How To Sand Final Grain Floors And Why It Should Be Left To A Professional Hardwood Flooring Installer

Well, today’s DIY enthusiasts like to push the barrel and try new things. Here is a guide to help those who are deemed fit.

Rule number one: make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew. Keep the area you want to do to a minimum, so start small, a closet or hallway, and then expand to a larger room at a later date. Remember that end grain floors require up to ten times more sanding than normal fiber floors. So rule number two is to make sure you have the right machinery and the right sandpapers to get the job done. You’ll need a professional floor sander, an 8- to 10-inch self-leveling belt machine, a 6- to 8-inch edge sander, and a screen sander. When laying the flooring, try to ensure that there is very little difference in height between the blocks. This will save a lot of time later when sanding. If there is more than 2mm, it will take a long time to sand, so it is better to make sure the subfloor is flat before installing it.

Okay, the floor is flat, there are not too many bumps and bumps, it has the correct machinery. Start by sanding with the floor belt sander with 50 grit sandpaper, going over the floor in all our directions. Always sand in a straight line from furthest point to furthest point, starting in the corner and going across the floor from one side of the room to the other. Then turn around and do the opposite as far as you can reach, always watch out for cables of course. Hopefully after this the floor should feel flat to the touch, if you don’t do the same thing again depending on how flat the floor was to start with this could take 10-15 more tries, hopefully not. Then, once the floor is flat, start sanding straight across the floorboard, usually sanding the same way it was laid. Then repeat this with 80 grit sandpaper. At the same time or later, you can sand around the edge with 50 grit, making sure the edger stays flat and the floor is flat as well. Then switch the edger to some 80 grit sandpaper and repeat. Put some 100 grit sandpaper on the belt sander and sand again to the length of the wood, this time try to be very careful and sand straight. Same with the edger, switch to 100 grit and sand lightly until the sander doesn’t dig in as this will score.

We are about to reach two more arenas, but first the floor must be filled with a mixture and filler. We recommend a resin filler that is mixed with the sawdust from the edge sander. You should fill the floor at least twice and leave it overnight. Then in the morning, sand the floor with the belt sander and edger with a 120-grit sandpaper. Be sure to remove all of the filler from the night before or continue until it is. Then sand the floor with a sander. 150 grit mesh.

Ok, you are all set to apply the finish, just make sure to wipe off all the dust with a tack cloth and then wipe down the floor with a damp cloth just before applying the finish. I hope this helps all of you DIYers, but be warned, it may require 10x more sanding than normal flooring as the final fiber surface is very hard.

Thank you very much,
daniel prostitute
http://www.parquetflooringandcarpentry.co.uk/