Everything You Need To Know About Floor Sanding

By Author: Sean Farrell
Total Articles: 12
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A home with wooden floors is always welcoming and cozy. The right wooden floors can make your home look exceptional, but you will need to look after these floors properly to ensure that they are in their best condition. Keeping your wooden floors polished and clean will go a long way in maintaining their beauty, and sealing your wooden floors is almost a necessity.

A good way to keep your wooden floors well maintained, or to restore wooden floors that are going into shambles, is to sand them down and then seal them with a good varnish that can be polished regularly. We will take a look at the measures you will need to take to sand your floors successfully.

Preparation:

Firstly you need to remove all the furniture from the room, or area that you are going to be sanding. Most floor sanding tools feature an efficient dust pick-up, but it is most likely that some dust will escape during the course of your sanding. In order to ensure good ventilation you must ensure that all the windows are open.

All tacks, staples and other unwanted fixings must be removed from the floor. Failure to do so will result ...
... in damage to the abrasive paper and sanding drum of your floor sander. If there are any nails protruding, they must be punched below the surface of the floor using a suitable nail punch and hammer. Any screws used to fix the floor boards should be counter sunk below the surface.

Any loose boards or block must firmly fixed into place, and any heavy wax, grease or dirt deposits on the floor must be removed by hand. After doing this the floor must be vacuumed and swept thoroughly to remove any dirt and discarded fixings.

Operation of Your Sanding Machine:

Floor sanders are powerful machines. Always ensure that you have a firm grip before you switch it on. To prevent damage to the floor surface, always ensure that the sander is moving when in operation and that the sanding drum is in contact with the floor. Never lift the back of the machine whilst sanding and never apply pressure to try and increase the rate of sanding. It is important to be patient and to guide the sander gently, never dwelling in one place but moving steadily at all times. Care must be taken to prevent the cable from coming into contact with the sanding drum. Another extremely important operating procedure is to never move backwards whilst sanding; only sand in a forward motion!

Important Notes on Sanding Parquet and Block Floors:

The grain of the wood will run in a number of directions, therefore the floor must be sanded in the direction of the main source of natural light in the room. If there is no source of natural light, sand in the direction of the longest side of the room. If the room is square, sand in the direction that the furniture is laid out. This technique will help mask any imperfections in the floor.
Coastalhire is one of the largest power tool and equipment hire companies in Southern Africa with over 90 branches in operation. For more information and to view franchise opportunities visit http://www.coastalhire.co.za