Hi .. Because I am so new, for such an easy task I'm gonna need some help from you.
I have put an offer on a house with ugly carpet. checked underneath and its beautiful wooden floors (WHY DO PEOPLE CARPET??) anyway I can pull up the carpet I have done that before .. more the question.. how do I sand and polish the floors… is it better to get a pro in to do it? if so.. who? and how much?
I know there is a lot of questions but I am sure the experienced posters will know how to help me
Just do a search for floor sander on Google
here is an example of some professional sanders
http://www.mirrorfloorsanding.com.au/
http://www.lowesfloorsanding.com.au/
http://happyfnp.com.au/
http://latzifloors.com.au/
http://rivergumfloors.com.au/
http://www.getagleam.com.au/
http://www.homeimprovementpages.com.au/home_maintenance/Floor_SandingWant to do it yourself
see
http://www.reao.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=1816
http://www.homeatyellow.com.au/yph/page/discover/content/editorial_1203564233812878
http://www.bunnings.com.au/diy-brochure.ashx/10/How_to_sand_a_timber_floor.pdf?stateID=3
http://www.vcsproducts.com.au/index.php?controller=category&path=14_145
http://www.homebuddies.com.au/articles/show/36-sanding-and-polishing-your-floor-boards
http://www.timbercare.com.au/diy-index.php
Want to see how it is done
videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2-FHKJpy2o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HGCInB0rdg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTYWd43K8s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZR7SYgQymc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGJIFHhpE88&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlTE4BZADiM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKitrVQMyZQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LErHJVrUMig&feature=related
these are just a few of the videos available on youtube you will see many related videos on this subject that you could click on
just be mind full of bandwidth use as video uses a lot more band width on your internet usage.Haven't done it myself but I am good at research from doing University degree.
Sanders can be hired from Most Bunnings and if you look at the DIY desk/section at Bunnings you most likely will find a brochure or maybe even a DVD you can buy explaining how to do floor sanding and polishing.
Don't do it yourself, get in the pro's
It will become a part of the capital investment if you get it done now.As to why people carpet, it is easier to vacuum than mop and polish. Carpet is cheap and nothing lifts a place like fresh paint and floor coverings.
Cheers
I just had the floor polished on a reno. For three largish bedrooms, a loungeroom and a kitchen/dining room, I paid just over $2000. Get a few quotes. The price varies dramatically.
Cheers
K
Why not give it a go yourself.
Unless you are bogged down and don’t have the time, I think doing things like floor sanding yourself not only saves money but gives you good reno experience. I recently renovated a Miner’s Cottage in Townsville and was able to hire a belt sander for around $150. I was able to sand 4 rooms and the kitchen for that. Granted it was a small house, but I think the financial benefit is there if you can afford the time and are willing to give it a go.
Best of luck with it
BJ
Hi Kell,
Be mindfull that a lot of people do not like (or want) polished/exposed floors in colder areas – as it really does make a difference to the heating required, and that 'cold feeling'. So in Vic, Tassy, and parts of NSW may be better of recarpeting your place.
Cheerskell wrote:……..house with ugly carpet………… Checked underneath and its beautiful wooden floors (WHY DO PEOPLE CARPET??) anyway I can pull up the carpet I have done that before .. More the question.. How do I sand and polish the floors… Is it better to get a pro in to do it? If so.. Who? And how much?I leave the decision to polish or re-carpet for you to make.
If you decide to rip carpet off and polish here are some hints. By the way this are my hints not hearsay.When you take off the carpet take special care when you take the wooden edge off that holds it in place. Those are nailed to the floor. The nails get rusty and when you take them off they come off with a piece of your floor. If they seem hard to pull, split the wood off the nail and pull the nail gently out at the same angle it is in. If a piece of floor splits, have some good exterior glue ready and glue it back in, holding it in place with masking tape, and press it down with a small piece of wood and a weight on top. Have putty ready to apply to the inevitalbe holes and cracks. Buy from flooring suppliers, not ordinary hardware putty.Sanding: Don't do it.
Reasons: If you hire a floor sander you will get a real piece of junkthat is a drum sander. Drum sanders consist of a round barrel covered in sandpaper. Consider the skills necessary to keep a round turning drum covered in very rough paper steadily goinglifting at the exact time you need to turn or change directionand lower it wihtout diggin an irreparble channel in your floor.
The professionals buy much more expensive machines that have two drumsa lifta platform to guide it and are a breeze to use.
As for the suggestion to hire a beltsander I suppose the author means a Makita or Hitachi 4" belt sander. If you like the looks of your floor that has probably never seen a sander and is as good as brand new only probably very drydont even think about using a belt sander.
You will do such a poor job that you are likely to trip on the grooves you make. I have seen countless floors "done by the owner". In fact every thrid house that has floorbords you can look behind the door and see the trail of destruction done by hubby jobs.Having said thatif you are really desperate or can not get tradespeople in your areaor plainly don't have the moneydo the rounds of KennardsActive Hire and the like and see if you can get a decent enough machine. Take it to your friend's/ Mum/ Aunty shed and practice a bit. God knows you may learn a bit and get away with doing it yourself.Remember that sanding is only half the job. Now you must polish.
Before polish your place must be meticulously surgically vacuumed.AND THE NEXT DAY VACUUMED AGAINbecause the particles come down overnight and your vacuum is not a Kerby so the filtering is dubious at best. Shake curtains bang on light fittings brush over door architrave, window sills etc. Any particle of sawdust that sticks to your polish will swell and turn into an ugly pimple.
Now you must choose polish.There are a lot on the market however only two real choices.
Polyurethane or Tung oil. The rest is rubbish (water based enviro..mental etc) unless you want to paint your floor wash white. A good third choice.Polyurethane is a killer to apply. Fumes galore two days away from the house, feeling of having chain smoked cheap cigars from Paraguay, but if you choose satin finish is durable and ok. Hides a bit of your mistakes (not much don't get too exited) but does not allow repairs on small patches. Also needs a floor polishing machine for finish
Tung oil is easy to apply, a bit more expensive and will show every single little scratch yet you get used to the rustic look and can be re-applied anytime even on a small patch if needed.
Got a scratch? Sand it and oil it.Painting is another option easy and looks great.
Now get the yellow pages and hire a pro.If you live in Sydney avoid like the plague those that live in Lakemba and the one that live in Cabramatta even if they do the job for free or give you money to do it. You are better off sanding with sandpaper and a block and paint with a toothbrush yourself.All the best!
I agree with Marc completely ! I would never do it myself, its a real skill which you don't want to use your house to practice on. Give me carpet for IP's any-day. Floors can only be sanded so many times (maybe 2-3) then there paper thin.
One of our IP's had polished boards. They were kept in very good condition however the place was a fridge in winter.
So, the new morbidly obese tenant decided to start wearing her high heels in the house, all over the floor boards. The result was thousands of small heel dents in the timber, about a match head deep. This occurred between inspections and of course I didn't have close up photos of the floor boards in each room. Upon leaving during the final inspection she looked at me through her squinty eyes and said "it wasn't me".
We laid carpet and lino (sorry vinyl) and it came up beautiful. All for less than redoing the boards, which were irreparable.
We have laid high quality carpet in houses before by going to carpet shops and seeking out the remnants from larger jobs. Apparently there are a few McMansions that don't have imported European tiles. Some councils even allow them to carpet them. Often there is enough leftover to carpet a small house or just the bedrooms at a fraction of the cost. IP carpet doesn't have to be a perfect match.
I read somewhere that carpet can be claimed where floor sanding cant? Any help here from an accountant?thanks everyone.. much appreciated! im happy to leave it for the pros… i will be one of those 'done by the owner' jobs when it comes to finishing im not the best man for the job i can just do the ground work! ..
and for the carpet issue.. im in queensland i dont think it gets cold here!!! but take everything into consideration… will have to look at a bit more and see how it goes
enjoy your easter!
We have not long had our floors polished and overall I would say it was a disappointing experience with mixed results
We paid for it to be done by so called "professionals" and they damaged our freshly painted walls with their heavy sanding equipment, missed filling quite a number of nail holes in one area of the unit, missed a patch with the top polyurethane
coat and where they repaired a few boards after advertising their expertise at repair jobs used a board that was so dark it stands out as looking very odd!
Overall a mediocore result and I would not recommend this company who apparently have much expertise and experience in this specific area!We had them back to repair the patch but it now stand out – nothing can be done about the nail holes they missed filling as the 2 pack is now down
My advise –
If you decide on a Professional –
*Go and check out their sanding job as soon as they are done
*Then go back and check that they have filled ALL the nail holes or holes that require filling BEFORE they put the 1st coat on and go in the daylight as its often hard to see under artificial lighting
*Go back after the 2nd coat in the daylight and check it with all the windows and doors open so you can clearly see the floor and don't pay until you are completely satifiedThe last thing I would say is that whilst out boards were in pretty good condition, they were baltic pine and whilst the did polish up OK they are much much too soft and dent very easily and so we will have to use big rugs on the boards to give them some protection and also some warmth as we live down South
https://www.enviroprofloors.com.au/
Best Timber Floor Sanding & Finishing Melbourne.hbtagency | Shop for cabinet handles
https://www.doup.com.auThis is always a task best left to professionals and not for the do-it-yourself’ers. If you’ve ever looked at a floor and it looks like it has ripples or waves all across it, that’s someone who had no idea what they were doing. We almost always redo the hardwoods on our flips and rentals. If the floors are super bad as they can be in the southern us from termites and dry rot, we will patch in and then use a solid stain on the floor with 3 coats of poly on top. Not the cheap stuff either. We lose the grain with a solid stain but not the homey warmth and easy maintenance of hardwood floors.
Ricky Johnson
Phone Me
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