Sanding and Varnishing Floorboards

Pipe & Slippers

Pipe & Slippers

Pipe & Slippers

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4 Jan 2004
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Finally, Swindon
We have a Victorian townhouse (terraced, thin and deep) with exposed pine floorboards on the ground floor
They look a bit shabby and need re-sanding and re-varnishing
It's approx 67 sqm in total for the long narrow hall, the front room, dining room, and on a different level out the back, a small 'snug'

We got a quote from a recommended tradesman for an eye-popping £3,600 inc... ~£54 psqm

We'll look for other quotes, but if they come out anything like that, I don't think I could stomach it

The other issue with that quote is that he would want to do it in one go, which would mean us emptying virtually the entire ground floor. On top of that, the implication is that it would take him 2 days max - not a bad daily rate!

So that leaves us thinking about doing it ourselves, but I'm not sure how practical that would be

From what I have read:
  • it's a lot of effort - but we are ok with that
  • the belt sanders that you hire are generally rubbish
  • there's lots of choice of finish
  • You are able to to a decent job
The other advantage in doing it ourselves would be doing it a room at a time

I'd be interested in thoughts on the size of the quote, and in advice from anyone who has done this themselves

Thanks
 
I used to work in the industry so can tell you the sanders are not rubbish, but you need to give yourself the best chance of it not costing a fortune..

All, and I mean all, exposed nails etc must be sunk, they destroy the belts. It will take time and you should go through the belts grades in order and not try to skip too quickly.
They do make quite a lot of mess, so actually doing a room at a time is probably best as you want it completely empty.

However if your willing to put the time in and what your starting off with isnt too bad then one of them 1/2 / 1/3 sheet hand sanders will do a good job.
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
However if your willing to put the time in and what your starting off with isnt too bad then one of them 1/2 / 1/3 sheet hand sanders will do a good job.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i'd be more tempted to buy something like this for £60 than hire a belt sander. If doing it yourself you want to take your time and that would mean a hefty hire cost.
 
I actually meant the hand ones, not even a powered one.
You only really need to go powered if you are needing to remove serious surface imperfection. If the varnish is sound and your really just needing to even it up, so say heavily worn in some places then your just really rekeying it all and doing basic surface prep.
If its damaged and badly the you need to remove wood to level it up, you probably do need a decent belt sander. The edges is where it gets tricky, ie not ending up with a step.

You can actually use PVA to fill minor scrapes etc, but it needs to be done with very thin layers to avoid the hazing.

The worst bit is really the varnishing from my perspective, keeping a wet edge etc
 
Ah good point, i forgot it just needed re-working rather than starting from stratch. Hopefully that would make much less mess too!
 
I read the moaning comments about belt sanders online but from what MKW says, it looks like that's folks who haven't prepped properly

Yes, the varnish on quite a few of the boards is non-existent, and the surface is a bit ropey, so going powered seems to be a good idea

I guess I'd envisaged getting one of those lawnmower type sanders with a vacuum bag - slightly less effort, and saving my knees a bit, but looking at the daily rates it could get quite expensive, especially as we'd be taking our time, so maybe buying a belt sander like a DeWalt DWP352VS would be suitable?

How do you avoid messing up the existing skirting boards?

Any varnish recommendations? I assume 2 coats is a minimum

Thanks for the replies
 
Empty room
Knock nails down with a punch
Hire upright and edge sander
Osmo poly oil
DraughtEx in gaps

89995D7FEA1B41319A96.jpeg

D7069DBBC39C4121BF1D.jpeg
 
Looks great
I used osmo poly oil when I replaced all my doors a few years ago, after seeing a recommendation on here... expensive but it looked great. You reckon it'll have the durability on a floor?
 
I have recently looked into this for my house. We ended up choosing engineered wood flooring instead as our existing floorboards have been cut up and re-patched over the years, Engineered wood is great, it doesn't warp, we have underfloor heating with it and it can be sanded and varnished another shade if you want to change the colour.

Just a thought.
 
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