48 hours to become a wood floor guru

[Giorgio]

Hey,

Just got the phone call to meet one of my accounts that has a property with old beat up floors.

He's gonna want it completely sanded and refinished.

I got the job if I can pull it off.

The problem is I've never refinished a wood floor before. (I'll post pics Wednesday after the meeting).

But, I'll need to know wtf I'm talking about prior to the meeting.

Can anyone tell me the proper procedure / technique, products, supplies, equipment, and finishes to use?

Thanks!

 

[Mikey P]

Jhc...

Learning as you go on a floor that may cost you 15 bucks a foot to replace is a great idea.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

You have no clue what you are getting into.

I called a guy that has done it for 35 years and basically retired. He did my grandmothers and I had him do mine as well.

One room and a small closet about 260 sq ft took him three days to sand and refinish.

Filled in cracks

Sanded three or four times with different grits.

Sealed.

Sanded again.

Resealed.

And then came back a fourth day to install quarter round.

The job took four days total for just under 800 dollars.

Good luck because to do the job right requires a lot of time and tools.

 

[Giorgio]

guess i'll use my square scrub....

Here's a video of a gym floor being sanded.

Interlink sells a couple Hydro-force floor finishes for wood. They carry a matte and a semi-gloss. anybody know anything about them?

m]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6j556wh-hom]

 

[KevinD]

They are just screening that floor, not sanding which is what you will have to do if the floor is really beat.
Knowing nothing about wood refinishing I would pass if I were you.

 

[janitrex]

In the video you posted they are just screening it, not sanding which is a whole other ball game. I would highly advise you pass on this job. You cant learn how to properly sand and refinish a wood floor in 48 hours.

You need to be honest with your contact and just tell them this out of your league and refer the job to someone who can properly sand the floor. He will respect you a whole lot more that way. Im afraid you could damage your reputation with this account if you go in and screw up the floor versus referring to someone else. Sanding any floor properly can take several days depending on the finish being applied etc. There are lots of steps and equipment involved.

I know it can be hard to turn away potential money, but unless you have the proper equipment like drum sanders, edging equipment, dust control vacuums etc, just pass on it and maybe at some point find a contractor out of your area you could work with and learn what all is involved.

Good Luck!!

 

[Jtuseo]

It took me 2 years to become very good at refinishing wood floors. You are going to leave the wood floors feeling like sand paper and they are going to call you back to fix it and you will not know how to. Sub it out and make .50 a square foot on the job.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

For what it's worth NCL has a much better wood cleaner than the hf. It smells better, is thicker, cleans better, and is half the cost. I have used both and prefer the NCL chemical.

 

[J Scott W]

The Hydro-Force wood cleaner and finish products are meant for maintenance cleaning and refreshing the gloss. They are not intended to be used following a complete sanding.

Now if the floor just needs maintenance work, I will be glad to send you a training CD. Just send me an email or a PM.

 

[lance]

If he wants the floors to have some character then he might be happy with you doing a scrub and re-coat with the Sq. Scrub machine. If so Basic Cleaning has some good products for do that work.

Sanding wood floors creates a lot of dust and you have to do a lot of prep before you put down the finish so that it will look smooth and dirt free. The finish gets absorbed into the wood so you also have to check with the customer if they like the color.....it will take time to make sure it is not too dark or too light.

If he wants a complete sanding and refinish find a company to do it and then help them so that you will see how it is done. Get a finder's fee for sure. Also, if they use a water-based sealer coat instead of an oil-based one, you will be able to scrub with your SS machine and recoat the floor when it gets dirty and needs that step done. You cannot do a scrub and recoat with an oil based sealer because it gums up and does not come off like the water-based one will.

When the finish has too much dirt to be cleaned you will be able to easily do a scrub and re-coat that will make the floor look like it just got refinished. That is where the Square Scrub really shines....pun intended. 8) somewhat amus 8)

 

[Giorgio]

Cool,

I got the job.

Its gonna be a complete sand, stain and finish. They are requesting honey oak stain.

Hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew.

This is gonna be fun!

I'll post some pics l8tr.

 

[Mikey P]

Hire Lance to help you out.

 

[rwcarpet]

I think on that job, I'd sub it out and take a referal cut. I look at some of the wood refinishers around here, and they have some pretty expensive equipment, and experience. Just as they look at my cleaning equipment and wonder how it all works. Ever hand the wand over to someone who has never cleaned a carpet before? It's hilarious!

Find some beat-up floors to practice on before you take on a job like that. I can find many floors from my custys that wouldn't mind me practicing on....that wouldn't mind if it wasn't perfect.

Good luck.

 

[Dolly Llama]

Cool,

I got the job.

Its gonna be a complete sand, stain and finish. They are requesting honey oak stain.

Hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew.

This is gonna be fun!

.

George, you don't have clue what you're in for

unless what Lance said applies

If he wants the floors to have some character then he might be happy

what that means is, he might be happy with re-finished floors that look like sheeit .
lots of people like beat-to-fook looking (distressed) wood floors .
Distressed floors have become trendy ....kind of like new jeans with rips'n tears all over , or the pre-soiled look , that's looks a homeless wore 'em for a month without washing ..
Then you'll probably be OK


But.... if he wants floors re-finished to make them "brand new" again, and not just cleaner or a little better looking , you don't have the equipment, nor the knowledge how to do it right.

if you're charging anywhere near what a pro re-finisher charges, then Brother, goodfuckingluck!!
cause you're gonna need it ( even you rented the right tools)

..l.T.A.

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

No pictures yet?

 

[sweendogg]

He must still be on this floor XD 10000 dollars later for a 4000.00 dollar refinish job..

 

[Giorgio]

Waiting on my Pro Paper to arrive via UPS. didn't have time to order b4 m8f so placed order on monday 27th via squarescrub.com online store.

36, 60, 80, 100 grit propaper and 120 grit screens.

I got some before pics i;ll post next time i sit at my desk.

I got till end of march to get her done.

 

[handdi]

i want to see how ya do thats for sure

 

[Giorgio]

Here's some before shots

I tried the square scrub with a dry strip pad but it wasn't aggressive enough to take it down to bare wood.

As soon as my ProPaper arrives i'll take another run at it and post pics of what happens... !dork!

wtf do you guys think? Is this floor is hammered or what? it's 1100 s/f.

This is where the dog likes to piss.

another shot of the dog piss contamination.

 

[Ron Lippold]

George if you want some help we can have that floor looking cherry by saturday afternoon. Thats nothing.... Bro call me ... No problem...

 

[Giorgio]

George if you want some help we can have that floor looking cherry by saturday afternoon. Thats nothing.... Bro call me ... No problem...

Kewl!

Thanks Ron... Depending on how my schedule shapes up might start on it sometime next week. I'll give ya a buzz. !gotcha!

actually, it's Ron's fault i got myself into this mess.

Ron was standing next to me when the call came in... I was in the process of blowing-off this job when Ron whispered "just go for it George! It's peice of cake! it will look cherry, etc. etc.".

still need to line up the Honey Oak stain. planning to finish with Ultrachemlabs SlamDunk.

 

[Dolly Llama]

Ron was standing next to me when the call came in... I was in the process of blowing-off this job when Ron whispered "just go for it George! It's peice of cake! it will look cherry, etc. etc.".

if that's someone's idea of "cherry" , someone doesn't know sheiit from shinola !gotcha!

still need to line up the Honey Oak stain. planning to finish with Ultrachemlabs SlamDunk.

if the custy is happy, and you made money, then "good job"

but i'm not sure which are the "after" pics ...fo-reel
maybe cause i know what a professionally "for-real" re-finished floor is supposed to look like


..l.T.A.

 

[Giorgio]

Those are all before pics.

haven't started the job yet.

You'll have plenty of oppotunity to talk smack when I post the after pics in a week or two. shiteatinggrin

 

[Dolly Llama]

Those are all before pics.

haven't started the job yet.

I'm not talking smack, George .
I hope it goes well for you...seriously
i just know what's involved to "really" refinish and restore wood "right".
As soon as you apply the stain, it will show whether or not you sanded it right

are you going to do it "right" with a drum sander, then finish sander and hands and knees work getting "all the way" to edges at baseboards?

or a "pseudo" refinish that some CC'ers are selling as a "re-finish"?


..L.T.A.

 

[Ron Lippold]

larry not my first rodeo. I would not let george mess this up. really pretty easy. why be a hater....

 

[Dolly Llama]

really pretty easy. why be a hater....

"easy", eh?


I'm not a hater , like i said, i just "know" the difference in a professional wood floor refinish and the horse shit that gets passed off and sold as a "professional" refinish


..L.T.A.

 

[Ron Lippold]

come on larry do youthink I would let anything just pass off. this floor will look fantastic.

 

[sweendogg]

well he didn't tell us you were his ace in the hole!

 

[Mikey P]

George if you want some help we can have that floor looking cherry by saturday afternoon. Thats nothing.... Bro call me ... No problem...

seven coats of concrete sealer will hide all those flaws..

 

[floorguy]

[quote="Ron Lippold":32w0tc0k]George if you want some help we can have that floor looking cherry by saturday afternoon. Thats nothing.... Bro call me ... No problem...

seven coats of concrete sealer will hide all those flaws..[/quote:32w0tc0k]





its one thing to go and polish some marble....for the most part the same tools, and technique are the same...there are some differences but nothing a seasoned owner/op couldnt get buy.....


but a COMPLETE sand down......ehhhhhhhhh kinda like Joey said.......totally different tools, and processes