Using A Hardwood Floor Sander -

Home
>
Home Improvement
>
Using A Hardwood Floor Sander

Using A Hardwood Floor Sander

Refinishing your hardwood floors yourself can be time consuming and a bit scary at first but well worth it in the long run. It can cost a bundle to hire a professional to refinish your floors for you, but if you have the time, you can do it yourself.

The most difficult part is learning to run the sander. Many people are afraid of ruining their floors, and you can really damage a floor if you do not take care in the sanding.

Sanding is fairly easy if you pay attention and the finish does not take as long to dry as you might have been led to believe. You can rent a sander from your local Home Depot or hardware supply store. You'll need a drum sander, a belt sander or both. They will explain to you how to use the machine and tell you what kind of sand paper to purchase. They will also tell you what kind of stain and finish to get. Make sure you also pick up some dust masks because you will have saw dust everywhere.

The key to a good floor finish is the surface, so the most important thing when learning how to run the sander is getting a feel for the equipment. Sanders are not as hard to use as you think. They are loud and messy, but fairly easy to operate. Just keep the sander in motion at all times. Moving the sander in a constant motion will reduce the risk of damaging your floor. Equate it to using an iron on your clothes ? if you stop in 1 spot too long you'll burn a hole. The sander is similar since it creates a lot of heat, keeping it in 1 spot can burn or dent your floor.

The sander is a self propelling machine so it is easy to move, but you do need to keep in control of it at all times. Retain a firm grip on it when you power it up and you will get the hang of it after a few passes. You might even think it's fun!

Once you have removed to old finish by sanding, of course, you will need to apply the new finish. First you will apply a stain (if you want a stain ? some folks like to leave their floors natural) and then the finish to protect the floor. There are basically two types of floor finishes: one is oil-based and the other is water-based polyurethane. Furthermore, oil is broken down into a semi-gloss, gloss or satin. Satin is a good choice for a hardwood floor because it hides small flaws and lets the natural beauty of the wood show without a bright shine. An oil based finish will give your floor a warm amber glow. A water based finish will dry quicker and keep from yellowing.

Make sure you let each coat thoroughly dry before applying the next. Follow the manufacturers instructions on the finish before you occupy the room again. Usually you can move your furniture back in after about 24 hours.

Don't be overwhelmed. Just take it one step at a time and you'll soon have a beautiful new hardwood floor.

Lee Dobbins is a contributing writer for home improvement resources such as Refinishing-Hardwood-Floors.com. Visit our site and learn more about sanding hardwood floors.

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7757792.stmcid=1276197396ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNEQDBOFkXZ1HM1RUpARxKQYRSFxPwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=G45ZUhjyjosJimgurl=newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45255000/jpg/_45255302_shuttle_nasa_body226.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2BBC News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D9429975cid=1276197396ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNEfE9onFQHjUQXvbAz1f8w-x9FtDASpace Shuttle Crew bHome Improvement/b Project/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fKTNV Las Vegas,nbsp;NVnbsp;-/font nobrNov 30, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The space shuttle endeavour and its seven astronauts are making their way back to earth. The shuttle undocked from the international space station Friday b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DlE0yqH5wD9kcid=1276197396ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNGRSim3fSRjekq0jT2RajYJD1jEHwVideo: Raw Video: Shuttle Endeavour Lands in Calif./a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/lE0yqH5wD9k/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/lE0yqH5wD9ktype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.collegenews.com/index.php%3F/article/space_shuttle_endeavor_returns_home_2948566/cid=1276197396ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNFrCWUMCg4Xy1vAc1bVf_qlaPegRgSpace shuttle Endeavor returns bhome/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCollege News/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.counton2.com/cbd/news/national/article/space_shuttle_endeavour_forced_to_make_westcoast_landing/17540/cid=1276197396ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNHt7CMALTQ4vMhiEEoGW8gS5Y7ongSpace Shuttle Endeavour forced to make westcoast landing/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWCBD/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://chattahbox.com/science/2008/12/01/endeavour-makes-a-safe-landing-in-california/cid=1276197396ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNH3xv6dvBmHxzCD3m6tciIc_5OOxwnobrChattahBox/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail%3FcontentId%3D7980477%26version%3D3%26locale%3DEN-US%26layoutCode%3DTSTY%26pageId%3D3.2.1cid=1276197396ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNGdW_u_uV-sk3G94wNXp1gKn1iFkAnobrMyFox Houston/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276197396hl=ennobrall 4,800 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4B000M20081201cid=1276195229ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNFS8VJRYBHeIUHJ0ZGRLFT9gZtAcgDespite drop in oil, Americans seal up for winter/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fReutersnbsp;-/font nobrNov 30, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Across the northern United States, contractors, bhome improvement/b retailers and nonprofit groups report that such weatherization efforts continue apace, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/11/29/news/news/news532.txtcid=0ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNFKY-DY_bmF7BKmwp09YnjNpTFyWAbHome improvement/b contracts regulated/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDaily American Online,nbsp;PAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 29, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The bill will regulate written bhome improvement/b contracts and require contractors doing more than $5000 of work annually to be registered in the state. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%2520News/2056078/cid=0ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNGaVfxKg7MXGHA9aKWiPxOmgQyfRwSecondhand bhome improvement/b stores stock big savings/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTrading Markets (press release),nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 30, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The store is Stardust Building Supplies, a nonprofit organization that sells donated bhome improvement/b items at up to 80 percent off retail prices. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.antonnews.com/floralparkdispatch/2008/11/28/news/cid=0ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNEKqlk1MtCUV9EremeOWq4lKcRcKQSenior Citizens Beware of Lame bHome Improvement/b Companies/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fFloral Park Dispatch,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobrNov 28, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Over the past year, at least three local senior citizens have been taken advantage of by an out-of-town bhome improvement/b contractor for tens of thousands of b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.register-news.com/sports/local_story_336101257.html%3Fkeyword%3Dtopstorycid=1276417635ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNHgaZr1_sMZDcmE2h14Vqbr-ZxrVwLady Rams will continue to work toward bimprovement/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMt. Vernon Register-News,nbsp;ILnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1This will also be the team’s sixth straight game away from bhome/b, with the team’s first bhome/b game scheduled for Thursday. “It’sa huge challenge, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/home/sfl-flhg28briefasbnov28,0,2118220.storycid=0ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNFRek6YJzrQZXxXWCQz6FLYiwM9ugbHome improvement/b sometimes best left to pros/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSun-Sentinel.com,nbsp;FLnbsp;-/font nobrNov 28, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Their column has been in syndication for 20 years, and they have written 20 bhome improvement/b books. Each week the Hamiltons will compare the cost of a b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/12/01/20081201foreclosureblock1201.htmlcid=1276070055ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNHXrd43xNJ5nJgw7D9XjmGsTHqT0gForeclosures: Hardest hit blocks are in Tolleson/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fArizona Republic,nbsp;AZnbsp;-/font nobr20 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1On a recent morning, a crew from a bhome/b-bimprovement/b store put down new carpet in a house that had been vandalized after it fell into foreclosure. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Economic-Downturn-Sparks-New-Home/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BA60EF71D-11CC-45D5-A243-571D710137FC%257Dcid=1271847964ei=ZZU0Sfa7HqTe6APJ1ZzcDAusg=AFQjCNFqovZi4qDhQ1prsnJ3hXKry9AM-QEconomic Downturn Sparks New bHome Improvement/b Trend/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobrNov 18, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1With the harsh reality of uncertain economic times, and the average consumer shouldering $10000 or more in credit card debt, a new trend in bhome improvement/b b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

home improvement - Google News