A guide to sanding wood flooring

You do not need to have extensive carpentry skills to be able to sand hardwood floors. Indeed, sanding floors can be a seriously messy business but if you have the right tools and the right attitude for the job, you can turn your floors into well polished surfaces. To help you to get the job done, here is a short guide to sand wood flooring.

Get your gear and tools ready

If you are planning to sand a considerable expanse of flooring, you should consider using a commercial-grade drum sander. To save money, you just need to rent this equipment instead of buying it. Aside from the sander, you will need sandpapers or sanding discs of various grits as well as protective gears such as a face mask, protective goggles, working clothes and gloves. You should note that sanding is a messy and dusty job, so you need to cover yourself properly to avoid direct contact with the heavy dust.

Remove the room furnishings

Remove all the room furnishing, then use a medium bristle broom to sweep the floor. After sweeping the floor, check for popped up nails and other hard objects jutting from the floor. Hammer in all popped up nails and remove all the sharp objects from the floor before you start sanding.

Sand the floor

Put coarse grit sandpaper on your drum sander, then bring it to the far side of the room. Place the sander on the floor and make sure that the sandpaper is firmly and evenly in contact with the floor before you turn the machine on. Turn on the sander and drag it along the direction of the wood grain. You need to keep the sander moving at an even pace to avoid causing damage to your floor. You should never leave the sander standing in one spot for even a short while or else it will gorge a hole on your floor. After passing the entire expanse of the floor using coarse grit sandpaper, you are now ready to finish the floor. To do this, remove the coarse sandpaper and change it with a medium grit. The 50 to 60 grit sandpaper should give you good results. For the final finish, use the 80 to100 grit sandpaper. Final word
Once you are done sanding, get your vacuum cleaner and clean the place up before refinishing or varnishing your floor.