TheLGN - Home Decorating The Little Green Notebook - Get Inspiration...Be Inspiration

Items you will need to complete the job: 

-Drum sander              -Edge sander             

-Floor buffer               -Ear plugs

-Safety glasses           -Dust mask               

-Hammer                    -Nailset

-Vacuum                    -Broom                     

-Wood filler                -Putty knife

-Palm sander              -Hand scraper

-80 Grit Sand Paper     -120 grit screen disc

-50 Grit Sand Paper

1.  Clear the room of all items.  Make sure the floor is clean.  If there are any staples or nails in the floor from previous flooring such as carpet remove them.  If there are nails in the hardwood flooring that are meant to secure the hardwood to the subfloor, use a hammer and nailset to sink the nails down past the surface of the floor.  Use wood filler to fill in over the nails. If there is shoe trim (quarter round) around the base of the room you will need to remove it. You do NOT need to remove the baseboards unless you have planned to replace them.

2.  Close any doors to adjoining rooms or hang plastic over door openings to keep dust from flowing into the rest of the house.  It is good to open any windows in the room for ventilation.  Wear a dust mask to protect your lungs and safety glasses to keep the dust out of your eyes.

3.  Use will need to rent a Drum sander, Edge sander, Palm sander and Floor buffer from your local hardware or tool rental store (like Lowe's or Home Depot).  Ask for instructions on how to use the equipment if you don't already know.  You will need to purchase 50 grit, 80 grit sandpaper the Drum sander, 80 grit sandpaper for the Edge sander, 50 grit sandpaper for the Palm sander and a 120 grit screen disc for the floor buffer.

4.  Be sure to wear ear plugs because the sander is very loud, along with your safety glasses and dust mask.  Start your first stage of the sanding process using the Drum sander with 50 grit sand paper.  You will sand the room in two sections.  The first section of the room will be about 2/3rds and the second section of the room will be the remaining 1/3^rd.  For the first section start to the furthest most right side of the room.    Lean the Drum sander back so that the sand paper is off the floor when you start the sander.  Slowly lower the sander onto the wood floor.  Sand the floor in the direction of the grain of the wood.  If your floor is warped (has a lot of high and low spots), sand the floor against the grain.  (It is recommended to consult a professional if your floor is very warped.)  Never let the sander sit in the same spot, it can make a swirl mark or remove too much wood in just seconds.  Walk the Drum sander forward from your starting point to the end of the room at a constant and steady speed.  Once you have reached the opposite wall, walk backwards pulling the sander back over the same line you have just made back to where you started.  Lift the sand paper off the floor by leaning the Drum sander back and move the Drum sander over to the left about 4 inches and do the same forward and backwards passes over the entire floor.  Move the Drum sander 4 inches to the left for each new pass. In the corners of the room and around the edges of the wall where the Drum sander can not reach, use the Edge sander also using 80 grit sand paper in a half circle motion moving back and forth. When finished with this step, sweep and vacuum.  At the end of this step all old finish should be removed.  If the finish still remains after you have made your first pass (line) you may need to use a more coarse grit sandpaper. See sandpaper grit guide

5.  Use a hand scraper to remove the finish in the corners of the room. 

6.  Use wood filler to fill in any large cracks or gaps in the flooring.  Allow proper time for drying (read the label for drying time). It is not necessary to fill in every single small crack because they allow room for expansion in your floor.  Solid wood shrinks and expands depending on temperature and moisture.

7.  Now you are ready for the second sanding stage.  Repeat the previous step using the 80 grit sand paper for the Drum sander.  You will need to go back over all the areas you used the Edge sander and hand scraper, with a Palm (hand) sander using 50 grit sandpaper.  This will remove the half circle marks the Edge sander has made.  Sweep and vacuum.

8.  Sweep and vacuum up all the dust.  Do not use water to clean up the floor.  Water can soak into the wood floor and cause damage such as warping or raising the grain.  Sweep and vacuum the entire room including the walls and ceiling.

9.  At this point your floor is ready for the floor buffer.  Use this to SCREEN the floor.  Use 120 grit screen disc on the buffer.  The store you rent the buffer from can show you what you need.  Start in the middle of the room and go over the entire floor

10.  Sweep and vacuum again.  Take your time on this step making sure all the floor, walls and ceiling are as dust free as possible.  You want the entire room dust free when you start the staining process.  Again, AVOID using water to clean up the floor!

11.  Time to stain your floors.  See Staining Hardwood Floors for complete instructions.