Floor Sanding: 7 Tips for Sanding Your Wooden Floor

Planning on sanding your wooden floors? Make sure you do the job right. These seven tips will leave you with floors that are perfectly finished.

Remove Molding Before You Sand

If possible, you’ll want to carefully remove molding before you start your sanding project. You can reinstall the molding after the project is finished. The reason for this is simple: when you sand around edges, the floor is lowered slightly. In addition, molding can easily be damaged if you don’t sand carefully.

As long as you can remove your molding without causing damage, take if off before you start your sanding project. The job will be easier to complete, and you’ll be left with better results.

Take Care of Stains Before Sanding

A lot of people assume that sanding will get rid of any stains in the wood. While this is true in some cases, it isn’t always the case. Many types of stains, such as pet stains, can’t be easily sanded away.

Treat your stains before you start the sanding process. You’ll have a much better chance of getting rid of them and finishing up with a beautiful floor.

Rent Everything You Need

A lot of people think you only need one machine for floor sanding, and rent their equipment accordingly. However, this isn’t actually the case. There are two things you’ll want to rent.

The first thing you’ll want to rent is a drum sander; this will take care of most of your floor. The second thing you’ll want to rent is an edge sander. This will help you to take care of the edges and finish the job off properly.

Properly Prepare the Room

Make sure you do everything you need to do in order to prepare the room for sanding. Remove all of your furnishings, and cover the doorways with plastic. Remove all window coverings, as well as any art on the walls.

You’ll also want to make sure you countersink your nails, and make sure you nail down any loose boards. A little bit of prep work will save you a lot of time and money.

Don’t Forget to Change Belts

When sanding floors, a lot of people simply don’t bother to change the belt. However, a dull sander belt can cause a lot of issues.

It can be hard to see how well your floor sanding is going as you’re doing the job. A lot of people assume the sander is working as it should. However, if the belt is dull, it’s likely that it won’t actually be sanding out scratches the way it should. You won’t realize that your floors weren’t properly sanded until after the job is done.

Save yourself some trouble and change out your belts frequently. You’ll be glad that you did.

Scrape Out Your Corners

There are spots that even an edger can’t easily reach. Use a paint scraper to clean out these hard-to-reach areas. After you scrape out the areas, use 100 grit sandpaper to get the kind of rough surface that will take a finish well.

Sweep and Vacuum Regularly

Periodically sweep and vacuum your floor before you move on to the next grit. If any granules get caught in your floor, they could wind up causing scrapes or gashes.

Follow all of the above you should have no problems with your flooring and end up with a professional finish.