hardwood flooring qurestion

[JoJoYZF]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

There you go! James is volunteering!

Id let him lol. Refinishing it would be great, but I personally would just find someone to do it if youre going that route. Refinishing hardwood is not an easy, clean or fun job.

[Flexin]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

There you go! James is volunteering!

James

[tommymac]

Originally Posted by Flexin

James

So what time should I expect you

[Particle Man]

couldn't resist

['73 H1 Triple]

Originally Posted by tommymac

What about cats since we have 4 of them?

Not a problem. I redid the hardwood floors in my previous house ( random width floors , the house was built in 1874 ) and finished them with polyurethane.

Originally Posted by JoJoYZF

Id let him lol. Refinishing it would be great, but I personally would just find someone to do it if youre going that route. Refinishing hardwood is not an easy, clean or fun job.

But the satisfaction of doing it yourself can't be beat.

I borrowed my friend drum sander ( it was his grandfather's and weighed over 200 lbs ). The main key to sand with the grain and ALWAYS keep the sander moving. It will want to pull forward, so you just hold it back and steer. As you come to the end, you lift up to "feather out". By the same token, when you start, you move slightly forward as you GENTLY set it down.

The ends where you can't use the drum sander will be done with either a smaller handheld belt sander, a circular sander ( only use the portion of the sanding disk where rotation matches grain direction ) or a hand held orbital sander.

I used cloth backed abrasives ( sand paper ) as in my old house, there were literally hundreds of nails that were close to the surface. Cloth backed abrasives literally sanded them smooth ( and made cool spark patterns ). you sand with rough, medium and then smooth grits. ( the higher the number the finer the abrasive)

Then sweep the area and use a tack cloth to get the smallest particles. then apply a few coats of whatever finish you're putting down.

It is loud and dirty. Hang plastic in the hallway and a box fan blowing out would be a good idea too. Ear plugs, safety glasses and a dusk mask are highly recommended too.

Jeff

[JoJoYZF]

Originally Posted by '73 H1 Triple

Not a problem. I redid the hardwood floors in my previous house ( random width floors , the house was built in 1874 ) and finished them with polyurethane.



But the satisfaction of doing it yourself can't be beat.

I borrowed my friend drum sander ( it was his grandfather's and weighed over 200 lbs ). The main key to sand with the grain and ALWAYS keep the sander moving. It will want to pull forward, so you just hold it back and steer. As you come to the end, you lift up to "feather out". By the same token, when you start, you move slightly forward as you GENTLY set it down.

The ends where you can't use the drum sander will be done with either a smaller handheld belt sander, a circular sander ( only use the portion of the sanding disk where rotation matches grain direction ) or a hand held orbital sander.

I used cloth backed abrasives ( sand paper ) as in my old house, there were literally hundreds of nails that were close to the surface. Cloth backed abrasives literally sanded them smooth ( and made cool spark patterns ). you sand with rough, medium and then smooth grits. ( the higher the number the finer the abrasive)

Then sweep the area and use a tack cloth to get the smallest particles. then apply a few coats of whatever finish you're putting down.

It is loud and dirty. Hang plastic in the hallway and a box fan blowing out would be a good idea too. Ear plugs, safety glasses and a dusk mask are highly recommended too.

Jeff

All very good advice. Also along with the hold back and steer, dont pull too far back. Youll need to try to keep the sander as level as possible since hardwood floors do gouge easily if youre not careful.

Its all very doable, just dont rush anything and make sure to pay attention to details and it can turn out great.

[Angee]

Go to HGTV.COM and look up refinishing/painting floors...I've seen some really cool paint jobs on floors...kinda like painting paneling, it's being done more often. The only issue I've seen with pergo/bamboo/lock together flooring is if an animal has an accident it gets between the boards and stains them badly.

[dReWpY]

yes she should shave, next questions

[snobuny]

If you like the distresses look just pull the staples, clean and wax it well and see how it looks. We did this in our old house that was built the 20's when we were young and poor. It looked awesome and cost nothing.

New house we pulled up carpet and all we found was plywood.....they just don't build them like they use to.

['73 H1 Triple]

Originally Posted by snobuny

New house we pulled up carpet and all we found was plywood.....they just don't build them like they use to.

When I put my coal insert in my fireplace, I wanted to place tileon the floor. When I pulled the carpet and cut thru the plywood, I found hardwood floors.



I needed a sturdy base for the tile so a lower sub floor was required.