For more information, go to our Installation Instructions page and click on the link for hardwood flooring. The foam used for our Pro's Choice floating hardwood flooring is a resilient foam and the weight of the furniture will be dissipated across the surface of the flooring so it will not crush. As for using the hardwood floor for dancing or as a dance studio, the surface of the floor is not designed for this and will show the wear and tear of such use. You can absolutely install our floating hardwood flooring over linoleum if the linoleum remains sound and tightly glued to the original subfloor. The only negative on oak is it's a rather porous wood, but it is a very hard durable wood, as are maple and beech.
White oak is slightly harder than red oak.
Your choice will really comes down to aesthetics. The end cap is used when neither of the other two mouldings shown will work or when you're butting up to an exterior door. No, it's not necessary to use the foam pad unless you're going over concrete. However, the existing floor must be level and sound. I plan to install hardwood flooring diagonally in short runs.