yep there is a lift-slide-put back down technique at the end of each run to avoid dips. forgot about that, its natural for me now. just dont let it up too long or it over spins and scorches when put back down. (a bit like changing direction when your plastering). ha ha too much advice now.....you will be fine go for it
Right...plenty of advice on the thread...some of it good...some of it, well, erm...
Those boards don't need a floor sander. They're already pretty level. And there's not enough of a run anyway to justify shitting them with a hire floor sander, which is probable.
You need to go to Wright Hire and rent a random orbital sander, something like this:
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This should take grip discs with holes in them and you should be able to hitch your vac up (with duct tape) to the extraction - which sorts you out for dust. Start with whatever the coarsest grade they sell is - you'll need lots of those, possibly P24 or P40 (they'll do them on sale or return anyway). As you use them, don't chuck them, they're handy as bits to hand sand here and there. Moving perpendicular to the boards, flatten out (don't worry about it being too flat, as long as you take the surface off) Then, move up to P60 or P80. Sand the floor, this time moving along the boards. Finish with P120's, finally folding a P120 in half and using that to run up and down the boards by hand.
And +1 to punching the nails down, but don't get too worried about it - as long as they go down a few mm you'll be fine. Buy a decent size nail punch (if you don't have one already)
Apply lacquer/oil as required. Email in prof if you need to ask more questions.
I'm not saying it's wrong but wouldn't an orbital just add to the time it takes to complete the job?
I'm not saying it's wrong but wouldn't an orbital just add to the time it takes to complete the job?
Yes, of course, but it's only 7 sqm or so - it's not really big enough to go lugging a drum sander in, given that nbt hasn't used one before. It's only softwood (in pretty good nick), so an orbital will fly through it. It'll take a day maybe instead of a half but he's got to walk through his hall and look at it for years. Why not take his time?
Get someone to do it for you!
If you can afford it, this +1. A good firm will leave your house as clean as you left it, varnish or wax it for, judging by the size of that room 150 ish quid.
Regarding the orbital sander route, I did that in my hall, as the floor boards were width ways rather than length ways. I would never, ever do it again. If kneeling on floorboards for a day, getting stiffer and stiffer is your ideas of fun, go for it.
Be careful around that radiator pipe with the edging sander!
I caught one of mine. It made a ZING sound, the lower half sprung down through the floorboard and all the water in the system rapidly became all the water that used to be in the system. 😳
Ta muchly Dedders. Owe you another pint, now 🙂
Nails punched down, I've run a sponge over everything and there's nothing catching so it's time to put up or shut up. Think I'll be following 40DD's advice and getting hold of a random orbital.
Next problem's probably going to be matching the stain used in the living room...
No probs. 😀
Oh, and when you've hoovered, tag rag the floor with a lint free cloth dabbed in white spirit (you can buy a roll of decorators cloth from bollocks and queer - excellent for bike cleaning duties too 😉 ). Cleans off last nit of fine dust. Bit stinky so make sure kids and missus are out and keep a draught through.
Hadn't appreciated twas a smallish area, but good luck with small machine sanding.
Definitely +1 million to knee pads and if you can, a dust extractor / vac is going to very handy in keeping things clean as you go.
Anyone got experience of replacing floorboards?
We've got a few loose joists downstairs and lots have been weakened over the years by cutting and drilling for pipes/wires so we've been advised to sort those before laying laminate/wood flooring.
If we're going to do that anyway, it seems like we might as well just either replace the floorboards with something nicer, or refurbish the existing ones.
Mrs. nbt here.
Thanks everyone for the brilliant advice.
Now as mentioned above I am a very house proud (read fussy) woman and our hallway is where my customers enter to collect their fantastically made curtains, handbags and other goodies,(I work from home) so it has to look really good.
I was put off hiring a firm, because our lounge was left in a bit of a state when it was professionally done (Harry the Spider's recommendation - don't worry I don't hold it against you). The firm had to be called back,(which they weren't too pleased about!) as a friend in the know, noticed they hadn't fine sanded it and it felt rough to the to touch.
We'll post up the finished result when nbt has finished.
£400
Plus travel.
Plus manbag for me.
Plus beer.
You strike a hard bargain - done 😉
Edit - I did mention to nbt last night that we should get DD round to sort it all out. Free B&B in luxurious room with own bathroom, will that tempt you?
FOUR HUNDRED QUID?
D'you need any apprentices, I've been thinking about a career change?!
Mike, I've got a stack of floorboards outside the garage, neighbours replaced their leanto with a conservatory so Mr Recycle here grabbed all the wood - big stack of floorboards and a load of 4*2. Vague plans to build either a woodstore, or perhaps roof over the gap between our house and the neighbours - but if you want them...
Oh sorry, I forgot. Northern prices. A steak pie then. 😀
if you want them...
Cheers, but I think we'd probably reuse the ones that are down, swapping dodgier ones with ones from the living room, which is carpeted.
£200 + fuel + digs + manbag. You supply the stain. I'll supply everything else.
£50 tops, as much cooking lager as you can drink and a loan of a bike to go out riding since you don't have one 😉
I'm off to the hire place in the morning then 😀
I'll bring my own bike since it's been in perfect working order since early this year. 😛
[quote=deadlydarcy ]I'll bring my own bike since it's been in perfect working order since early this year.
oooh, get you! Have you been out on it then?
I have. Plenty of times. Get me indeed.
bloody hell, the world is a changing! We'll find out next that Hora's bought a round...
the hire place was all out of random orbital sanders - all out on hire today. Am making do with my wee 1/3rd sheet beastie. slow going, as expected. I can feel the dips in the middle of the boards as I run the sander across them - P40 is taking the surface off but not really leaving them superflat, and I'm running low on it. when I popped down to the village to pick up lunch I went into the hardware shop and picked up a few more sheets of the coarsest grade they had - p36.
Cup of tea now then back to it...
I hired a proper floor sander and did an entire 3 bed house with a mate which took a weeks holiday and probably years from my life. We got a someone in to do it when we got our hall done in our last house and they did a cracking job with very little mess. The guy is based in Blackpool I think but travelled to Liverpool to do it http://jhsanding.co.uk/
first pass done. tea made. back for the second pass now. Sanding technique leaves much to be desired :S
second pass half complete. fingers tingly. 1/3rd sheet sander doing remarkably well, given that it's not meant for jobs this size and my technique is awful. extraction working fine as I've taped an old hoover to the sander 😀
As anticipated, am beginning to wish we'd got a pro in to do the job though...
About to start
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Halfway through the first pass, started at the kitchen door and completed as far as the lounge door
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Halfway through the second pass, having gone all the way to the front door (where the pic is taken) and working my way back, got as far as the lounge door
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In real life it looks a lot better, honest. Not as good as if a pro had done it, of course, but not bad.
Make life easier and take the radiator off
feel a bit better about how ours came out now!
Perhaps it just my failing eyesight, but I see very little difference between the before and after pics.
the pics aren't great, the most obvious difference is the large knot in front of the radiator
Nope, something's not right. not sure if it's the equipment or my technique, or likely both. The only "clean" board is the one with the knot in that I pointed out above. I've using VERY coarse sandpaper (P36) but it's not cutting through the crap, more buffing it. The only way I can get it to cut through the crap is to tilt the sander onto one corner.
What am I doing wrong? Not enough pressure? am guiding the saqnder with light pressure, not heaving on it. Too much pressure? Have tried heaving on it but with little success Not changing the sandpaper frequently enough? Am using the paper till it wears out at the edges, should I be changing it when it loses its bite? Will a Random Orbital Sander make all the difference? Can I get away with just an Orbital if there are still no Random Orbitals in stock tomorrow?
and most important - Banks's or Jennings?
Just get the RO Sander tomorrow mate. Honestly, It'll remove a lot more material than the B&D one you have. You need one which has a round spinning head as well for proper material removal.
Don't say I didn't tell you.
Price has gone up to £250 now. 🙂
You did, and I listened to your expert advice and went to get one, but they had none left at the hire place. Tomorrow, I'll get one. if they have one in stock. If not, might have to look at buying one - £16 per day I think at the hire place, or £35 to buy one from B&Q
And how often [i]should[/i] I change the sanding sheets - when they fall apart, or when they lose their bite?
Don't under any circumstances invite burlesque dancers around to celebrate your sanding achievement........ You'll have to sand again to get ride of the millions of pin heel holes the dancers will leave behind
HSS will have one, no? Or isn't there one near? The one for £35 is a green bosch one? Tbh, it's ok for the odd job, but for actual material removal, you'll need the Makita or DeWalt or Blue Bosch one they give you. The metabo one I use is around £175 to buy, but in fairness, it gets used all the time. You'll notice the difference so my advice would be to hire one.
Edit: change the discs when they stop removing material. NOT when they fall apart.
HSS will have one, no?
The local hire place has them but they were all out on hire. There's a HSS in Stockport I think so I could rent one there. £23 plus vat (so £27) for the first day's hire then
£35 will buy me a "power pro" which is B&Q's own brand stuff = [url= http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/planing-sanding/sanders/Performance-Power-Random-Orbital-Sander-400W-12389417?skuId=12910121 ]link[/url]
It won't stand up to professional use, but for the odd job it should be ok. For the extra, I'm tempted to buy the tool then I don't have to panic about getting it back before they close - but I see what you mean about hiring a pro tool that will do the job better
'Sup to you dude. If it were me, I'd be hiring. If you use it for a whole day and drop it back first thing the next morning, you'll only get charged for the day (I think). You'll piss it in a day with a good one.
I'd listen to the Brizzle floor-layer. For the sake of £30 hire the proper tool, otherwise you'll just extend the agony...
Can't believe you're doing that with a 1/3 sheet sander, that's made my day 😆
[quote=nealy ]Can't believe you're doing that with a 1/3 sheet sander, that's made my day
We live and learn. I've learnt to trust my instinct and call the pros next time 😉
First thing today I called the hire place and asked for a random orbital sander as recommended by 40DD. BOth still out on hire, but he recommended a regular orbital sander instead - offered to let me try it and return without charge if an hours work didn't impress.
It's made a massive difference. All the crap's now gone from the top and I'm onto sanding down the rougher bits with P60 - but my back's killing me so I'm having a few minutes off.
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Got some P80 to use after that to bring up the finish, perhaps should have picked up some P120 as well but Hire Guy reckoned it wouldn't be needed. Still need to go round the very edges under the skirting, am tempted to hire the edging sander they have rather than using my hand-held delta though.
Nice job mate! 😀 Glad the orbital made a difference. The rest of it should be easier and use less discs. Looks waaaaayyyyyy better than your earlier effort.
Will the orbital not go right up to the skirts then?
Cheers for that, makes me feel a bit better 😀
Sander's a half sheet not a disc - one of these
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Call me stupid, but when I get close to the skirts the sander starts banging off them and I'm just worried about it doing damage. Won't fit under the radiator in any case.
Still not an easy job, too much like hard work for my liking. MY back's not very happy so I might treat myself to another cuppa tea before i get back to it
edit: I've gone as close to the skirts as possible, but there's a pretty big gap under them as they were on top of the laminate that came up - the sander won't touch that stuff, but the delta has a tongue thing that might help
That's more like it! Well done for persevering. It's so much more satisfying to have done it yourself.
**** me no way would I be attempting that without the real deal.
Like mowing a lawn with scissors.
Al, I'd have to agree, with the proper upright sander and edger it's about an hours work.
