So it is only right that i do an article about sanding wood floors with hand sanders.
Diy floor sanding hand sander.
To achieve the best results push the drum sander forward along the grain of the floorboards one row at a time.
Hard work that can be alleviated with the use of a floor sander.
A step by step video for a home owner on how to use various wood floor sanders and how to apply the finish.
Sanding the floor will kick up a lot of dust so protect light fixtures and tape over electrical outlets.
Be sure to check out how to use a belt or drum floor sander so you don t make common mistakes when using a floor sanding machine.
With that said i have now spoken to way too many people that will be sanding their floors by hand no matter what.
It needs to be a very well laid unfinished floor.
After you ve finished with the sanders the floor will look so good that you ll be tempted to skip this step.
If your floor has the normal wear and tear and a previous finish there s a good chance you are going to need to start on a 36 grit sandpaper.
You can do it with a rented buffing machine or with a sanding pole like the one used for sanding drywall.
If you have really really uneven floorboards you could start by sanding with the large drum sander diagonally to the floorboards to even things out and then move on to sanding in the direction of the boards.
You will have to sand around the edges of the room with the edging sander and sand the rest of the floor with the large drum sander.
You don t want the sander to hit and damage this and you also want to be able to get underneath it.
As i have said many times before sanding hardwood floors by hand can be a lot of hard work.
The best floor sander for beginning diyers unless you plan to sand many floors in your lifetime your best choice of floor sander is the random orbital sander from one maker in particular.
Sand the floor with a drum sander make sure the drumhead is sitting off the floor then pull back the lever that drops the drumhead onto the surface of the floor.