merging new polished timber floor with existing

hello all!
I am new to this forums as a contributor, but have read through threads in the past.

I have a question, well 2 actually. I am not the most handy of handymen, but I can apply myself to any situation.

My wife and I are in the process of prettying up our house to sell, but not wanting to spend alot in the process by doing too much, basically a paint job internally, replace light fittings etc.

Anyway, we have nice polished timber floors in most areas of the house, but vinyl in the kitchen, and it looks ordinary. Basically I would like to rip up the vinyl, sand back the floor and polish it.

so my questions are this:
how hard is it to sand back a floor and polish, being a 'non handyman' that I am? I have been told it isnt hard, just go hire a floor sander and a corner sander, sand away then clear coat.

second question:
how do I merge the new polished floor with the existing? I dont want to have to sand back and polish the whole area of the house floor that is polished timber but I dont want it too look to obvious. Although this will be hard I know. The connecting area of floor is only hallway wide which is good.

so thats it. I couldnt tell you what sort of timber the floor is, other than the house was built in the 60's and I live in south eastern Queensland.

thanks for any help :)

Craig

1. It's hard, dirty work. But you can manage a reasonable finish with just those basic tools.

Hint: never, ever stop the sander while the drum is in contact with the floor. Not even to change direction. Lift it off while still moving, change direction, then lower it again while moving. Otherwise you'll end up with ripples you may not notice... until you apply a finish and then the reflections will make you think "Oops!"

Many, many floors have these ripples, they're usually not noticed by most people in a furnished house. But you will always know they're there... (funny that. :rolleyes:)

2. Odds are that you won't match it. It's a challenge even for a pro, as the already polished floorboards have probably darkened with age and there's always the finish compatibility issue.

Sanding/finishing the whole floor would, IMHO, give the better results. (It's a bit like trying to patch a small area on a timber table-top... easier to finish the whole thing, unless you've had years of practise. :wink:)

Thanks for the tips. Seeing as we are selling up, and the house isnt worth a hell of alot anyway, paying the extra money to do the whole floor isnt going to get us alot more on a sale price. We just thought we would do the kitchen floor cos the vinyl looks average, and people might go 'oo that looks nice' and seal the deal so to speak.

I would rather a pro to do it, as you say, it would be a dirty job! But again, due to us selling up, I cant justify the cost, and a builder I draft for reckons a flooring mob would charge a bit for a job like that (even though it is only about 10-15 sq/m of floor) At least the floor under has no previous finish on it to sand off, it is just the original tounge and groove.

I think I might get a quote for a pro to do it, then weigh it up.

thanks for the tips though!

you may also run into the problem of pulling out and filling all the holes from the staples that hold down the masonite under the vynl!

most pros will charge between $20-$35 per square meter if you want a prof job