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Does anyone have any experience of Orbital sanders or Band sanders for smoothing old floor boards. The house I'm renovating was built about 300years ago and the floor boards are oak nailed to 10cm X 10cm joists. There is some surface damage to some areas but the boards are mainly OK. I have no experience of these type of sanders and have only used a small vibrating sander in the past which would obviously be inapropriate for this job. I have attached a picture of the boards.
Trevor Hoare
Make sure you punch those nails or expect a big sandpaper bill.
If the boards are really old you should not touch them ! Imagine destroying an ancient patina for the joy of having a new looking floor in an old house. Go and buy a 1950s cottage and sand bits of it.
DON"T USE A HAND HELD BELT SANDER.
Apart from the fact it's hard yakka, your knees will ache and your back will end up so sore you'll hardly be able to stand.
Then when you finish the floor with a gloss clear finish you get to see the full effect of the snake trails you have created with the belt sander.
My reaction was "crap, look at that". (Or words to that effect).
And I only touched up the floors after filling the nail holes and the gaps between the boards. I did the bulk of the sanding with a proper floor sander.
Some lessons are hard learnt.
Glen
HIRE A FLOOR SANDER
or someone to do it.
Thanks to all who posted replies to my question about sanders. I have now had a rethink about the whole task of cleaning up the floorboards.
Doorstop. Thanks for the info about timber type. I think you’re right in the boards are pine and it was a belt sander I was meaning.
Len. I have noted the comment about the patina and yes you are right it would be a great shame to loose that. Though when you have a house filled with patina mixed with rat holes and old woodworm infestations it’s easy to loose sight of saving all of it.
Glen. Your comments finally did it for me to rethink the whole job.
I am now intending to clean the floors with a damp cloth using a mild solution of water/washing up liquid. Let it dry thoroughly and then wipe the floors with linseed oil. I will have to fill rat holes and gaps with pieces of similar timber.
Does anyone have any other suggestions about treating the boards and with what without causing unnecessary damage?
Trevor
bugger the damp cloth and mild detergent.
bucket
scrubbing brush
good floor cleaner
would be a start.
If its 300 years old and unsealed its probably seen much worse.
If you want a pretty floor dont be timid sand the mongrel and seal it nice but have a look at other products than polyeurathane.
Sounds good to me too. You might try cutting the linseed with veg. turps about 50/50, better still replace the linseed with tung oil. (Think of the money and back strain you just saved). The ratholes and rot are going to keep you busy enough by the sound of it. I talk to every builder who I can get hold of when I'm renovatingbecause there is always a sensible solution to every issue. Good Luck.
A word of caution before you spread linseed oil about:
I re-installed a new timber floor in an old building a while ago and finished it with linseed oil.
The stuff went as sticky as melted sugar and stank like, ... well like someone had just poured linseed over the whole place. It stank so much the dog wouldn't come in despite it being sub-zero temperatures overnight. It took a few months for it to settlle down, but you can still smell it. I only use the hut every couple of months and cringe at the thought of doing it to a house you have to live in.
Perhaps I stuffed up :confused:
I hope someone can set you straight on how to cut it and apply it and what to do if it turns pear shaped and you end up outside just like the dog.
Thanks again to Soundman, Len and Eastie for your replies.
I went ahead with what I said previously, before I read any of your replies, and applied the linseed.
The amount of linseed was quite small. About a half litre to five litres water and applied with an old fasioned mop.
It looks good and I happen to like the smell of linseed oil but then I only used a small amout as I said.
I will now consider tung oil for the future. It's not something I'm familiar with. I have noticed tung oil mentioned a few times on this forum and have now read up on it. I think you are right and I will use that for the rest of the house.
Thank you all again for your input and for such a useful forum.
Trevor Hoare
Now did i Read it right ? linseed oil and water ? Mate you had better get your hands on a copy of Neil Ellis's "A Polishers Handbook" and read about oil finishing, I'm pretty sure water doesn't come into it. And Eastie looks like you might have missed a step, and I know it sounds wasteful, but after you wipe the linseed on you leave it for half an hour and then you wipe it off again otherwise you get left with this sticky horrible film... But dont feel too bad my Dad decided in the late 60s that he didn't want to pay the outrageous prices that paint companies charge and that he could make his own with linseed oil, titanium oxide and thinners. So he mixed up this horrible brew and started painting this vast old farmhouse we lived in. After about a week he began to realise that the paint was not drying but being a determined(not to say pigheaded) bloke he painted for another week before giving it away. The paint took over six months to dry and developed an indelible rash of black mould. A triumph of DIY.
Yes Len. It was my idea as I thought originally of making an emulsion of the two but decided it didn't matter as the oil stayed on top of the water in the bucket and the mop absorbed mainly water with a bit of oil. The effect has been to clean the boards and leave a smear of oil which has soaked in a bit and the whole lot has dried out fine allowing me to polish the boards with a large lump of dry cotton.
I know it's probably not the way a professional would want to do it but is maybe a bit like applying spit to polish when cleaning leather. Anyway thanks for your comment and reservations as you can always learn something new.
regards
Trevor Hoare