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HSS will have one, no?
The local hire place has them but they were all out on hire. There's a HSS in Stockport I think so I could rent one there. £23 plus vat (so £27) for the first day's hire then
£35 will buy me a "power pro" which is B&Q's own brand stuff = [url= http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/planing-sanding/sanders/Performance-Power-Random-Orbital-Sander-400W-12389417?skuId=12910121 ]link[/url]
It won't stand up to professional use, but for the odd job it should be ok. For the extra, I'm tempted to buy the tool then I don't have to panic about getting it back before they close - but I see what you mean about hiring a pro tool that will do the job better
'Sup to you dude. If it were me, I'd be hiring. If you use it for a whole day and drop it back first thing the next morning, you'll only get charged for the day (I think). You'll piss it in a day with a good one.
I'd listen to the Brizzle floor-layer. For the sake of £30 hire the proper tool, otherwise you'll just extend the agony...
Can't believe you're doing that with a 1/3 sheet sander, that's made my day 😆
[quote=nealy ]Can't believe you're doing that with a 1/3 sheet sander, that's made my day
We live and learn. I've learnt to trust my instinct and call the pros next time 😉
First thing today I called the hire place and asked for a random orbital sander as recommended by 40DD. BOth still out on hire, but he recommended a regular orbital sander instead - offered to let me try it and return without charge if an hours work didn't impress.
It's made a massive difference. All the crap's now gone from the top and I'm onto sanding down the rougher bits with P60 - but my back's killing me so I'm having a few minutes off.
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Got some P80 to use after that to bring up the finish, perhaps should have picked up some P120 as well but Hire Guy reckoned it wouldn't be needed. Still need to go round the very edges under the skirting, am tempted to hire the edging sander they have rather than using my hand-held delta though.
Nice job mate! 😀 Glad the orbital made a difference. The rest of it should be easier and use less discs. Looks waaaaayyyyyy better than your earlier effort.
Will the orbital not go right up to the skirts then?
Cheers for that, makes me feel a bit better 😀
Sander's a half sheet not a disc - one of these
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Call me stupid, but when I get close to the skirts the sander starts banging off them and I'm just worried about it doing damage. Won't fit under the radiator in any case.
Still not an easy job, too much like hard work for my liking. MY back's not very happy so I might treat myself to another cuppa tea before i get back to it
edit: I've gone as close to the skirts as possible, but there's a pretty big gap under them as they were on top of the laminate that came up - the sander won't touch that stuff, but the delta has a tongue thing that might help
That's more like it! Well done for persevering. It's so much more satisfying to have done it yourself.
**** me no way would I be attempting that without the real deal.
Like mowing a lawn with scissors.
Al, I'd have to agree, with the proper upright sander and edger it's about an hours work.
Disappointed mc. Thought you'd just have strapped a bit of hardboard and sandpaper to the bottom of a flymo 🙂
Disappointed mc. Thought you'd just have strapped a bit of hardboard and sandpaper to the bottom of a flymo
Rik, we just spent the weekend with the Dangerous Brothers, after a weekend of their madness, your suggestion almost sounds practical.
Still not finished yet! Small bits around corners and doors to sand, then the varnish. Poor nbt, he went back to work today for a rest.
This is what I worried might happen if I went right up to the skirts with the sander - you can see where the sander has taken the paint off the skirts
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Luckily that bit will be hidden by a bookcase.
Did this by hand - as in by hand with no machine. There was an inch of unsanded board that had been covered by the door and the masking tape I'd used to seal the gap
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this is the last major bit left, need to take it back to the wood so that the door covers the changes - will add a strip of metal to cover the actual join, dunno what they;re called bu t we had one to cover the change from laminate in the hall to the boards in the front room, that'll be repurposed for the doorway above
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Next problems once it's all sanded is going to be arranging a day off work to do the varnishing!
And now, some SEVEN weeks after starting it, I've finally found time to get the last bits done. In the past week I've hand sanded the awkward bits and today, on the nicest Sunday in weeks, while my wife was out riding with the rest of the gang, I got it varnished. Done two coats today, I might add a third coat I think.
First coat down:
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And second coat
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Pleased? Yes. Would I do it again? No, I'd pay someone else to do it.
What you doing about the gaps between the boards. Our floor looks like a worn version of yours and the drafts in winter are annoying.
I would use a belt sander with a hoover on it to start with.
The go through the grades using an orbital sander to get a nice finish!
[quote=jonba ]What you doing about the gaps between the boards. Our floor looks like a worn version of yours and the drafts in winter are annoying.
at the moment, nothing. If it gets bad I've got a bag of sawdust I can mix with PVA to put down, or there's a crawlspace underneath so I could go under and tack on a blanket as has been done in the lounge
Looks great. You will be properly astonished by how much difference insulating under that floor will make to comfort and heating bills. You'll be able to walk around barefoot too so it'll stay that way.
Cheers
(oh and one hundred 🙂 )
Looks great mate!
Came back from a great ride to find hubby slumped in a garden chair at the front of the house, tired but happy.
I am sooooo pleased with the result.
To resurrect this thread.....
Our lounge has pine floor boards which were varnished a while ago. This has now worn down to the point where we're back to bare wood where people walk. To get it looking fresh again do i need to go through the whole process as nbt has or will one of these and a few coats of varnish do the job?
http://www.hss.com/g/5432/Floor-Re-Finish-Sander.html
I presume (perhaps incorrectly) that its an easier job than the one nbt has just completed?
Personally I'd go over the existing varnish with a sheet of fine sandpaper and then wipe down with some white spirit, then just varnish it. If it looks great then you've saved loads of time and effort. If it doesn't work, then use a machine. If you've a fair sized room then an upright machine like that will be a lot easier to use, but TBH removing varnish is not hard work at all, the problem I had was that I was removing a layer of wood. I've had to take the odd bit of varnish off over the weekend while tidying up and even doing it by hand it came off really easily
then again that might just show that i'm using cheap nasty varnish!
Hmmm, ok, thanks for that. Will have a go with my mini sander and make a call on what sander to hire from that. 16 sq metres and a quote for just under 500 for sand, fill and varnish makes me tempted to have a go.
Well done that man!
End result looks great - well done.
I would like to sand the floorboards in one of my bedrooms. The thing is the boards each have a pretty big gap between them, approx 2-5mm between each board. What should I do about that?
The gaps are too big for filler.
I have heard of people using wood strips to fill big gaps, but that seems a lot of work when it has to be done every board.
Seems like I could lift all the boards completely, relay them and probably fit in another whole board. Again lots of work though.
Any advice?