Installing a Dance Pole on a Sagging Dance Floor

kirkthomas8420 started this discussion · 9/19/2017

I finally managed to get myself a dance pole recently so I can partake of learning to pole dance, but I have run in a slight kink. I live in an old building where the floors sag a slight bit. It isn't a lot, but it is enough to make the base of the pole to have some play while the top part is tight. So, I am debating on ways to deal with safely shimming up the bottom. One idea is to get a rubber workshop matt to put below it so there is a bit more give between the base and the floor or making a shim out of some type of material to make up the different. (I don't think wood shims would be a very good for this.) I think I have some old Marly dance floor roles somewhere that might work as shims if I cut it and layer it right... I am sure other people deal with non-ideal environments for installing their poles, such as old apartments or houses. What solutions have you found for sloping or sagging floors?

5 replies

Veena · 9/20/2017
Is there any other spot you could put it? If the floor is sagging enough to make the pole uneven I don't know of any quick fix. Hopefully someone else will. You could try posting on our Studioveena FB group too. https://www.facebook.com/groups/
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StrangeFox · 9/20/2017
I'd be very, very nervous installing on an un-even floor. If you're installing a pressure mounted pole like an x-pole, the pressuer exerted by the pole could make the floor more uneven in time, which will lead to your pole becoming even more unstable. I'm not sure if installing a dance platform/stage would work in your case. If you bought your pole from X-Pole, you should definitely contact X-Pole support. They are super helpful and respond really quickly. They might have some suggestions on how you can safely install your pole. Congrats on purchasing your new pole! I know it kind of sucks to discover your pole space is not ideal!
kirkthomas8420 · 9/20/2017
I am pretty nervous about installing it on uneven floor, so I will be trying it in a few other spots in my apartment, once my downstairs neighbors are up for the day. Hopefully, I can find a spot that is more even. I was hoping to use my spare bedroom as a dance/workout space, but I might have to move part of my home office or living room into that spare bedroom. All the floors in the apartment have some degree of sag/settling, my bedroom having the worst along with a popcorn ceiling. The only total no-sag area would be the hallway, but that isn't enough room to move or practice. If I can't find a way to make it work out in my apartment, there is a place that rents out storage/office/studio space a little over a mile away in an old factory building, but it isn't in the best part of the neighborhood and I really have not looked at those spaces to see if the floors are even and how high the ceilings are. Unfortunatly, they are a bit on the pricey side. It is a presure pole, but not an x-pole. I picked up the no-brand one from polefitnessdancingshop.com. One of these days I will probably pick up an x-pole for a second pole. That said, the no-brand pole is pretty solid. We will see what today brings and if I will find a workable space to put it or a workaround to make it stable.
kirkthomas8420 · 9/20/2017
Success!!! It wasn't the floor that was the issue. It was the ceiling. The ceiling had been repaired after some roof issues a couple of years before I moved in. That gave it a bit of a hump around the center of the spare bedroom where they repaired, shored up, and replaced that part of the ceiling. That was enough to throw things off. So, it felt tight to the ceiling, but I was only paying attention to the wiggle at the bottom because I was expecting the floor to be a problem. I've installed it successfully in the living room. So, the moral of the story is to look for wiggles at the top and bottom of a dance pole and to not install new toys after an 11 hour shift. The obvious will be missing. Thanks everybody!
StrangeFox · 9/21/2017
Woohoo! So glad you got it installed! :) Yeah, I tried installing mine after a full day of work and my pole class and I managed to mess up by not installing it directly under a joist...it pushed the ceiling up a bit and after a couple of uses it slid out of place when I did a chair spin! XD I was pretty horrified and didn't think I'd ever feel safe on my pole, but I invert on it now and everything. I've grown to trust it. :) If you really want to install it in the spare bedroom you can check and see if your brand of pole sells permanent mounts, although I'm not sure if that would help.