I'm toying with the idea of sanding and sealing our floor in the living room (small - about 20' square), but the wife wants us to get quotes from pros.
So far we've had one quote for £1,350 to "sand and seal" - is there anything extra I should get them to agree to? Eg fixing any minor holes/damage, applying treatments (other than the sealant). Oh, and what sealant's good? I'd like to specify they use decent one (or just buy it myself).
Well, were you to DIY it you could do the whole thing for not much over £120, that including hire of an industrial belt and disc sander, abrasives, stain and varnish. Depends on how you shop around.
OTOH if you do it yourself it's the weekend from hell. At least.
My thoughts are: you need to agree about who takes up the present carpet and underlay, who removes the carpet grippers, who removes any underlay staples or bangs flush any itinerant nails. Whether it costs extra if you have yukky black paint stuck to your floorboards. Whether there is any need to fill holes as you say, especially if woodworm have ascended through the gaps in the boards and you find it is like swiss cheese when you look under the carpet. Whether you need woodworm treatment ( three coats, takes days to dry, tough folks say that the advent of central heating has discouraged the little blighters these days. Whether you need to replace any floorboards because they have been smashed upby crappy workmen in the past. Whether any need relaying because the gaps vary from nothing to something a large spider could crawl up through. Whether the gaps need sealing as may well be a good idea if you have a suspended wooden floor and airbricks, as a howling gale can come up through those gaps if left alone. Arguments rage as to the best gap sealing method. Some recommend letting the gaps fill with fluff, others recommend papier mache, others sawdust and pva, whilst I recommend acrylic frame sealant.
As for varnish, use a low-vapour quick dry water-based acrylic, three coats, maybe a light sand after the first couple of coats. Do not use a tinted varnish - the first time you chip any from the floor you will clearly see bare wood underneath. Better IMO to stain if required, then varnish. Others recommend oil. Make sure your furniture does not have little metal wear pads in its feet otherwise your new floor gets lots of dimple marks in it ( mine has! )
Andy.
At that price i'd rather go and buy new tongue&groove which will probably be a damn sight cheaper and easier than sanding yourself and any pitfalls along the way.
And make sure that if SWMBO weare high heels, if the litle rubber pads wear off the bottom of her heels, you don't let her anywhere near your newly-prepared floor or you'll find that after you've lovingly fitted a stack of beautiful, reclaimed pitch-pine boards, duly undergone the 'weekend from hell' (and some) with the sanding machine, and finally varnished it all to a beautiful finish, that it will be covered with deep pock marks for evermore. :-(
Closest we've ever come to divorce I reckon...!
David
| Andy wrote: | | > OTOH if you do it yourself it's the weekend from hell. At least. | | | | > required, then varnish. Others recommend oil. Make sure your furniture does | > not have | > little metal wear pads in its feet otherwise your new floor gets lots of | > dimple marks in it ( mine | > has! ) | | | And make sure that if SWMBO weare high heels,
If someone in the house wears traditional leather shoes with nails, forget about polished wood floors.
Surely you can make the gaps between the boards of a similar size to the tips of her heals, then hopefully she will get her shoes stuck between the boards and learn fast not to wear them in there!
Mr F.
Thanks for all the tips. I'll collate and present the findings to SWMBO.
20' square is for most people a very large room.
Best idea, DIY.
You'd still probably have to sand it...
Chris Bacon wrote: [snip]
Why would it still have to be sanded?
It's very unlikely to be smooth, or flat, as put down. Boards cup, shake, shrink - however, I must say I personally don't like a very flat and glossy boarded floor....
Tsk! I'll remember not to give you a call when I'm laying new T&G. :-) I've laid new T&G in large room and the only problem I found was, the boring task of taking up the old stuff.
I bet they weren't "off the shelf" PT&G boards that are normally used... I've seen floors made with special (expensive!) timber that came out flat, but even these tend to show movement after a while.... hm?
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