I am about to move into a 15-year old house. Under the carpets are
nice-looking pale wooden boards, which I'd like to use as my floors.
The boards are in good condition, and have never been stained or
varnished. Do I still need to sand the boards before applying a
varnish?

If so, I presume the job would be a bit easier and quicker than sanding
down old boards to remove a previous finish? How long might it take a
complete beginner to sand the ground floor (sitting room 5m X 3m, study
3m X 4m, dining room 3m X 4m, entrance hall plus corridor) using
sanding machines?

thanks,
Russell

Russell
I did the same thing to my old place. You will still need to sand down
the floors. If they are nice and smooth then a finer grade of paper can
be used saving some time. I think it should take no longer than a day.
A few points to remember though.
1. Tap down any exposed nails
2. Wear mask and overalls, even with the bags on the sanding machines
dust gets everywhere.
3. Wait for the dust to settle before varnishing/staining (a least a
day)

Adrian

Russell wrote:
I am about to move into a 15-year old house. Under the carpets are
nice-looking pale wooden boards, which I'd like to use as my floors.
The boards are in good condition, and have never been stained or
varnished. Do I still need to sand the boards before applying a
varnish?

If so, I presume the job would be a bit easier and quicker than sanding
down old boards to remove a previous finish? How long might it take a
complete beginner to sand the ground floor (sitting room 5m X 3m, study
3m X 4m, dining room 3m X 4m, entrance hall plus corridor) using
sanding machines?

thanks,
Russell

If the boards are nice looking and pale, don't get sucked into the
horrors of floor sanding!
Try just washing them first

"Stuart Noble" wrote in message
news
Russell wrote:
I am about to move into a 15-year old house. Under the carpets are
nice-looking pale wooden boards, which I'd like to use as my floors.
The boards are in good condition, and have never been stained or
varnished. Do I still need to sand the boards before applying a
varnish?

If so, I presume the job would be a bit easier and quicker than sanding
down old boards to remove a previous finish? How long might it take a
complete beginner to sand the ground floor (sitting room 5m X 3m, study
3m X 4m, dining room 3m X 4m, entrance hall plus corridor) using
sanding machines?

thanks,
Russell

If the boards are nice looking and pale, don't get sucked into the
horrors of floor sanding!
Try just washing them first

I agree with the last poster, if they are in good condition, and they are
just a little
dirty, try scrubbing them. Sanding is a right royal pain. My old ( 1939 )
boards
had a lot of ingrained dirt and stains from carpet washing, etc so they
needed sanding,
but a perfect finish is not necessary, if the boards are clean then having a
patina of small
dings in the surface just gives them character.

Andy.

On 24 Jul 2005 05:21:45 -0700, "Russell"
wrote:

I am about to move into a 15-year old house. Under the carpets are
nice-looking pale wooden boards, which I'd like to use as my floors.
The boards are in good condition, and have never been stained or
varnished. Do I still need to sand the boards before applying a
varnish?

If so, I presume the job would be a bit easier and quicker than sanding
down old boards to remove a previous finish? How long might it take a
complete beginner to sand the ground floor (sitting room 5m X 3m, study
3m X 4m, dining room 3m X 4m, entrance hall plus corridor) using
sanding machines?

thanks,
Russell

I did this, the hire shop gave me a massive random orbital sander
rather than a belt/barrel sander. it was much easier to use.

Rick

Hi
If the boards are nice looking and pale, don't get sucked into the
horrors of floor sanding!
Try just washing them first

This will only give good results if the boards are in 'as new' condition -
unlikely after 15 years under carpet.

Sanding is a bit of a pain, but with boards in fairly good condition you
could probably get away with one sanding on a fine grit.


Dave