Sanding wood floor

[NotAGolf]

We had some wood flooring put down a smidge over 5 years ago. It's held up pretty well, but the oil is starting to wear thin in a couple of heavy traffic areas, and there's a few minor scuffs/scrapes, so I'd like to sand it down and give it a fresh coat of oil.

I was thinking of hiring a floor sander such as this one. Are they fairly simple to use? My only concern is that it only needs a light sanding to take the oil off, so is this a bit OTT? It's only engineered wood with a few mm of wear layer, so I don't want the floor sander to tear through all of it!

The area is only ~35 sqm, so I could potentially do it with my orbital sander. Would take a lot longer and burn through a fair few sheets, but perhaps I'd have a bit more control.

 

[RoyMi6]

Remember to get an edge sander as well, unless you’re removing the skirting.

The speed at which it will obliterate your wood will depend on the grit of the sandpaper.

Your finish depends on all the same reason that effect normal sanding, so you’re willingness to go up through the grits to go from removing material to creating a smooth surface. I couldn’t imagine doing it without the correct tools - but I hate sanding in general anyway

“Oils” tend to penetrate the wood as well, so not 100% sure what you mean other than you might just want to give it a light pass to tidy up the reapply finish… in which case yeah, have at it by hand.

 

[SpellowHouse]

The problem with a large belt sander like that is that it can do a huge amount of damage in seconds. You need to experiment with different grit belts and they are very expensive. The advantage of them, is, of course, is that belt sanders sand with the grain, but honestly, I am really not sure you want to "learn" with your expensive floor. If all you need is light sand then you would probably do better with a random orbital sander. If you want a disc that lasts a while then seek out a real ceramic disks. They are very expensive, but they last much longer.

 

[dl8860]

If you do go for the big sander, make 100x sure that you have nothing protruding from the surface, and you'll want to seal off the room as best you can. Even with the dust bag on, you'll get dust everywhere.

 

[Gav_r26]

Surely you only need to key the surface them re-appy the oil? When I redo our worktops, you dont take it all the way back to bare wood, you just scuff the top up, to remove the sheen, take any marks out locally, then re-apply the oil.

 

[NotAGolf]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have just got a new orbital sander for the worktops. I'll time how long it takes to get through them, then work out how long it would take to do the flooring. It sounds like the safest option, so as long as it won't take crazy long, that might be the way forward.

 

[Gav_r26]

We hired one of the HSS drum ones, but only the first time we did them, during the removation, and they were 100 years old, and covered in paint and muddy builders footprints! For the nursery i just used a palm sander as they were fairly clean anyway.

Moorview on Instagram: "Sanding of floor done! Not going to miss the sight of this little bugger! Small job of painting the room to go! #moorview #restoration #renovation #diy #floorboards #sanding"

3 likes, 0 comments - spencerroadrenovationJanuary 24, 2021 on : "Sanding of floor done! Not going to miss the sight of this little bugger! Small job of painting the room to go! #moorview #restoration #r..."

www.instagram.com

 

[alexakasloth]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have just got a new orbital sander for the worktops. I'll time how long it takes to get through them, then work out how long it would take to do the flooring. It sounds like the safest option, so as long as it won't take crazy long, that might be the way forward.

For a refresh of oil on the floors that sounds like a good option. When I re-oil my worktops I just go over them with some wire wool, it really doesn't take a lot.

 

[alexakasloth]

We hired one of the HSS drum ones, but only the first time we did them, during the removation, and they were 100 years old, and covered in paint and muddy builders footprints! For the nursery i just used a palm sander as they were fairly clean anyway.

Moorview on Instagram: "Sanding of floor done! Not going to miss the sight of this little bugger! Small job of painting the room to go! #moorview #restoration #renovation #diy #floorboards #sanding"

3 likes, 0 comments - spencerroadrenovationJanuary 24, 2021 on : "Sanding of floor done! Not going to miss the sight of this little bugger! Small job of painting the room to go! #moorview #restoration #r..."

www.instagram.com

HSS should have given you a much newer drum sander than that.

 

[BennyC]

Beltsander and 120 grit sounds like your best bet.

Floorsander really is for stripping back and levelling boards, not just keying or skimming the surface in a specific area.

Used one on my O/H's 1920's, you'd be done in about 5 minutes flat based on what you need to do.

 

[dlockers]

Is it proper wood? Even full plank can only afford to lose a fraction. Just use a handheld for the worst bits, don't take off material you don't need to.

 

[gr1mey]

Lagler Trio will be enough to clean up for a re-oil

 

[Gav_r26]

HSS should have given you a much newer drum sander than that.

For the nursery i just used a palm sander as they were fairly clean anyway.

 

[wsurfa]

Lagler Trio will be enough to clean up for a re-oil

I think a mate of mine used that for a floor that needed a fairly light touch (it might have been solid wood though) - are they the ones that are basically a super sized random orbit sander with 3 discs?

 

[NotAGolf]

Thanks for all the feedback all. I played it safe and went with the orbital sander in the end. It was pretty slow going and quite uncomfortable being hunched over for hours on end, but I'm pleased with the end result.

I went right back to the wood and made sure to get all the oil off, so went 40 grit initially, then 80 grit and finished with 120. With hindsight, I probably should've done it sooner then I wouldn't have had to sand quite so much as I'd let it get quite patchy.

It's the first time I used the sander too (Bosch GEX 125-1 AE). Very impressed. I was lucky that the hoover nozzle fitted perfectly, so there was literally no mess to tidy up afterwards. I didn't get through too many pads either.

A few mins after starting to sand:

Half of the room re-oiled:

 

[dlockers]

Looks great. I think for a novice/non-pro, safer and slower is worth oodles more than the potential of getting it wrong with a beastly thing. Saved a packet too on hiring someone!

 

[dlockers]

Your vacuum is going to die now btw lol.

 

[NotAGolf]

Your vacuum is going to die now btw lol.

That's my 'manly jobs' vacuum. It's been sitting unused in a damp garage for the last 2 years. Didn't flinch after being used for about 6 hours straight. The thing is bomb proof! My electricity bill on the other hand...