Sanding wood floors

[Jamesh921]

I got a call today to sand 2 rooms and a hall. The customer will do all the staining themself so all I have to do is sand it.
I have a 15" orbital sander that I use to sand when I prep large areas of concrete floors but I've never used it to sand wood floors before. Does anybody know what grit paper to use? The best way to sand near the walls? And any idea what to charge for this service?
All together there is about 415 sq. ft. and since I've never done it before, I have no idea how long this will take. Any help will be appreciated.

James

 

[bob vawter]

I got a call today to sand 2 rooms and a hall. The customer will do all the staining themself so all I have to do is sand it.
I have a 15" orbital sander that I use to sand when I prep large areas of concrete floors but I've never used it to sand wood floors before. Does anybody know what grit paper to use? The best way to sand near the walls? And any idea what to charge for this service?
All together there is about 415 sq. ft. and since I've never done it before, I have no idea how long this will take. Any help will be appreciated.

James

15" orbital sander???? :shock:
use a straight line sander......

 

[Jamesh921]

Well, I don't own one of those or I would. Any problems using an orbital that I should know about?

Thanks,
James

 

[bob vawter]

Well, I don't own one of those or I would. Any problems using an orbital that I should know about?

Thanks,
James

ya...you'll RUIN the floor!
sanding GOTTA be WITH the grain......

 

[tmdry]

Why not contact a PRO in your area that does this for a living and sub the work to them or have they pay you a commission for the referral?

This way you release yourself from the liability and don't need to learn Sanding 101 in a short period of time.

 

[fresh1]

you need to use a floor sanding edger. This machine will kick your ass if never have used one and you will RUIN the floor.
A orbital floor machine is only used for final grit sanding to close the grain of the wood, you need a drum sander to remove the existing finish and get it down to bare wood. Grits on the drum sander go - 36,60, 80,100 the 200 screen on the 175 same grits on the edger.
There is a lot of technique required for sanding floors please be careful! its easy to run a drum sander thru a sliding glass door if your not comfortable with these equipment applications
I did this kinda stuff for 15 years pm me if you have questions

Doug

 

[steve frasier]

screen the wood floor

you can rent a machine from home depo for like $45 per day, it will also have vacuum on it. You gonna make a mess without vacuum

 

[Dale]

Hi James:

I am the only certifed NWFA/NOFMA wood flooring inspector (to my knowlege) in the state of TN.

It's probably best to listen to the above advice. Rotary's on wood are only good for sreening or "scuffing" the old finish. Swirls on wood don't get along.

If the wood itself does need sanding, the square "occilating" units like @ Home Depo, cut to slow, and the paper costs too much to make a good profit. Then Drum sanders are the only way to go (except for a WerkMaster). Drum sanders are not that difficult to use, but when you first get a hold of one, one really need a floor that you don't care about. With someone who knows how showing you, in about and hour, you can learn to use it, but you can do a lot of damage in that hr.

Now if you have the money to buy a WerkMaster, (http://www.werkmaster.com/index.php/hardwood.html) or can find a good used one, IMO it's the only way to go, for guys who don't do wood every day.

Sincerely,
Dale

 

[Jamesh921]

See, now that's why I come to forums like this one. I quickly found out that I don't have the tools (and I knew I didn't have the experience in this area) to do this job properly. So, I'm going to have to turn this job down.

I live in a small town out in the sticks and the closest "pro" is about and hour and a half away.
The closest Home depot is 35 miles away and my desire to take on this project has quickly diminished. I love taking on new projects, but only if I can do it right.

Thanks for the insight guys,
James

 

[Askal]

Wise decision James. Floor sanding is an art not a science. I installed and sanded about 1500 sf of floors in my home. I thought it was a GREAT job. I have been a contractor for many years and got a little training from the guy we sub our floors out to. After the finish was applied I had three areas of dips. They bugged me for years until I had our sub refinish them.
al

 

[Dolly Llama]

See, now that's why I come to forums like this one. I quickly found out that I don't have the tools (and I knew I didn't have the experience in this area) to do this job properly. So, I'm going to have to turn this job down.

SMART MOVE

Seems like they're trying to save money by applying the finish themselves.
It sounds like they "might" know enough to know that all the work BEFORE the finish goes on is the key to getting a great looking floor...so they're looking for a "pro" to do that part.
Otherwise they'd probably go rent some floor sanders

..L.T.A.

 

[John Buxton]

The best jobs are the ones you walk away from. last week I was helping a friend rehab a repo and she had an amigo there sanding 3 bedrooms, living room and hall with a handheld belt sander! He did the finish too with a microfiber mop. I gotta admit, it didn't look too bad, not perfect but not bad.