What is the difference between a “fixed” and a “floating” wood floor system?
A. Fixed wood floor systems consist of strip maple flooring laid on a subfloor that is fastened to a concrete slab. The fixed-system subfloor can be sleepers anchored to concrete, planks fastened to sleepers anchored to concrete, plywood anchored to concrete, steel channels, steel channels with nailing strips, etc. Fixed-system athletic floors are generally more resistant to humidity and water damage than floating-systems, because moisture-induced expansion forces must be much greater to make them buckle. They reduce the likelihood of “dead spots” occurring in the floor, making their response under impact of athletes and basketballs more uniform. They are not very resilient, which is a serious shortcoming given what we know today about the physiological needs of young athletes. Floating floor systems have the same maple playing surface. The subfloor, however, incorporates pads or springs, and the entire system simply rests on the concrete slab, i.e. it “floats”;. Floating-systems are g
