipment
Omaha NE

Original Message:
Sent: 03-13-2018 11:09
From: David Valdes
Subject: Stage floor

This is my first year at this school but I have been a Director of Theatre for 33 years so this is not my first rodeo.  When I was hired I was told that the stage floor was going to be replaced over the summer.  When I arrived, the floor had bubbling material that could pose a real liability to anyone who used it.  However, once the year started, the floor was never touched.  I directed two shows on it and tripped and caught set pieces on it.  My first thought was to put masonite on the whole floor and be done with it - however, I am not a technical person and there is not a tech director on staff to help me decide how to move forward.  Any suggestions?  The floor seems to have a good wood base but of course I can only see the parts that have bubbled or ripped through. 

Does anyone know who I could consult or do the work?  

d

--

David Valdes

Director of Theatre

UNIVERSITY LAKE SCHOOL

4024 Nagawicka Road

PO Box 290, Hartland, WI  53029

ph: 262.367.6011 x1322   fax: 262.367.3146

em: david.valdes@universitylake.org

              

Original Message------

SO I am all prepared to use masonite on our floor and then the technical director from another theatre suggested we use Luan over masonite.......thoughts?

d

------------------------------
[David] [Valdes]
[Director of Theatre/Arts Administrative Asst.]
[Miami Country Day School ]
[Miami] [Florida]
------------------------------

I agree with Robert. Luan splinters easily. Our sister school produced Newsies, which will be on the mainstage at festival. They put a masonite floor down and had huge set pieces all over it. They are bringing the same floor to Nebraska.

---------------------------------
Crit Fisher
Lighting/Sound Designer
New Albany High School
---------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 03-30-2018
From: Robert Fowler
Subject: RE: Stage floor

I've never used luan for decking because it's a very soft material, and can get torn up a lot easier than masonite.  I second Jerry's comments about spacing and sealing.  Just because masonite is a very hard material doesn't mean it never expands and contracts, and is impervious to liquids.  Like Jerry said, I would contact the installer to fix the problems.

Bob Fowler

Co-Developer:  Practical Technical Theatre Instructional Programs

Bob@InteractiveEducationalVideo.com

Original Message------

This is my first year at this school but I have been a Director of Theatre for 33 years so this is not my first rodeo.  When I was hired I was told that the stage floor was going to be replaced over the summer.  When I arrived, the floor had bubbling material that could pose a real liability to anyone who used it.  However, once the year started, the floor was never touched.  I directed two shows on it and tripped and caught set pieces on it.  My first thought was to put masonite on the whole floor and be done with it - however, I am not a technical person and there is not a tech director on staff to help me decide how to move forward.  Any suggestions?  The floor seems to have a good wood base but of course I can only see the parts that have bubbled or ripped through. 

Does anyone know who I could consult or do the work?  

d

--

David Valdes

Director of Theatre

UNIVERSITY LAKE SCHOOL

4024 Nagawicka Road

PO Box 290, Hartland, WI  53029

ph: 262.367.6011 x1322   fax: 262.367.3146

em: david.valdes@universitylake.org

              

​David,

Masonite works really well.

------------------------------
Crit Fisher
Lighting/Sound Designer
New Albany High School
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-13-2018 11:09
From: David Valdes
Subject: Stage floor

This is my first year at this school but I have been a Director of Theatre for 33 years so this is not my first rodeo.  When I was hired I was told that the stage floor was going to be replaced over the summer.  When I arrived, the floor had bubbling material that could pose a real liability to anyone who used it.  However, once the year started, the floor was never touched.  I directed two shows on it and tripped and caught set pieces on it.  My first thought was to put masonite on the whole floor and be done with it - however, I am not a technical person and there is not a tech director on staff to help me decide how to move forward.  Any suggestions?  The floor seems to have a good wood base but of course I can only see the parts that have bubbled or ripped through. 

Does anyone know who I could consult or do the work?  

d

--

David Valdes

Director of Theatre

UNIVERSITY LAKE SCHOOL

4024 Nagawicka Road

PO Box 290, Hartland, WI  53029

ph: 262.367.6011 x1322   fax: 262.367.3146

em: david.valdes@universitylake.org

              

A high density tempered pressboard floor material is common.  Frequently, but erroneously, referred to as 'meso' or 'masonite' this material comes in many different grades.  Masonite Corporation no longer manufactures this category of product, but the brand name lives on like 'Kleenex' for tissue paper.  They also used to make a special version called 'Duron WR' that was popular in Broadway venues, but neither of these products are available from Masonite Corporation today.

Similarly, there used to be a rather expensive material that laminated tempered pressboard to a plywood backing that was called 'Plyron'.  It, too, is no longer available.

Common tempered pressboard you can buy at the big box lumber supply houses is typically a very poor solution for stage floors (generic flaky pressboard is typically ANSI Class 5 known as 'Industrialite').  When it gets wet it swells-up and flakes apart, and the continued impacts it receives from heavy rolling stock and dropped platforms will also cause to to disintegrate.

What you need is a type of pressboard that is high density and durable, this is ANSI Class 1 or 2 material.  A 1/4" thickness is a good product for this application.  There are synthetic (plastic) stage flooring products also available, but the flame and smoke spread characteristics of the material are probably inappropriate for use in an assembly space as they would produce toxic black smoke if they were to burn.  A good quality ANSI Class 1 or 2 decking layer can last 10-30 years, whereas as generic pressboard (ANSI Class 4 or worse) can sometimes last less than a year.

For some unknown reason, Architects love to specify tongue-and-groove wood floors for stages.  The argument against hardwood or pine floors is that they are prone to developing grooves from heavy point-loads being rolled / dragged across them.  These grooves can develop broken wood edges that can introduce very long splinters into dancer's feet and other body parts that might slide across the floor (Yikes!  That hurts just writing that sentence!).  A hardwood floor requires much more vigilance (maintenance) to keep them safe from splintering.

If you are considering actually replacing your stage floor, know that there are many more details than have been discussed here that must be addressed. Your school district should understand that this is not a gymnasium floor and the knowledge base need to properly specify a replacement for it is not likely to come from an Architect unless they have a consultant that is familiar with the intricacies of performing arts facilities.  Involve someone that understands your needs in the replacement process.

------------------------------
Erich Friend
Theatre Consultant
Teqniqal Systems
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-13-2018 11:09
From: David Valdes
Subject: Stage floor

This is my first year at this school but I have been a Director of Theatre for 33 years so this is not my first rodeo.  When I was hired I was told that the stage floor was going to be replaced over the summer.  When I arrived, the floor had bubbling material that could pose a real liability to anyone who used it.  However, once the year started, the floor was never touched.  I directed two shows on it and tripped and caught set pieces on it.  My first thought was to put masonite on the whole floor and be done with it - however, I am not a technical person and there is not a tech director on staff to help me decide how to move forward.  Any suggestions?  The floor seems to have a good wood base but of course I can only see the parts that have bubbled or ripped through. 

Does anyone know who I could consult or do the work?  

d

--

David Valdes

Director of Theatre

UNIVERSITY LAKE SCHOOL

4024 Nagawicka Road

PO Box 290, Hartland, WI  53029

ph: 262.367.6011 x1322   fax: 262.367.3146

em: david.valdes@universitylake.org

              

Hi David

I teach at a research university, so we are committed to trying new things.  A few years back, I had a TD who felt that 1/4" lauan would make a better floor covering, so he laid a full lauan floor for a production in one of our studio theatre spaces.  For the first week or two, it actually performed quite well, but one it saw frequent dynamic foot traffic, the edges started to splinter.  He treated it with a sealer, and that slowed down the deterioration, but did not stop it entirely. 

Once the show was over, we left the floor down for the strike and through part of the next changeover, and we discovered that the traffic of heavier items were not well received by the lauan.   

Hope this helps :-)

------------------------------
Tracy Nunnally
NIU - Professor/TD/Area Head
Vertigo - Owner/System Designer
ETCP Certified Rigger/Trainer
DeKalb, Illinois
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-30-2018 05:19
From: Erich Friend
Subject: Stage floor

A high density tempered pressboard floor material is common.  Frequently, but erroneously, referred to as 'meso' or 'masonite' this material comes in many different grades.  Masonite Corporation no longer manufactures this category of product, but the brand name lives on like 'Kleenex' for tissue paper.  They also used to make a special version called 'Duron WR' that was popular in Broadway venues, but neither of these products are available from Masonite Corporation today.

Similarly, there used to be a rather expensive material that laminated tempered pressboard to a plywood backing that was called 'Plyron'.  It, too, is no longer available.

Common tempered pressboard you can buy at the big box lumber supply houses is typically a very poor solution for stage floors (generic flaky pressboard is typically ANSI Class 5 known as 'Industrialite').  When it gets wet it swells-up and flakes apart, and the continued impacts it receives from heavy rolling stock and dropped platforms will also cause to to disintegrate.

What you need is a type of pressboard that is high density and durable, this is ANSI Class 1 or 2 material.  A 1/4" thickness is a good product for this application.  There are synthetic (plastic) stage flooring products also available, but the flame and smoke spread characteristics of the material are probably inappropriate for use in an assembly space as they would produce toxic black smoke if they were to burn.  A good quality ANSI Class 1 or 2 decking layer can last 10-30 years, whereas as generic pressboard (ANSI Class 4 or worse) can sometimes last less than a year.

For some unknown reason, Architects love to specify tongue-and-groove wood floors for stages.  The argument against hardwood or pine floors is that they are prone to developing grooves from heavy point-loads being rolled / dragged across them.  These grooves can develop broken wood edges that can introduce very long splinters into dancer's feet and other body parts that might slide across the floor (Yikes!  That hurts just writing that sentence!).  A hardwood floor requires much more vigilance (maintenance) to keep them safe from splintering.

If you are considering actually replacing your stage floor, know that there are many more details than have been discussed here that must be addressed. Your school district should understand that this is not a gymnasium floor and the knowledge base need to properly specify a replacement for it is not likely to come from an Architect unless they have a consultant that is familiar with the intricacies of performing arts facilities.  Involve someone that understands your needs in the replacement process.

------------------------------
Erich Friend
Theatre Consultant
Teqniqal Systems

Original Message:
Sent: 03-13-2018 11:09
From: David Valdes
Subject: Stage floor

This is my first year at this school but I have been a Director of Theatre for 33 years so this is not my first rodeo.  When I was hired I was told that the stage floor was going to be replaced over the summer.  When I arrived, the floor had bubbling material that could pose a real liability to anyone who used it.  However, once the year started, the floor was never touched.  I directed two shows on it and tripped and caught set pieces on it.  My first thought was to put masonite on the whole floor and be done with it - however, I am not a technical person and there is not a tech director on staff to help me decide how to move forward.  Any suggestions?  The floor seems to have a good wood base but of course I can only see the parts that have bubbled or ripped through. 

Does anyone know who I could consult or do the work?  

d

--

David Valdes

Director of Theatre

UNIVERSITY LAKE SCHOOL

4024 Nagawicka Road

PO Box 290, Hartland, WI  53029

ph: 262.367.6011 x1322   fax: 262.367.3146

em: david.valdes@universitylake.org