[Username10]

Ok so I’ll be off until may 1st when Pennsylvania goes back to work. I want to remove our carpet and refining the hardwood floors in our dining room and living room and tiny hallway. About 500 sf. If things go well maybe I’ll tackle the bathe and kitchen too.

My question is how long might just the sanding take? My builder friend said 2 days but i want to make sure as I’m planning on using a rental.

Btw, he recommended sanding in a diagonal with respect to the wood grain.

I have radiators. I figured just try to scrape and sand around them as best i can.

 

[Old Thomas]

Sanding 500 square feet without edging takes hours, not days. I have done it but I am not in that business. I would sand on day 1 and edge on day 2. I would rent both for 2 days or each for a day. Go with the grain. In all the sanding I have been a part of, including being a public school administrator and having gym floors sanded, I have never heard of not sanding with the grain.

 

[carpdad]

Returning the sanders then the screening machine, vacuuming, moving the furniture, waiting for the finish to dry between and at the end, all take time. Scraper is a must, esp if you don't remove base molding. The base corners also. Will be impossible to get under the radiator. I mean castiron radiator. Try to scrape as well as you can (steel blade with long handle) but the finish will not be same tone. Try to match rest of the floor (how much wood removed) at least 2" in and around the feet. If you mean baseboard heating, edger should get most of it under there.

 

[ron45]

Let's get a look at the floor before jumping to conclusions.

Has the floor been done before, if so, how much meat is left to work with.?

How hard of a sanding does it need will determine the right machine for the job.

I can't find the other thread it explained it all.

 

[Username10]

I’m avoiding the very important possibility that the floor may have no meat left. If i were smart and patient I guess I’d pull the closet carpet first to check. Once i pull the carpet up i guess I’ll be forced to replace the carpet if there’s no meat left. I’m thinking the best way to check is by examining the floor where it meets the shoe mold or baseboard and even the wall underneath the baseboard in the event it was actually removed prior to the previous refinishing.

You’ve got to wonder, if it’s covered with carpet, maybe they ran out of meat.

If there’s no meat left what are my options? Will it take longer to minimally remove the clear coat and stain since I’d be forced to be more delicate? Would i use a different machine? Or just different sand paper.

 

[mark sr]

Floor sanding for refinishing is done in stages, a coarse grit to get it level and remove the existing coating, then switching to finer grits to make it look nice. IMO it's better for a novice to use a large orbital sander. They are slower but it's harder to mess the floor up. A drum sander is efficient but it's possible to ruin the floor in short order if not run properly.

 

[Username10]

Yes i get that. I’ve heard how it happens easily. To me it’s a concentration thing. Release or engage sander while standing still and your f****d. Problem is, too many average homeowners don’t take that one simple error serious enough. It’s similar to the basic rule never aim a weapon at a human unless you’re willing to take a life. People generally don’t have that kind of self control or discipline sadly.

 

[Old Thomas]

How old is it? Is it 3/4” thick? Mine was built in the early 1900s and is 3/4” oak. It was sanded when new but minimally. The previous owner sanded it in 1945. I sanded it in 1985 and had it sanded again in 2015. There is still meat on its bones.

 

[Username10]

Well the house was built in 37. It’s a sears catalog house. I assume the hardwood floors were installed then. Instead of measuring the thickness, i pulled a corner of the carpet and looked for a sand ridge near the edge of the shoe mold and base and wall. There’s no curve whatsoever! I can’t believe the floor has never been refinished. Well it’s full steam ahead tomorrow evening with the drum sander. My wife works at home so I’m waiting until 4:30 to commence sanding. I’ll start first thing by loading cardboard boxes with nick knacks and moving furniture and pulling carpet and tack strips and ALL nails and staples. The finish looks like shellac so i think i have to do something special with the sandpaper like break off build up but that might be with polyurethane. Ill ask the rental place.

Also, i asked the rental place about sanding diagonally and he first said with the grain but my builder friend said diagonal helps to ensure evenness in the event the floor is wavy. Makes sense?

Also, I’m going to use the grits recommended by the rental but would anyone care to give a second opinion?

 

[mark sr]

Nothing wrong with sanding at an angle on the first pass but after that you should go with the direction of the grain.


I used to have a friend that had a house from the same time period. His subfloor was oak laid diagonally with a finish oak flooring laid on top of it. He had central heat/air installed and the HVAC guys had a time cutting in vents thru the floor. It's possible that your oak floor was put down with carpet over it and never had the wood finished.

 

[Username10]

Oh thank you maybe that’s exactly what the builder meant by saying sand at an angle. It makes sense to utilize the angle sanding to aid in leveling and then switch to with-the-grain sanding when performing the fine finishing. Thank you very much.

Yes there is a subfloor planking but I’m guessing it’s pine but i don’t know. It could be oak. There’s a couple plans here from that era that used what’s called junior beam flooring for the first floor where junior I beams were placed and concrete was used for the first floor. I’ve heard that can be a pain as well.

My house was likely built with the boiler system it currently has now. So just holes drilled for the pipes.

Also, an interesting detail is the dining room, living room kitchen and tiny hallway are oak while the bedrooms and bathroom are pine. Assuming it’s a cost cutter and the pine is adequate for shoeless scenarios and also the builder may figure it’ll likely be covered with carpet anyway so why incur the expense.


Thank you for your input. Wish me luck. I’m starting today.

 

[Username10]

Well the good news is the floors were certainly only sanded once and only on the perimeter and only the perimeter was finished and with shellac. The bad news though is the wood looks a little too dark for my liking but I’m just going to take whatever natural look i get. Thank you for following. Comments welcome.

 

[carpdad]

Maybe shellac was amber and it darkens over time. So does oak. 2nd sanding should reveal lighter wood.

 

[Username10]

Oh it hasn’t been sanded yet. What you’re seeing is where the carpet was and only the perimeter was finished.

 

[mark sr]

It used to be commonplace yrs ago for the rug to only cover the middle of the floor with just the perimeter being finished.

 

[Username10]

Yes I’m a painter and we do that when the stairs are being carpeted California style (up the middle). It saves us a little time in having to finish the whole tread.

The sanding is going great except the 60 grit clogged up and i ran out of 60 so i can’t finish tonight. I’m hoping the rental place cuts me a break. Also, I’m kinda surprised how slow it’s going and I’m considering trying a heavier grit. I’m also surprised how easy it is to not damage the floor. Everyone really had me scared. But at the same time m just surprised it doesn’t eat through quicker. They told me 2 sheets of each grit per room [email protected],[email protected],[email protected] The rooms are only 12x12 roughly and i should have gotten more just to be safe. And WOW sandpaper ain’t cheap ! Over $100 for two rooms. Oh well I’m really pleased with the finished look! They look brand new! Not at all what i expected with the amber look and 90 year old floors!

 

[Username10]

Oh almost forgot. My boss has some leftover latex sealer from his floor. I’m wondering if you like latex over oil finish. I don’t want to wait for dry time and i don’t want the smell but I’m wondering what latex is like to refinish in ten years or whatever. I’ll probably have the finish longer though so I should be fine.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

Before considering a heavier grit, dampen a small area with water or mineral spirits etc. to see what you have. Once heavy sandpaper is used sometimes it's hell to remove those sanding marks with a finer paper.

 

[Username10]

Thank you. Well if i can see it dry wouldn’t i see it more when it’s wet? Also, is there a way to tell if I’m going too low on the spot because if hit it at least 5 times as much as the normal areas and surprisingly it still feels smooth and no major depth changes are even noticeable. I’m wondering how it will look though once there’s a finish on it and the light hits it at an angle. Smooth seems to be the most important thing but i don’t know.

 

[mark sr]

Water based poly/varnish goes on milky but dries clear. It does very little to change the look of the wood other than give it a sheen. Oil base poly darkens the colors naturally in the wood and will amber some as it ages. Personally I prefer the look/durability of oil base. Some of the water based polys are supposed to be a lot more durable than they they used to be. I don't have much experience with the water based polys.