4 Tips for Sanding a Wood Floor

Sanded and varnished wooden floorboards can be an attractive feature of a property. They look great, are practical and are easy to keep clean. Some properties come with wooden floors, while others can be exposed and sanded after lifting a carpet from the floor. This article looks at some tips for doing a great sanding job.

Preparation Is Vital

The hard work when sanding a floor is in the preparation. Like most jobs, the better you prepare, the better the end result will be. Make sure that everything—including sofas and chairs—can be temporarily stored in another part of your home until you complete the sanding job. People who do half of the floor, and then move furniture and sand the other half, do an inferior-looking job. Remember to thoroughly vacuum the whole floor before sanding, too.

Remove the Nails

After the space is free of furniture, you must spend some time removing or pounding in any projecting nails. Most guidelines will tell you to remove every nail on the floor. Projecting nails will not only rip the sandpaper and potentially damage the machine, they can prevent an even sanding job. You should use a hammer to pound nails back into the floor and a pry bar to remove the nails that project out more.

Get More Sandpaper Than You Think You Need

They key to doing a quick and professional sanding job is by frequently replacing the sandpaper. Too many people use the sandpaper for too long, meaning that they create more work for themselves, as they have to go back over some areas. When hiring the sanding machines, check that you can return any unused sandpaper and get your money back. Get more sandpaper than you think you will need, and regularly change the paper.

Always Use Fine Paper After Rough Paper

It can be tempting to sand the whole floor with just the rough sandpaper and neglect to go over the whole floor again with a fine graded sandpaper. This won't give your floor the best possible finish. The rough paper will work on the paint or varnish, restoring the wood to a rough but clean finish. The fine paper will smooth out the rough finish, making the floor easier to paint or varnish, as well as maintain. It is even worth the effort to finish the wood off with a very fine grade of sand paper.

Use the edge sander to sand the wood around the perimeter of the space, then use the main sander to sand the space inside the perimeter. For more tips or suggestions, consult resources like Virginia Building Supplies.