in our current house we paid =A3400 to have about 35 sq m of floor sanded and varnished. We now want to do our new (Victorian) house which has about 120 square metres. We are considering doing it ourselves.
You seem to be able to hire a sander for about =A330 a day.
Are there any hidden pitfalls to doing this ourselves?
many thanks,
Robert
It is very, very messy !
A couple of houses ago we sanded the hallway and the front room
- both had rather nice original oak parquet flooring..
It was hard as nails - and we got through lots of the sanding sheets
- and filled the place with sawdust!
It's quite a fiddle to get a decent finish around the edges (there's another rotary sanding tool for doing this with)
You'll need to drive the nails below the final surface fo the floorboards, otherwise they'll rip the sanding sheets to pieces.
I think if I was to do it again I wouldn't - might be simpler if you're only sanding pine floorboards - but it'll still be messy!
Good luck! Adrian
Were you using belt sander ?
RDo it before you move *anything* into the house.
It's fairly hard work and very, very dusty.
You know how fit you are, whether you can lift the machine around etc (30Kg-ish). If you have respiratory problems or significant back problems, you might want to give it a miss.
Otherwise it's not particularly demanding on skill, but to get a high standard of finish does require you to be meticulous - retract every nail, secure anything that's loose, repair any damaged boards *before you start sanding* and then get all the dust out before you start varnishing.
One person can completely sand 2 rooms a day, including all the edging
- if you're less meticulous, and really go for it, maybe double that.
I did a two-room job once when I had serious RSI (couldn't write with either arm). That was very far from being fun 8-( (friends, I'd promised it to them long in advance)
Fourty quid (yes, really) on some _good_ antivibration gloves is worth it (try Arco, Screwfix's are crap).
Otherwise search this newsgroup, the topic is a regular.
Half that if it's 1930s and you've got that wide border of tarry paint around where a rug would have been. Also double the amount of coarse paper you get, and make sure there's a rubber block handy for cleaning the sheets before they clog.
Pitfalls ...yes.giving yourself a lot of hard work and grief for saving yourself some money ....The cost of the hire of a sander and an edging sander,cost of sanding sheets ,then you have to pay for a coating and you might need masks depending on what you use ..and you need to get it right otherwise that means more expense .Is it really worth it?
I have had 2 or 3 rooms done ( pine boards) by a local company and they used modern sanders ( Swedish make I think) and I was gobsmacked at how little mess they made .They said these sanders are the best in the business . The rooms were completely cleared by me and I checked for protruding nails etc ( and the guys did as well to make sure) and I left them to it .Noisy it was though .They used a Two-Pack stuff by Morrells ( they used masks) 2 coats put on with a roller and it stinks to high Heaven but gives a good finish ( matt) ..especially the last stuff they used ...mebbe a more up to date product ....and it dries very quickly . Well worth paying the money .
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Don't use the sale-or-return sanding sheets supplied by the hire company. You can buy them far more cheaply from Screwfix. As others have said, search the uk.d-i-y archive on google groups, there's loads of useful advice there.
Yes! - for the big areas, and the disk-sander-on-wheels for round the edges...
Messy !
Adrian
Sometimes the worms heave been eating the boards under the surface, and your sanding exposes the worm tunnels and basically totally ruins the floor. Sanding is rarely necessary for domestic houses, cleaning and repairing as needed is far easier and gives a great finish.
NT
Modern floor sanders are pretty easy to use. I know of at least two couples who have done 3/4 rooms in a weekend without a problem, and there is no way that can be achieved without the machinery. The only advice I'd give is to spend time going through the grits. It's tempting to slap the varnish down as soon as it all looks clean and feels smooth, but the minor imperfections (cross board scratches etc) only show up after the finish has been applied, by which time it's too late.
yes, there is. I've done it. Mop, bucket, a little patience and some spot repairs, and if you have black gloop, spot sanding. Its way easier than a full sanding job, and the finish was excellent. A lot less work, cost and risk.
NT
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