Does anyone have any tips for how best to sand and seal or polish floorboards?
Thanks
PKThere is the easy way and the not so ewasy way.
Easy way is to pay a professionalto come in and do it for you.
Or go to your local hire place. Hire a large floor belt sander and an orbital floor sander. With the belt sander always run with the grain of the timber and keep the machince moving at an even pace as you move it along. The orbital will do the bits close to walls and the like. Once youu have the floor sanded vacum it. Then get a good quality floor polyurethane and harned additive. Applicators are lanbs wool, just dip it in and spread evenll in line with the grain. Wait for it to dry ( at least 24 hrs) and hit it again with the poly urethane. Last one I did was 4 coats and I sanded by hand with smooth paper between coats. I used Cabots “wall, floor and parktry” with additive hardner. !4sq house costed about $600 to do. Lokked Mickey Duck.
Dave
After seeing many botched jobs I wouldn’t dream of doing it myself. This is the are where I wouldn’t try to save a few dollars.
Having said that, if you are confident in ouy ability then Bunnings run some info sessions and hire the equipment out.
All the best,
Simon Macks
Mortgage Broker
http://www.mortgagehunter.com.au
0425 228 985Comments may not be relevant to individual circumstances. If you intend making any investment, financial or taxation decision you should consult a professional adviser.
PurpleKiss,
Get some quotes from professionals before you do a homejob. I have seen some hatchet do it yourself attempts, and you would have to wonder if a tenant would tolerate it.
We had pro’s do our floors a few years ago, and it cost less than you would expect. Mini has also put a post on here about floorboards and how much it cost. The cost is pretty similar to doing it yourself.
kay henry
Purplekiss,
My neighbour and I have mirror-image, 99 year old houses. Together we sanded and polished the floors of two rooms in both houses and our halls. Although it was the second least enjoyable renovation job I’ve done to date, over a four day long weekend, the results were fantastic. Fortunately, he has a friend who is a professional floor sander, so we were able to use his equipment for a reduced amount (also a two houses for the price of one type deal).
The cutting in was a killer (on the back) but the skirting boards had been removed to be stripped so we were able to finish right to the edge.
Siacci’s advice is great. Don’t forget to punch in all the nails before you start sanding. Best advice in the world to do this is to hijack the kids skateboard, plant your butt and roll the length of the floor as you go.
Good luck if you decide to do it. With care, the results will be very satisfying.
Only other advice – long, hot bath at the end of each day.
I got my floors done professionally. For the price he chgarged there is no way I would do it myself. He did a great job and the was prepared to wait and pay more than market rent because the place had polished floorboards.
The brother of a friend of mine did it himself and left the windows open while he applied the polish. It ended up like walking on carpet and he had to do it again.
Even then it does not look any good – I am told.
I tried to do the sanding, but it’s too hard – had a handyman with experience do it, then I did the varnishing.
This was very easy, with a soft broom and a semi gloss floor varnish.
The floors look a million dallars.We recently finished sanding the floors in a 4 bedroom house (it was huuuuggggeee). The quote for a professional come in at just a touch over $5000. We did it ourselves for about $600 and it looks sensational. We asked around a few places for advice and found a really good place (Paintright – they supply the stains and vanish for the professional guys). The equipment they leased and everything was excellent quality and they knew what they were talking about (unlike my experience with places like Bunnings where the guy maybe a 16 year old part timer who really knows nothing) It took about 3 weekends to sand, clean and coat (4 coats) everything.
The big tip given to me was vacuum clean lots and before you start putting on the vanish – make sure you get a woman to clean the place cos guys just have no idea how to clean properly!!!! He was right – I cleaned the place and then my wife did it properly!
Hi Purple,
It is hard work,but well worth doing it yourself.If you have some DIY nouse and patience,it isn’t that hard.Just don’t decide half way through that it is too hard,or say “that’s good enough”,b/c you will kick yourself.Put all your effort in to it.And go with Malachii’s thoughts….Bunnings is full of school boys and those that couldn’t make it in their trade,so I wouldn’t ask them for the time of day.Here is a copy of a post from last year,and you won’t get better advice than this!
boods99
Member [16 posts]
Posted 12/10/2003, 19:29:09
hey there, im a timber flooring guy so i will try to help.
if you have lifted carpet, vinyl etc,..the boards shoud be quite flat already.a drum sander will get the floor flat while you will have to go over the floor with a rotary sander with various grades of fine paper to get a very smooth finish. coating should be done only after applying a sealer ( this will stop the coating from soaking in too much to the timber and give you a “blotchy” look.) then two coats of polyurethne coating will bring the floor up nicely. This coating is solvent based so you will need a respirator mask. On the other hand you can use a water based coating but it is harder to get a good finish while costing you a lot more to buy.
feel free to emial me with any questions
Also, timber floors where never supposed to be extremly consistent in colour so just relax, enjoy the colour variations.boods99
Member [16 posts]
Posted 12/10/2003, 20:06:20
unfortunatly the person who painted your floor has made your life harder!!
PERSISTANCE First you get all the paint off with a drum sander which i imagine you have started to do. The paper you are using is way too fine to strip paint. you should use a 16 or 20 grit. this will really bite in and get the paint off. Then use a rotary sander ( a little difficult to use to start with but you should get the hang of it )start with 60 grit and keep working up to about 120 grit if that is the desired finish you want. after you rotary you whoud apply the sealer. this is done with a roller just like painting. ( remember the face mask …very important ) then you can apply you first coat of poly coating after a couple of hours or so ( the sealer dries very quickly )
this has to be left for about 15 hours. you then have to go over the floor with the rotary sander again a key in the surface ( so the next coat bonds to the first ) this time you use a screenbak disk of about 320 grit. Now you are ready for your final coat. It is applied just like the rest of them ( with a roller on a pole ) but you have to make sure you dont have any misses. 24 hours later …….you can start living on it!! Also, dont listen to everything that guys from bunnings tell you as they probably are just guessing themselves!!( however there is always an exception to the rule!!)
GOOD LUCK
reply if you have any more questions!
boods99
Member [16 posts]
Posted 12/10/2003, 22:01:40
enduser…you are very correct, however, the edger is probably one of the most difficult sanders to use and to somebody who has never used one before, i am almost certain more damage will be done than good. Use a normal everyday orbital sander with coarse paper to get to the edges, alternatively, you can hire a squar buff which is just an orbital on steroids…it defends upon the size of the job. Also, something i forgot to mention before- always vacuum the entire area before and after fine sanding.Regards,Tools
Hi there,
If you get a professional to quote you… ask him if you can look at his last 3 jobs. Even if this means you just look in the windows if property is vacant. If he just gives you the addresses and people are living there, knock on the door and ask to look.
I’ve had 2 properties done now and have the name of a really top bloke (if I can find his card), his English is shot, but he’s old school.
Punching nails in is a must, but remember to get a putty one shade lighter because once varnish goes on it get’s darker (unless you like the look).
I have 2-pak poly eurethane on. The first seeps into wood, 2nd starts to coat, 3rd glides as gloss. My floors have 6!!! coats of gloss on, because we like a mirror finish. Costs heaps extra but worth it and much easier to keep clean.
I could go on and on about this topic, but I think most things have been covered.
If it’s for a reno, do it quick and cheap, for tenanting purposes it still comes up spiffy even if your not professional at it. However, if the job isn’t done properly (like all prep work in any reno situation) it makes it harder when next redoing the job.Cheers
Sooshie
When a problem is created the solution is created simultaneously
Must do’s
i) earmuffs- how many thousand bangs in a vacant loud room do your ears want to hear. Likewise with the eye protection and face mask.
ii) Use a shovel to rip up the old bits of wood with nails on them holding the edges of the carpet near the skirting boards.
iii) Just got our floors done, but we should have really ripped up our old shitty skirting boards first. THen, sanding would have gone all the way past the new boards and looked much better. Then again, I may just have to replace the old skirting boards with wider, fatter ones.
Thanks everyone, appreciate your time and ideas with this.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
