Hi

I am able to wallpaper and paint but have never taken on anything more
than this.

I would like to sand the floorboards in my lounge and then stain
them/polish them so that they are smooth and reasonably light in colour
- not dark mahogany, more teak or oak!

I need to hire a sander, and I believe I also need to hire a second
'edge' sander.

Would this be the correct approach?

1. carefully sand the floor.
2.hoover up and wipe away all sawdust and dust.
3. wipe of the floorboards with a damp cloth.
4. stain the floor boards with the appropriate colour of wood stain

Thanks for any advice

R.

1. carefully sand the floor.
2.hoover up and wipe away all sawdust and dust.
3. wipe of the floorboards with a damp cloth.
4. stain the floor boards with the appropriate colour of wood stain

Pretty much. Be prepared for a LOT of dust. Seal every adjoining room off
(you'll still find dust in the most bizarre of places). Knock any
protruding nails down with a nail punch. Work diagonally with the big
sander then do the edges. You might want to consider cleaning the
floorboards with white spirits or a proprietary cleaner - if you use a damp
cloth make sure the floor is bone dry before varnishing. The floor is
particularly vulnerable until you've varnished it so careful with
footprints, spills etc. once you've sanded it. If you want a light colour,
consider a clear varnish - it's amazing how dark the natural wood will
appear once varnished. If in doubt test a small unseen area first. Hope
this helps!

Andy

"none" ""richardm\"@(none)" wrote in message
...
Hi

I am able to wallpaper and paint but have never taken on anything more
than this.

I would like to sand the floorboards in my lounge and then stain
them/polish them so that they are smooth and reasonably light in colour
- not dark mahogany, more teak or oak!

I need to hire a sander, and I believe I also need to hire a second
'edge' sander.

Would this be the correct approach?



Prior to sanding make sure you punch in ALL the nails, or they will tear the
sandpaper. Take your time at doing it, as the sand paper is quite pricy.

1. carefully sand the floor.

Open all windows, and isolate room from the rest of the house as much as
possible - this is a messy job! Masking tape around door frames is a good
idea...

Technique is very important for a good result: start with the heavy duty
sandpaper, working against the grain, allowing for a slight overlap between
passes. Make sure you always keep the sander moving or you will end up with
uneven floor. Once you reach a uniform and "clean-looking" timber, repeat
the process, but this time working with the grain. Once completed work with
the grain, gradually using finer and finer sandpaper. Follow the same
process with the edge sander as you go along.

Make sure you collect the dust every once in a while - from my experience at
this stage a broom will do, although a vacuum cleaner is OK as well.

Also, have plenty of face masks and a pair of goggles, ear defenders are
also a good idea.

2.hoover up and wipe away all sawdust and dust.

Don't forget to brush the walls as well!

Leave room for a few hours (e.g. overnight) for the dust to settle, and
repeat stage 2 above.

3. wipe of the floorboards with a damp cloth.

Never needed to do that - taking my time with my Dyson gave good enough
results without having to wipe.

4. stain the floor boards with the appropriate colour of wood stain

From my experience following the instructions on the tins always left me
short of wood stain - probably something to do with the wood being very old
and absorbent, so make sure you have plenty (B&Q and the like will always
take back the excess tins).

Thanks for any advice

You are welcome.


R.

none wrote:

I would like to sand the floorboards in my lounge and then stain
them/polish them so that they are smooth and reasonably light in
colour - not dark mahogany, more teak or oak!

I need to hire a sander, and I believe I also need to hire a second
'edge' sander.

Yes

Would this be the correct approach?

A few more steps:

a) Take everything out of room

b) Remove any nail heads you can see sticking up, or better, knock them
below the surface (they will tear up the sandpaper pdq)

c) Seal doors with tape to avoid entire house being filed with dust

d) Avoid rupturing yourself carrying the very heavy sander to-and-from car

e) Get loads of sandpaper from the hire shop on sale or return; you'll
need plenty because they rip very easily

1. carefully sand the floor.
.....going only with direction of the grain, naturally

2. hoover up and wipe away all sawdust and dust.
3. wipe of the floorboards with a damp cloth.
4. stain the floor boards with the appropriate colour of wood stain

In article , "none ""richardm
\"@(none)"" none ""richardm\"@(none)" says...
Hi

I am able to wallpaper and paint but have never taken on anything more
than this.

I would like to sand the floorboards in my lounge and then stain
them/polish them so that they are smooth and reasonably light in colour
- not dark mahogany, more teak or oak!

I need to hire a sander, and I believe I also need to hire a second
'edge' sander.

Would this be the correct approach?

1. carefully sand the floor.
2.hoover up and wipe away all sawdust and dust.
3. wipe of the floorboards with a damp cloth.
4. stain the floor boards with the appropriate colour of wood stain

Thanks for any advice

0.1 Fix down any loose boards.
0.2 Punch down any nails that are near the surface.
0.3 Remove skirting board.

5. You'll need to seal it with something after you've stained it.

Thank you all for your help...

Can you just explain what different things I can coat the newly sanded
floor with. Is it varnish or stain - the varnish is more hard
wearing, the stain is more natural looking?

Thank you again.

Oh and any chance I can leave the skirting boards on? Most of the
ground floor had the plaster replaced during damp proof work and I
just got the skirting boards back on 8/ Will the edge sander not go
right up to the edges?



7. If you decide to varnish, then use a "diamond" type water based floor
varnish. Apply 3 or 4 coats. You MUST sand between the 2nd and 3rd coats
using a very fine sandpaper, preferably on a small palm orbital sander.
Think 150-240 grit for this. This really improves the surface.

Christian.

"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Thank you all for your help...

Can you just explain what different things I can coat the newly sanded
floor with. Is it varnish or stain - the varnish is more hard
wearing, the stain is more natural looking?

Staining is only meant to be used to give you the right colouring/effect,
varnish is the protecting coat. So, even if you intend to stain the wood you
will need to varnish it later. You can also buy coloured varnish that does
both in on go, but I believe that you get better finish with separate
coats.

Plan for a minimum of 2 coats of varnish - depending on the level of usage
of the room etc. Most people recommend around 2 coats for a bedroom, and,
say, 4 for a heavily used room (hall, lounge etc).

The good quality varnish is (very) expensive. From the experience of sanding
around 15 rooms in the last couple of years I will not touch anything other
than Ronseal Diamond Hard (available from most sheds). I rent the two
sanders for £80 per week (+ say, £20 for paper per room). The varnish for
such room can be 50-£60!

I usually wood sealer
(http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...09185&id=15391) as a first
coat. Costs around a 3rd of the price of the varnish, and saves you at least
one coat...

Thank you again.

Oh and any chance I can leave the skirting boards on? Most of the
ground floor had the plaster replaced during damp proof work and I
just got the skirting boards back on 8/ Will the edge sander not go
right up to the edges?

Don't worry about it. Take your time, and you can get to all but the last
1-2mm, which is not noticeable at all.

7. If you decide to varnish, then use a "diamond" type water based floor
varnish. Apply 3 or 4 coats. You MUST sand between the 2nd and 3rd coats
using a very fine sandpaper, preferably on a small palm orbital sander.
Think 150-240 grit for this. This really improves the surface.

I second that.

Watch the edge sander: if you are clumsy with it you will dig crescent
shaped gouges in the floor in a second or two, and they are difficult to
remove ( best to blend them in ) Also, do not take the edge sander near a
radiator pipe as it will slice through the pipe in no time at all.

Andy.

Oh and any chance I can leave the skirting boards on? Most of the
ground floor had the plaster replaced during damp proof work and I
just got the skirting boards back on 8/ Will the edge sander not go
right up to the edges?

It will go right up to the edge. The paper overhangs the machine by about
5mm. You can actually tuck it under the skirting.

However, you will still get a slightly better appearance by taking the
skirting off, as you get rid of any edge effects. The difference won't be
huge, though.

Christian.