Tips for Sanding Floors

There is no doubt that pulling up old carpets and making the underlying floorboards fresh and shiny can make a huge difference to any room, giving it a Scandinavian feel and making it easier to keep clean.

A Floor Sanding Company can do the job, but like most other tasks around the house you can also tackle it yourself by hiring a couple of sanding machines and taking a few basic precautions.

First of all, clear the whole floor of furniture and carpet to give yourself plenty of space to work.  Secondly, to prepare the floor for sanding, hammer any protruding nails flush with the wood so they do not cause damage to the equipment. 

Start sanding with a coarse paper and slowly work your way down to a fine grade as the floorboards become smoother.  The rollers on the sanding machines take a standard size and you can purchase as many packs as you think you will need when you hire the machine; you can always buy more if you run out.

Cut across the floor with the coarse paper rather than following the line of the floorboards.  This helps smooth out any humps and abnormalities and cleans the boards faster.  Follow the first run by going along the lines and then alternate directions for as many runs as required.  However, when using the finer grades of sandpaper, always follow the lines of the boards.

Apply the stain immediately after sanding, which is when any marks left by the sander will become evident.  Apply the stain liberally with a big brush and leave to dry before adding a second coat; three coats are usually sufficient to create the required texture.  Finally, when the stain has completely dried, brush on a coat of hard varnish to complete the job.