More questions on mesquite flooring

[todd]

In an earlier thread, I talked about getting ready to put down a mesquite floor and whether or not to put down an underlayment. (I've decided to put down a layer of 1/4" ply just in case anything ever needs to be taken up). I'm now jumping a little ahead and looking forward to the finishing. My original plan was to hire the sanding/finishing out. I've called a few area folks and I've gotten prices between $1.25-$2/sq ft to sand and finish. I've got about 565 sq. ft. of floor, which makes the midpoint cost about $1000, which doesn't really shock me. I've also got some cherry doors to put a finish on, and while looking at the Waterlox web site, I ran across their PDF on finishing floors with Waterlox. Now, everyone I've talked to wants to finish the floors with poly. Of course, Waterlox has a number of reasons why their product is better than poly. I have been reticent to finish the floor myself for a number of reasons...a) I've never done it before, b) I've never used a floor sander, and c) I've never finished anything (successfully) with poly. I've read some people who have said that using the floor sander was not that hard, especially the random-orbit variety. I've also used Waterlox on furniture projects with excellent results.

Sooooooo....does anyone have thoughts on the wisdom of a novice floor finisher tackling this project on his own? Any thoughts on using Waterlox on a hardwood floor?

todd

[nailshooter41]

todd:

You will get a lot of opinions on this, and this is mine.

Don't practice on your new floor. You can damage the floor terribly with one of those sanders. And if you have any problems with your finishing, this isn't the place to learn how to seal large areas with mulitiple coats of finish without leaving brush or pad marks, and worrying about lap lines and adhesion.

Take out all your costs from the contractor's bid you like the most.

- 3 to 4 gallons of real formulated flooring finish (do NOT think Home Depot here) at $45 a gallon

- applicator(s) - a four inch brush or 8" pad

- cleaning rags and a couple of gallons of thinner for cleanup

- cost of the sander rental

- cost of the sander belts

- rental or purchase of sander compatible dust removal equipment

- your time to go pick up the material, rent the machines, and do the work

Worse, what will you do if you are unhappy with the job? How much did you save if you have to look at a lap line in the floor or have to make excuses to everyone when they see your masterpiece? Worse, what if you have an adhesion problems or something else that you don't know about until later, and wind up having to strip sand it now or in the immediate future?

If you are an amatuer, you have already done a helluva lot of work to get this floor and subfloor down. Watch and learn from the contractor and see what you feel like doing on your next project.

For more on understanding wood flooring, check this out:

you do, good luck!

Robert

[Joe]

Todd,

A few years back I was offered twice my going rate to do the finishing on two sets of stairs I had trimmed. The home owner thought I was so meticulous in my woodwork that I would be the man for the job. I turned it down. Why? Because Finishing is a trade in itself. Finishers spend a career becoming professionals in what they do. Of course I cannot run a sander and apply a finish at the same quality level as a pro. Can you do it - Yes, of course. Will it come out better with a seasoned finisher - Of course. At the same time, its not a museum. There is certainly some value in doing it yourself and if you read a lot and listen to folks, it will probably come out pretty good.

The floors in my home? I sub'ed the sanding.

Good Luck!

PS- If you do decide to do it I would buy an extra sheet or two of plywood -(cheap stuff) to make some practice runs with the sander....to get the feel so-to-speak.

[todd]

Well, your concerns are my concerns. Unless a bunch of people come in and say "it's a breeze", I'm prepared to pay the $1000 and have someone else do it.

todd

[todd]

As I said to Joe, unless a bunch of people come in and say it's not that hard, I'm happy to spend the $1000 or so to have someone else do it. As you say, the marginal cost is much less than that since I have to buy finish, materials, etc.

todd

[Art Greenberg]

Todd,

Long ago, in our first house, SWMBO and I took on a 16 x 24 family room. It was a large addition to a tiny house, put on by the previous owner. It was poorly executed - everywhere (another story some time). The floor was 3/4 T&G red oak, stained very dark. The last foot or so in the front of the room was construction lumber (guess he ran out of oak, and didn't want to buy more). It was covered by a green shag carpet.

We tore out the construction lumber and put in matching T&G oak. We used a big drum sander and circular edge sander to get rid of the dark stain. We put down

5 coats of poly (I think it was water based, but that was 30 years ago now, I can't be sure such a thing even existed back then). I do remember hand sanding and tacking between coats on our hands and knees. It turned out GREAT.

To be honest, we'd had a little practice. The rest of the house had oak floors, under carpet. In one of the bedrooms, and the living room and hallway, we'd pulled up the carpet and refinished the floors. But those floors had not been stained, so little sanding was needed as prep for the new finish. And we'd done a lot of other stuff in that house, including finish carpentry, HVAC, plumbing and electrical, so we were emboldened by our past successes. That family room was completely changed, and we knew what we could do the job well.

Neither one of us is a construction pro. But we did it, saved ourselves some money which we could put into lighting and furniture, and it looked great.

You can do it. Go for it!

[Dan Kratville]

I was a professional house painter for 4 years. If you don't know what your doing when it comes to finishing any large area like that, let the pros do it. For $1000 I think it is totally worth it. Those guys will do it well and any screw ups will be on their heads as well as any warranty associated with the material being applied.

Dan

[todd]

Not to sound like a broken record, but I'm inclined to agree. I think if I want to practice, I'll save it for one of the small bedrooms somewhere down the road.

todd