Refinishing/Sanding Wood Floors

[.Ox.]

Hello Guys

Pick up the keys to my new house on the 25th and the following week I am going to sand the whole of the downstairs floors.

Has anyone else done this before, or do we have any tradesmen in here that do it for a living?

I've hired a Floor and Edge sander pack, 24, 40, 80 and 120 grit sheets. Will acquire a detail sander with the same grade of sand paper sheets.

After reading up on it, I've roughly come up the following steps (further reading will be done):

Prep
- Check for protruding nail heads and hammer them in.

Main
- Level the floor by sanding diagonally.
- Sand the floor going with the grain.
- Sand the edges + corners.
- Repeat with each grade of sandpaper.
- Fill gaps/holes. Mark with pencil to make it easier to find them.
- Re-sand to remove excess filler.
- Clean the floor thoroughly and wipe with white spirit.
- Apply wax coat.

At some point I plan on mixing the 80/120 grit sawdust with wood glue to fill any holes, then re-sand.
Will this mixture/filler take colour from a floor wax?

My main concern is the filler stopping the wax from taking colour and making things stand out too much. I'm only going for a natural oak colour though, so this might not stand out too much.

If anyone could critique my steps or provide any insight it would be very helpful.

Thanks
Andrew/.Ox.

 

[topgun06]

I did this to my front room a few years back. I only bothered with a 60 grit and 120 grit paper. That got the results I needed just fine.

I used Osmo Amber Tint and Osmo Polyx oil for the finish. Excellent stuff, goes a long way, easy to apply and has a huge shelf life. I'm currently doing the same to my stairway and have used the oil there too.

As for filling in holes, I also used the Osmo wood filler. Again, excellent stuff, dries fast, sands easily and it does take on colour from the Osmo Amber Tint oil I used. And yes, lasts forever, I'm still using it now. It does take on the colour, but not as well as the wood, so if I was to buy the filler again, I'd buy it in a few shades darker than the natural finish of the wood. (That's if your tint is darker).

I never bothered with white spirit. Sounds a bit harsh on the wood to me. I did plenty of vacuuming and then a good wash with a mop and bucket.


So, in summary I'd recommend:
Cutting down the work and using just two grades of sandpaper instead
Osmo oil
Osmo wood filler
No white spirit

 

[.Ox.]

Thanks for the suggestions topgun. I can see that RonSeal do a 1kg tub of filler. Whilst searching for Osmo filler I also saw a wood putty, which I've seen them drag across the flooring in some videos. I guess I can assess what level of filling it needs when I get the keys.

 

[topgun06]

I used this stuff: https://www.osmouk.com/sitechaptern.cfm?bookid=Products&chapter=64&page=298

I used it to fill in nail holes mainly and a few areas of damage. Our front room had raised floorboards, so are not on a solid base. The wood putty would have just seeped through into air space below. Plus, the floorboards weren't 100% level. And in order to get them level I'd have been sanding for months I think.

The putty seems more suited to (as their website says) sanded parquet flooring, which may be what you have. But yes, asses the amount of filling required once you get a good look at it.

 

[LuckyBenski]

I would use white spirit or similar (meths works) to degrease and clean before applying finish. Using water will raise the grain which may be desirable but may undo some sanding/smoothing work. Plus, it will impact drying time. Trapped moisture can cloud varnishes and causebithet issues. Not done a whole floor but am a carpenter and know my way around a bit of wood!

 

[Skiddley]

I did an oak parquet floor recently. Check out http://howtosandafloor.com/. I used his recommendations on primers, laquers and fillers and it worked very well. You will also need a small sander for edging.

Choice of finishing product would depend on the level of wear expected. I discounted Osmo as ours is a hallway for example.