Theatre and Stage Flooring: Marley, Vinyl or a Painted Deck?

Every stage needs a floor plan for the floor itself. A drama season can run on a painted deck, a dance season needs a vinyl surface, and a touring production needs a floor that rolls out flat in every venue. This guide compares the options for theatre and stage flooring and shows where each Rosco floor fits.

Three approaches to a stage floor

Painted stage decks

Most theatres start with a painted timber deck. It is quick to touch up, can be repainted for each production and is the base that a vinyl floor goes over when a dance show comes in. Rosco Tough Prime Black is a matte floor paint and primer used on stage decks. See our stage floor paint guide, and read how one venue approached it in repainting a stage floor in Tough Prime Black.

Vinyl over the deck for dance and touring

Rosco rates four of its vinyl floors as suitable for touring and stage covering:

• Adagio Tour: 1 mm and the lightest per metre. Rosco designed it to lay flat quickly and give a good tap sound, and rates it excellent for touring.
• Duètte: 2 m wide with a glass fibre core that resists rippling from temperature changes. Excellent for touring.
• Rosco Dance Floor: 1.6 m wide, reversible and flexible enough to roll and unroll as needed. Excellent for touring.
• Adagio: the heaviest of the four, good for touring and excellent for permanent installation.

Where each Rosco floor fits

From Rosco's "Which Rosco Floor Is Right For You?" chart. Floors not listed on our site can be supplied on request.

Laying a vinyl floor on stage

The steps below follow Rosco's installation manual for a temporary, taped installation.

1. Check the deck. Remove or cover screw heads, nails and anything sharp. They can damage the floor beyond repair and injure performers.
2. Let the floor acclimatise. Allow it to reach room temperature, which matters most when rolls have travelled in a cold truck.
3. Plan the cuts. Floors traditionally run across the width of the stage, though Rosco notes seams can run up and downstage with no ill effect. Measure twice, snap a chalk line and cut with a knife and straight edge.
4. Let it settle. Leave cut pieces to lie flat, ideally overnight, before taping.
5. Tape the seams, then the perimeter. For Rosco Dance Floor, leave a 1.5 mm gap between pieces for expansion. Adagio does not need the gap. Use Rosco floor tape, which is formulated not to leave a sticky residue.

For more on taping, see our dance floor tape guide.

Tap on Rosco Adagio compared with a standard marley floor. Adagio Tour is the touring version. Video: Rosco Laboratories Inc on YouTube.

Protecting the floor during a season

• Keep street dirt off with mats at any stage door that opens to the outside.
• No food, drink or smoking on the floor, and clean up spills immediately.
• Keep sharp-edged scenery, chairs and equipment off the vinyl or protect it, as these can gouge and tear the surface.
• On tour, Rosco recommends sweeping and mopping every day with Rosco All Purpose Floor Cleaner. Never use ammonia-based cleaners, which make vinyl slippery.

Bump out and storage

Sweep the floor before rolling so grit does not get rolled into the vinyl. Peel the tape away parallel to the floor to avoid moving it. Roll each piece tightly on a solid core, such as a 75 mm (3 inch) PVC pipe, keeping the edges straight so the roll does not cone. Tape the roll closed and wrap it in polyethylene. Rosco recommends hanging Rosco Dance Floor rolls on a floor cart, and standing Adagio rolls on end.