What is the best way to sand a timber wood floor?

 

It is said that “Reclaimed flooring has unique beauty and character that cannot be found in new growth wood”, and this holds true when we are referring to the wooden floors in our houses waiting to be reclaimed and beautified. Sanding and polishing of timber floors not only helps you save big on your expenses but also gets you the look and feel you desire in your home’s flooring.

Moreover, sanding your timber flooring may look like an overwhelming task but once the basics are taken care of, the rest of the results depend on your patience and the desire to get it done well. Timber wood floors also have several benefits over carpeted ones- One of the foremost being easy to clean in addition to not being the collection ground of dust, insects and mites.

Let’s explore the key steps for sanding and polishing timber floors to realize how fairly simple it is as a process when done by oneself and with the correct tools and methodology at hand:

1.     Floor Analysis and Preparation Is The First Step For The Best Results:

First things first! Clear out all the furniture from the room you wish to sand and polish the flooring of. Once all the furniture is cleared out, carefully analyze the floor to check for protruding staples or nails, gaps between floorboards and squeaky boards. These need to be take care of on priority before the actual sanding and polishing of the timber floor takes place to prevent injury to the sander and the sanding equipment.

If you have timber flooring then it is solid wood for sure, but watching out for engineered wood segments is important because generally engineered wood doesn’t do well with the entire sanding and polishing of floors routine.

Once all the furniture has been moved out, wipe the floor including the corners with a mop or a moist cloth and dry it with a vacuum cleaner. Once that’s done the floor is now ready to sanded and refinished to get its new look but yes remember safety needs to be taken care of at all times!

 

 

 

2.     Keeping All The Gear At Hand And Safety First Are Key Requisites:

Having all the safety gear required for sanding and polishing of wooden floors ready can help avoid any inconveniences or injuries later.

·        Safety gear like Disposable overalls with pull on boots, Goggles, Ear protection equipment, dust masks, brushes for varnish and cleaning and vacuum cleaner for the floor are important stuff that needs to be in the room while attempting a task like sanding the wooden floor.

·        Having enough ventilation within the room to prevent discomfort due to dust and the smell of the varnish are equally important.

·        Plugs and sockets need to be sealed off with masking tape to avoid any risk of accidents.

 

3.     Choosing the Right Equipment Could Make All The Difference:

Starting off with the right sanding equipment can save a lot of time and definitely prevent damage during the process of timber floor repair. So here’s the deal- There are basically three types of sanders that are commonly available at home building stores for rent – Buffer Sanders, Square Vibrating Sanders and Drum Sanders. Each of these sanders, although are built to do the same job but differ in their ease of handling and risk of damage.

 

Buffer Sanders work in a circular motion and are commonly used in industrial and commercial floor sanding. These machines require expert handling as they have a very sensitive balance and can increase the risk of injury if not handled properly.

Square Vibrating Sanders are the ones that are usually used by the inexperienced and easily available for rent. They are the go-to equipment for a DIY floor sanding project and are the hardest to go wrong with.

For both the buffer sanders as well as the square vibrating ones, it is important to buy different grits of sanding paper and cushioning pads. These pads act like shock absorbers and aid in the efficient functioning of the sanders along with ensuring uniform, smooth surfaces as a result.

Usually the grits of sand paper are used in the order of 36 or 40 moving up to 60 grit then 80 followed by 100 preferably maxing out at 120. This order of using the sand paper grits helps to achieve a smooth surface without any inequalities or deformities.

Although both the buffer sanders and square vibrating sanders are used mainly for sanding and polishing of timber flooringbut small handheld orbital sanders are often necessary to get the right finishing especially around the edges and corners.

Drum Sanders are the sort of equipment you should only even give a thought to if they are your only option for floor sanding and nothing else can help you. Why do I say this? Well firstly, a lot can go wrong with a Drum Sander in inexperienced hands. Moreover they have a rotating belt and are the trickier ones to use and a lot of times could end up causing lasting damage to the flooring.

 

4.     Using the Right Technique Means Getting Best Results Faster:

The idea of using the grits in a particular order is to get the desired finesse in a shorter time span. Skipping even one grit in the sequence can add more time in hours to finish the job. For instance while moving up from 40 if the 60 grit is skipped and directly you move to the 80 grit then the risk of ending up with uneven surfaces is more and will surely add to the time required to a smooth even surface area.

After each pass using a grit paper it is important to check that the swirls from all the previous grit passes have been taken care of. Once you can meticulously proceed through each grit paper and finally reach the 120 grit mark and finish that pass too, you can clean up all the dust caused by the sanding using brushes and preferably vacuum it out to get a clean finished timber flooring.

 

5.     And If You Still Need New Flooring- Make The Right Choice:

Experts say that the timber floor sanding results usually depend on the type and fitting of the new flooring that has been sanded. Many times ill fitted floorings give way and can result in extra expenditure. So why not opt for the best Timber flooring in Melbourne before you have to encounter any of these problems?

Uniting Floors offers the widest range of timber floorings in Melbourne and is definitely the place you should be looking for to get timber flooring that can be easily sanded and refurbished anytime during its long life with you.