FAQ

We have two different types of barres – free-standing barres and fixed barres.  Both our PortaBarre and StudioBarre are free-standing barres.  We also have two types of fixed barres -wall mounted ballet barres or wall mounted fitness barres.

The main difference is our PortaBarre comes in a carrying case and you can take it with you anywhere, slide under your bed or stand upright in a closet. Some have been so lucky to have been able to check the barre as “sporting goods” luggage on a plane for no charge.  The other difference is the PortaBarre is available in three different lengths (4’, 9’ and 13’).  The StudioBarre has ten different lengths (4’, 6’, 8’ 9’, 10’, 12’, 14’, 16’, 18’ and 20’).  Both portable ballet barres are available in black, white or grey.  The StudioBarre also has the option of having wood barres with the black, white or grey ends.

Our free-standing barres – PortaBarre and StudioBarre are considered portable as both barres are free-standing and do not require any mounting or anchoring to the floor.  Our wall mount or fixed barres are considered permanent as these are attached to the wall or floor (depending on type of bracket you choose).

A free-standing barre is the same thing as a portable barre.  The free-standing barre is designed to be moved around easily.  The barre can be moved into place for instruction when needed and be easily relocated to the side of the walls or storage when barres are not needed.

We have had customers wanting the longest barre possible without a center support.  So, we decided to make the longest barre before requiring a center support which turned out to be 9’ in length.

Our 10, 12’, 14’ and 16’ barres have one center support and our 18’ and 20’ barres have two center supports.

All of our EnPointe free-standing barres are easy to move around.  Some of the longer barres with center supports may require two people (for ease and not because of the weight) and the shorter barres require only one person.  You don’t need moving dollies or “muscle” to move our barres.

You don’t have to worry about the width of our barres!  We have recently added a little hole at the bottom of each foot of the barres.  Such a small hole which makes such a big difference!  Now when you need to maneuver your barre through doorways or narrow areas, simply swivel each foot parallel with the overhead barres and snap into place.  This also makes it easy if space is limited and you want to move the barres against the wall, or even better, hang the barres on the wall with two of our ballet barre brackets.  This redesign was on a suggestion made from one of our customers from Japan.

Our all aluminum barres are literally a snap to put together!  Just insert the tubing and turn to snap.  You can put your barres together in seconds!  Our wooden barres require screws to keep the barres in place and take a few minutes to put together.

On occasion the snap mechanism does not “snap” and lock the pieces into place with your barre.  To make an easy adjustment, just remove the snap from tubing with a pair of needle nose pliers.  Once removed, gently pull ends a part 1” to 2” (there should be some resistance) and reinsert into tubing.  If this does not work (it should), try again pulling further apart.

Besides the obvious difference between the wood and the aluminum the choice is basically a personal preference.  Some like the warm touch of a traditional wooden barre and some like the cool feel of the aluminum barre.  Also your decorating scheme or the style may dictate what type you are looking for.  The choice is yours

The aluminum barres should last a lifetime without any maintenance.  Over the years wood barres may need to be refinished if they become tacky or the finish may rub off.  This is easily done with a good cleaning and sanding to remove any film and apply three coats of urethane or desired finish.

The ballet barre sits in a ballet bracket and the barre is secured from the bottom of the bracket with a screw.  Some call this a collared or saddle bracket.  The fitness barre bracket fully surrounds the barre, the barre slips through the bracket and secured with two hidden screws at the bottom of each bracket.  This provides the extra stability and strength needed for barre fitness.

You can use either the ballet or fitness bracket for ballet studios.  Only the fitness bracket is recommended for barre fitness.

For a ballet barre, we recommend having a bracket approximately 4’-5’ with up to a 10” – 14” extended over the end brackets.  A simple calculation is divide the length of the barre by 5, plus add one extra bracket.  For barres longer than 20’ divide the length of barre by 4.5’ and add one extra bracket.

We recommend having a bracket approximately every 4’ with little to no overhang on each end of the barre.  An easy calculation would be the length of your barre divided by four plus one extra bracket.  This should be the number of brackets needed for your barre.  Also, if joining two or more barres together to make one long barre, be sure to have a bracket at each join.  Ensure the bracket is in the middle of the join and add screw on each side.

Over time wood barres can become a little “sticky” from hand creams, and sweaty palms.  To remove the sticky residue or to prevent the barres from becoming “tacky” simply use baby wipes.  If however, the wipes cannot remove the buildup mix equal parts vinegar and water and apply solution to a cleaning cloth and wipe.  Once cleaned, wipe barre with a clean dry cloth.

No special care is required to clean your aluminum powder-coated barres.  Simply clean with baby wipes or a cleaning cloth with or without cleaning solution.

We would love to come to your location and install your barres, however, this is not practical and totally unnecessary!  Anyone with “do it yourself” knowledge and with the enclosed instructions as well as the toll free number to provide support our barres are easy to install.  We are here to support you!  Click here for barre installations.  Exception to this rule is if we are installing your dance floor, at this time, we can also install your barres.

We can handcraft any length of barre.  If you do not see the desired length, please contact us and we will provide a quote.

To create a double barre simply order two of the same size of barres and mount one over top of the other barre.

We have one freestanding barre which can be adjusted by replacing different size legs.  This is called our Adjustable PortaBarre.  It’s basically the same design as our PortaBarre.  For more information check out.

We do not sell adjustable brackets.  We have listened to our customers concerns about brackets they have past from other suppliers, we have decided not to sell these.

Locating long lengths of good quality wooden dowel is a challenge.  If we do manage to find a long length the barre can be warped or not have the characteristics we are looking for.  Also, the longest barre we can ship economically is 9’ long.  This does not stop you from having your 80’ length of barre (or any other desired length for that matter).  We simply make our barres in such a way that they join without tools.  When the barre is joined there are no gaps.  Click here and check out our specification sheet.

We try and keep a large inventory on hand for our standard sizes and ship within days of receiving your order.  If however, you are ordering during our busier times (August, September and December) or if you have a custom size, it can be several weeks before we can ship.

We have designed several types of floor mount brackets for those types of challenges.  Our floor mount brackets are available to accommodate a single or double barres.  This is the perfect solution for in front of mirrors, windows or other obstacles.

The recommended height of a single or top barre is 42” to 45” from the floor. For double barres, recommended height is 32” to 35” from the floor. RAD suggestions for examinations are “two heights, of approximately 102cm (40.16”) and 115cm (45.27”) are recommended but not essential”.

The best way to describe barre fitness is taking some of the form of yoga and flexibility of pilates, choreographed to music while using a barre. Barre fitness focuses on improving flexibility, posture, building your core, while building lean muscles at the same time. A little bit like an exercise class and dance wrapped up together.

If you have any questions that have not been answered, please do not hesitate to contact us either by email or phone 1-866-491-9019.

Solid surfaces such as concrete floors are not resilient and can cause bodily injury to dancers.  The Sprung flooring provides the resiliency needed to prevent shin splints and ligament injuries most commonly attributed to rigid surfaces.

An appropriate sprung dance floor should always be used to provide a safe environment for both teacher and student.

Sprung flooring is ideal for all types of dance and exercise such as Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Ballroom, Modern, Hip Hop, Pilates, Yoga, Aerobics and Theatre.

Dance sub floors are also referred to as a sprung floor, as they provide resilience.  Dance sub floors are also sometimes referred to as floating floors as most of them are not attached directly to the concrete or hard wood foundation.

The EnPointe dance floor is only a subfloor, not a finished surface.  The unfinished MDF surface is not recommended for dancing.  We recommended finishing the EnPointe subfloor with one of a variety of dance flooring products that we supply.

The panel measures 4’ x 4’ which equals 16 sq ft.  Panels are 2” high.

The panel weights approximately 50 lbs.

See attached specification sheet for flooring panel

Twenty five Santoprene rubber cushions specifically designed for the sprung floor provides the spring in one EnPointe floor panel.

Each pre-manufactured panel is made of a medium density fibreboard (MDF).

The panels are easily handled by one person but for laying the floor two people can work more effectively.

The precision machined panels have been groved (1/8” wide x 9/16” deep along all four edges.   Aluminum 1” x 1/8” thick by 46” long spline strips are inserted in the groove of the panels to secure the panels together.  Panels are laid brickwork style so that panel joints gain strength.

We supply ventilated edging for permanent or semi-permanent floors.  The ventilated edging is attached to the floor around the existing walls.  The edging is not attached to the walls.

The ventilated edging is available in black, grey or white.

Sweep and clean area where the sprung floor is to be installed.  Base floor should be dry and level.

Prior to laying the floor panels a damp-proof layer of 6mil polyethylene sheeting is recommended on the floor surface.

You will need a pencil, tape measure, safety glasses, level, rubber mallet, #2 Robertson (square) bit and a cordless drill.  If customizing panels to fill an entire room from wall to wall or to install around columns or other obstacles you will require an electrical saw.

Yes, most of our suppliers will sell master rolls of flooring and you can save money on the flooring and perhaps on the shipping as well.

We do not recommend that you attached the floor panels to the existing floor or walls.  The weight of the panel as well as the ventilated edging surrounding the outside of the sprung dance floor will be sufficient to hold the panel into place.

If the room is only slightly out of level the panels will follow the contour of the room.  If the room is completely out of level you should use a laser level to ensure a level floor.  Shim appropriate rubber cushions to create an even floor.

A transition piece joins two different levels of flooring together.

Most local building codes require a compliant ramp at any change of floor height.  Please consult local building codes for requirements in your area.

Flooring packages can be shipped out within 2-4 weeks of placement of order.  Grey ventilated edging and ramping could take up to 3-5 weeks.

Flooring package is sent as freight.  EnPointe flooring panels are shipped in crates, approximately 33 panels per crate, weighing up to 1650 lbs.  Delivery is generally made from a dock height (48” tall) truck.  Prior arrangements can be made for a lift gate to deliver to ground level or loading docks lower than 48”.  Delivery is normally made to a street address but not inside.  You should arrange for moving the pallets inside and to your space.  This may mean unpacking the pallets and carrying the panels or transporting to carts.

The EnPointe Flooring Package is guaranteed by Enpointe Enterprises to be free from manufacturing defects in both material and workmanship.  If a shipment arrives and appears that there is external damage to crates and/or other containers that shipment be refused.  EnPointe Enterprises recommends that upon arrival and prior to installation that a thorough inspection of all product be taken.  If a defect or inefficiency be discovered the customer must notify EnPointe Enterprises immediately after the defect is discovered.  EnPointe Enterprises extends a 5 Year Warranty for any defect in materials (water damage does not apply).

Complete instructions are included with the Flooring Package as well as a template layout for panels and sprung floor cushions.  A toll free number is also included with directions if help is required.