Hardwood Floor Resurfacing

scrotcaster

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Older house (1950) that has hardwood floors, They are in decent shape but need some sanding down, restaining and polyurethane. After watching too many youtube videos gonna attempt this myself. Iam gonna rent a walk-behind drum sander to get the job done. Anyone have experience doing this and would care to share tips, tricks, advice, etc. I am all ears, gonna be about 800 sq.ft. or so. TIA
 


LBrandt

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You are going to need different sanders to get close to wall and inside corners. Good Luck.
 

db-2

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Keep the sander moving and do not let it stop in one spot. They can be aggressive depending on sheet used.. db
 

espringers

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whoever rents the drum sander should also rent an edger to help along the walls. if they have different sizes/types of one or both, just get the best one they have. goes without saying. but, i know someone who got a lighter duty drum sander cause "its not that big of a space". regrettable.
 

fly2cast

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I paid to have my floor refinished in June and I'm really glad I didn't do it myself. I watched a bunch of videos on how to do it. It seemed like it was something I could have done but when I saw the amount of work that went into it with the two guys that did my floor I am sure glad I paid someone to do it. I paid $4 per foot and it was totally worth it. Save about $.25 per foot if you don't stain it and I think it looks very good with just a natural finish. I really glad I didn't stain it. This is what no stain looks like with satin finish on red oak.

floors.jpg
 


NDwalleyes

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We rented a commercial floor buffer/scrubber. They make sanding screens for them that just takes the polyurethane off and pretty much leaves the rest. If your floors are not stained and just need to be recoated, this is a great option. A lot less work, but still messy and dusty.
 

BDub

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They used to make edger tools. But they left big swirl marks. I stained quite a few and unless you sanded around the edges the swirls showed up bad.
 
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ORCUS DEMENS

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I did the 2nd floor of my century house, Started on the stairs. Turned out they were not varnished floors but had originally been oiled. Talk about clogging a sander quickly. Used the drum sander on a 2500 sqft loft with 5/8" fir flooring. went fast but the edges and corners till had to be done with smaller sanders. That takes almost as long as the main floor. As stated above, keep it moving and don't try to get it all on the first pass. Make sure you overlap the passes so you don't get ridging. Have fun.
 


Zogman

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Had a house that was built in '53. It too had oiled finish. Just hand sanded any scuffs and an old neighbor had some special old wax. Slow buffed it and looked real good. Not like new but very very good.

If you go the sanding route make sure it is summer, seal off all the interior doors, open windows and have an exhaust fans.
You won't believe the fine dust.
 

rodcontrol

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Unless you truly love doing these types of projects and have a decent amount of experience Im not sure its worth the effort. I had 0 experience and did 3 rooms in our old house we bought a few years ago. I did mine more out of necessity with limited funds. I think it turned out decent considering my experience level. I left a couple whirl marks by a doorway and the corners are less than perfect. The dust, back ache and frustration was almost overwhelming. I wish you the best of luck if you take on the project. I do have a lot of pride in the fact i did the job myself.
 

zoops

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Unless you truly love doing these types of projects and have a decent amount of experience Im not sure its worth the effort. I had 0 experience and did 3 rooms in our old house we bought a few years ago. I did mine more out of necessity with limited funds. I think it turned out decent considering my experience level. I left a couple whirl marks by a doorway and the corners are less than perfect. The dust, back ache and frustration was almost overwhelming. I wish you the best of luck if you take on the project. I do have a lot of pride in the fact i did the job myself.
Agree
 

7mmMag

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Unless you truly love doing these types of projects and have a decent amount of experience Im not sure its worth the effort. I had 0 experience and did 3 rooms in our old house we bought a few years ago. I did mine more out of necessity with limited funds. I think it turned out decent considering my experience level. I left a couple whirl marks by a doorway and the corners are less than perfect. The dust, back ache and frustration was almost overwhelming. I wish you the best of luck if you take on the project. I do have a lot of pride in the fact i did the job myself.

Im a DIY person on most projects around the house but something like this wouldn't interest me at all. I would rather work overtime at my job to pay for someone else to do it.
 


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