Studio Cyclorama Flooring Material

[kalibre]

Hi all,

I've been in hiding for a bit, but I'm glad to say my new studio is nearly ready for launch; the only last remaining feature is completing the cyclorama. It's a good size at 4.5m high and 15m long including the sides, but I've yet to construct the floor and am having a little wobble on the material choice. I was wondering if those with existing experience could lend any advice?

The existing Sub-floor is a heavily glued (but luckily flat) carpet with basically no pile. This will be built onto direct as it cannot be painted or easily removed. I want to have the new floor painted white (and an area in green but that's another subject) but be able to withstand lots of traffic without significant pitting or damage.

Thoughts so far:

PLY = Cheap, but not smooth. Likly to dent also.
MDF = Smooth finish but I'm worried it may also dent and pit quite easily
MDF/PLY with poured latex top layer = I'm thinking this will stand up to abuse but will be more complex to ensure a perfectly flat pour and marriage with the curved edges.
LATEX/CONRETE/ACRYLIC POUR = This could only be up to 2cm to marry with the curved edges. Not sure how viable this is.

Thoughts appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[rjbell]

Could use the tungue and groove partical floor boards then a couple of coats of epoxy floor paint. Would be the cheapest option.

 

[kalibre]

Could use the tungue and groove partical floor boards then a couple of coats of epoxy floor paint. Would be the cheapest option.

Thanks for the suggestion. My concern with the epoxy is whether it is paintable? As it would need to be the same matt/flat white used on the walls and curves.

 

[rjbell]

Thanks for the suggestion. My concern with the epoxy is whether it is paintable? As it would need to be the same matt/flat white used on the walls and curves.

You buy it in whatever colour you like. Not sure if you can get a Matt version though.

 

[rjbell]

Or use heavy duty vinyl flooring like altro this is used in factories, warehouses, hospitals etc.. very hard wearing.

 

[kalibre]

Or use heavy duty vinyl flooring like altro this is used in factories, warehouses, hospitals etc.. very hard wearing.

Thanks, again though the colour match would be a concern as those floors cannot be painted as they are designed to be stain resitent I believe.

 

[rjbell]

Thanks, again though the colour match would be a concern as those floors cannot be painted as they are designed to be stain resitent I believe.

Couldn't you use it on the floor and walls?

But back to your original idea I'd rather use ply than MDF. Birch is pretty smooth and less prone to dent than mdf although you can also get hdf which would be less prone to denting. However if it gets wet it's f***ed.

 

[Ian Boichat]

Ours is concrete but then it didn't need to go on top of carpet. Whatever you put down you can bank on painting it regularly - particularly the floor. MDF absorbs lots of paint even if you seal it, will need 4-5 coats to start with. I guess it depends on how long your lease is, will you ever need to revert back to the carpet?

 

[sk66]

In your situation I would probably go with cheap "floating" laminate flooring... it's a high density MFD with a formica type top layer. Use glue when assembling and then go over it with a pour/squeegee type epoxy floor paint for leveling/finish (to fill in the seams/texture).

 

[kalibre]

Couldn't you use it on the floor and walls?

But back to your original idea I'd rather use ply than MDF. Birch is pretty smooth and less prone to dent than mdf although you can also get hdf which would be less prone to denting. However if it gets wet it's f***ed.

The walls are already plasterboard and hardboard for the curves, these will be plastered. The entire space needs painting in a matt paint and be able to be repainted regularly, so I don't think vinyl will work in that instance.

Ours is concrete but then it didn't need to go on top of carpet. Whatever you put down you can bank on painting it regularly - particularly the floor. MDF absorbs lots of paint even if you seal it, will need 4-5 coats to start with. I guess it depends on how long your lease is, will you ever need to revert back to the carpet?

The lease still has 3 years on it and there is no requirement to revert to the original carpet so I'm not concerned if it's trashed. Concrete would be the best finish, but it's difficult with the carpet. This is why I'm err'ing towards partical or MR-MDF as a base later and then a latex application for the last few MM to get the smooth paintable finish.

In your situation I would probably go with cheap "floating" laminate flooring... it's a high density MFD with a formica type top layer. Use glue when assembling and then go over it with a pour/squeegee type epoxy floor paint for leveling/finish (to fill in the seams/texture).

Interesting idea, it's definitely worth considering, thanks.

 

[MidnightUK]

Is it worth seeing if any specialists can remove the carpet? Might save a lot of issues in the long run.

 

[droj]

Mdf has a hard skin as well as being smooth, but the joins would be a problem and would tend to telegraph through any finish. Thus an edge-glued t&g flooring product might seem to be more advisable ...