What kind of material would suit this project?

Factual Questions
1

I practice kendo, and I’ve run into problems trying to practice in my apartment. The kitchen floor is smooth, but the ceiling isn’t high enough. I can swing a shinai on my balcony, but the old rug I have out there isn’t really smooth enough to move properly. I want to find some kind of smooth material I can lay on my porch to create the smooth surface I need.

I’m going to make a trip to a hardware store later, but I wanted to get an idea of what sort of flooring materials would do this. I’d like it to be:

  1. Portable, because I can’t make any permanent changes and I’ll eventually move.

  2. Durable, because it’s going to get damp and be exposed to Texas summer weather.

  3. Relatively inexpensive.

Any suggestions?

2

Well, I’d say some sheet linoleum might work. You can probably get balcony-sized scraps from an installer. Or you could try some 6 mil plastic (or a rug protector), but that might be too slippery.

I would say that a caveat is in order – slippery surfaces and balconies sound like a bad combination to me. Make sure that the protective wall/fencing is high enough and strong enough to prevent unintended tests of your ninja landing skills.

3

Thanks!

Don’t worry-the balcony railing is high enough to prevent me falling over in the exceedingly rare event that I would.

4

It might be too expensive, but some portable tatami mats might be ideal.