Varnishing red deal floor, do i need sander etc

dwayneburke

I am taking up my carpet upstairs and thinking about varnishing the floor (cheaper option than getting wooden floors)

I think it is red deal wood underneath (if not red deal it is very light wood) that is approx 5 years old. I took up part of the carpet and it looks fine i.e. no paint marks etc.

The question is do i need to do any sanding etc before hand or is it just a matter of sweeping it out and barnishing straightaway?

If so i was thinking of hiring a sander from HSS etc to do the job but if i can get away without spending unnecessary money the better

Any ideas?

Tks

Boston

You will need to sand them down first. Most of those flours however are ment to be covered over, and are not put together well in the first place.

dwayneburke

Boston tks for the reply. I notice that they look fairly ok and also this is also a stop gap for a year or as i will eventually get new covering carpet ot otherwise.

If it turns out totally crap i can also do it sooner im just interested can i get away with it for the time being......conserve at a bit of funds

Boston

Seems like alot of work for just a year though. Sand them down, hover them, wipe them down with a cloth, then varnish them. Thats if you want a decent job.

dwayneburke

Prob will do that, i see it if it works out crap (even though i will sand etc) i will cover in the future if it works out well or very well i will keep for longer

mad m

if your going to get a professional sander from a hire shop,make sure first that you bang down any nails before u startup sander,its most likely going to be the drum sander,but if you rip each sandpaper off a nail they charge you for each sandpaper you use....

Ive done alot of floors in past so if you want ill pm you my number and u can ring me for advice or ill keep typing......

So lets say your getting a pro sander....make sure before u turn it on u have it raised or it will eat into floor boards. As ur lowering it walk slowly with it while lowering it...and when your coming to the other end do opposite raise it a little each time before u come to end...

The sandpaper u get with it goes up in grades the lower the number the rougher the paper E.G...P60 is rough while P120 is smooth so id advise you to start with the smooth paper first going across the boards not with grain as floor boards are naturally bowed so u want to get middle bit first before you go with grain....go up n down floor boards a good bit(against grain) u will notice it will take alot from boards..
So after all this is done pick a rough sandpaper id say P60 if you have it or maybe P80 go in direction of grain and till ur satisfied with result remembering to always make sure u lower sander while ur walking abit forward as the bite from it will pull you forwards anyway...

Then go onto a finer paper like P100(thats all ofcourse if your supplied with these grades,some can be smoother than what im saying to you from hire shop)
Go in direction of grain with the P100 till ur happy with the condition of boards....
Now someone mention Varnish thats ok but if its spirit based it will take ages to dry.but u can get a Two pack celleose based Varnish called GRANITE or MORELLES they come with a Catalyst that is the Harder(500ml) and all u do it add it the the 5litre can...now this has a pack life of 36 hours once harder is added...So u need a new tray and a MO-HAIR sleeve with a roller cage and a roller pole and apply the two pack varnish,this stuff drys very quick and sand inbetween coats with used smooth sandpaper from hireshop.You will be able to get 4 coats in one day on your floor with the Varnish,its hardwareing too.Forgot to say also that if your not happy how floor boards turn out and they not clean enough you can always stain and varnish over it too...

The fumes can be over coming from this stuff too.but also as an alternative Dulux has a water based varnish called DIAMOND COAT which i hear is good also....And i think you can get it with a stain added too.not 100% sure

Oh and the floor boards are probably white deal if they very white,if they were red deal u would see red going through them...red deal is bit harder than white deal....oh make sure u have ear plugs too,ringing in ear is not good once uve finished.....

ok hope this helps

dwayneburke

Mad M

Thanks a million for that very in dept explantation well appreciated....:)

I took some advice from my uncle who is a pro painter and decorator and he advised i use a hand sander (it involves a lot of time on my knees and a sore back but for the size of the room i.e. 12 X 12 approx it may be easier)....would you agree with this??

If so i would probably buy one as if this turns out ok I will do the same with another similiar room i have.

I went looking around and in Argos catologue it seems to be 2 main types of sander i.e. Orbital sanders and belt sanders

The belt sander i was looking at is

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=251&productId=92537

and the orbital sander is
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=251&productId=93741

Am i right in assuming a belt sander would be more what im looking for??

there is a selection of them here...

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=251&langId=-1&searchTerms=sander&viewType=seeAll&sortBy_1=16384&searchScope=458&searchType=&maxResults=36&fltrCatIds_1=12641&catId_1=12641&catName_1=DIY%2C+garden+and+pets&catHits_1=36&catId_2=12498&catName_2=Toys+and+games&catHits_2=8&catId_3=12217&catName_3=Furniture&catHits_3=1

Or am i still better off in getting a large type from the Hire shop?

Tks for your help

Dwayne

mad m

To be honest i have found the orbital sander not that good at all....there is one you can get from hire shops its sort of an angle grinder one but you fit circular sandpaper discs onto it,this is great for getting in under skirtings as well...the Orbital sander your arms and hands will be falling off you after awhile.....see if you can get the one im talking about or ask in hire shop,i dont think these are big money to rent out....but i suppose the belt one is better than the orbital but as i said the floor boards are naturally bowed so it might be hard to sand the centre....the angle one i describe check it out....ok

thanks....btw just a word of precaution on the angle grinder sander watchout and be carefull if you do decide to get this one...watchout when ur sanding near radiator pipes these can slice through them like knife through butter if you accidently hit off them....

Cionn

I recently moved into a house and sanded the floors. I think it is a great way to get something that looks good cheaply as you can always carpet over when you save some money. I used a standard sander with the rectanglar sanding head and this did the job fine although it's not the quickest way of doing it. I also had a belt sander available but ended up not using it as it was harder to direct the sanding force and also I clipped the odd nail and shredded the belt (they're not cheap either).
I used a ronseal wood stain and it was fine I think it was about 20 euro a tin in woodies. Cleaning the boards after a sanding and getting rid of as much dust as possible really effects the finish so clean up as you go along.
I think it is a great easy way to spruce up a room although in the winter if the boards arn't perfect it will let allot of cold air into the room.

Good luck with it

silverside

I got it done on a full (smallish) house for well under 1000 euro. That price was worth it for me as I wouldnt really know what I'm doing.
Took him 3 or 4 long days but looks well afterwards. The boards were red deal which came up really well. The guy used a big industrial sander and some special varnish which needed a hardener to set it - I think you can buy it yourself in builders suppliers.

Points to note
You will have a lot of dust afterwards (around 3 big binbags of dust).
The varnish smell lasts a week or two.
The dust lingers in the house for months and falls on skirting etc.
Deal is not that durable so you will have little dents and scratches from everyday wear and tear, don't know if that bothers you.

BaZmO*

Just a little tip when preparing the floor. Once sanded, use turps/white spirits on a clothe to wipe the floor before varnishing. I think the reason for doing this is because it evaporates much quicker than water and it doesn't soak into the wood.

Also, I'd definitely think twice about using a small hand sander to do the job. Unless you are a VERY patient person and are willing to put in a lot of man hours hire a proper drum sander they are not that expensive, relatively speaking.
I remember on the advice of somebody else that should of known better I sanded a full room with just a hand sander and it took me forever, and I'm no slouch, early start and late finish.
Last summer I helped a friend do his whole downstairs but this time we hired a proper sander and edger. It took a while but there was more to do.

As "mad m" said be really careful with radiator pipes, skirting and the edge of fire places.

B.

mad m

Just to point out about what BaZmO* said about using white spirits he was right in a a way to use white spirits to wipe floor boards, But the main reason why this was done was on old previously varnish wood after being sanded down,it was to degrease the wood from hand marks and just anything that would either ciss the varnish or prevent it from drying....if u sand the floor boards back to what the looked like when they where put it there is no need to do this as sanding gets rid of it all.....i meant to correct myself about the Granite or Morells stuff i mentioned that needed a harder its not a varnish its a laquer.....and to point out too if its a bedroom dont worry about the wear and tear they usuall dont get that much as a sitting room or kitchen would.....all wood gets it wear and tear from hardwood to softwood....

but having thought that your room is 12X12 its not small but the circular sander i mentioned is quick but take ur time to get used to it first and make sure u have the sandpaper on it securely screwed in as one time i didnt and it flew off and sliced into my leg....all in all floor sanding like most things takes experience,most people are satisfied with what they do and others get a Pro to do it....As for me i gave it up as it was hard work and i only used to do them as a nixer.....no pun for work intended....if u have anymore Q's let me know

thanks

dwayneburke

Hi,

I took up carpet and the glue that was used to keep the carpet down is proving to be a real pain. Its all along the edges and was nearly impossible to shift so i got white spirits on it which helped me move most of it but left a glue residue which im trying to get off with a scraper.

It is still quite damp at the moment so prob going to leave it till tomorrowat this stage and then give it another go with the sander

Any ideas or advice (the rest of the floor is looking great BTW)