How To Sand A Hardwood Floor By Hand

Solid hardwood boards are 3 4 inches thick and each has a groove milled in its side that overlaps the tongue of the adjacent board.

How to sand a hardwood floor by hand.

I know you re probably thinking yuck i hate sanding. The exact same way you would with floor sanding machines but with a lot more elbow grease. Start with a low grit like 40 climb to 60 80 then 100. If you need to get the project done and can t get a hold of a power sander you can still sand the floor by hand it will just take much longer and require much more effort.

You need a walk behind floor sander which you can rent. Then sand the entire area at the same angle moving constantly as you work. How to sand wood by hand. You also want to rent a handheld power edge sander for sanding tight against walls and in corners and doorways.

Sanding removes on average about 1 16 inch of material and sometimes more so you can safely sand a solid hardwood floor two or three times but no more. But it s quieter and doesn t spew dust all over the place. Use a handheld orbital sander ideally with a gear driven setting. Remove shoe moulding the wood trim where the wall meets the floor.

Before you start sanding remove everything from the room and vacuum the floor. Both units have a vacuum and dust. Sanding the floor will kick up a lot of dust so protect light fixtures and tape over electrical outlets. To refinish a hardwood floor the first thing you need to do is sand off the old finish.

To sand hardwood floors start by renting a drum sander and installing a coarse grit sandpaper onto the sander which will remove any noticeable damage or old finish from your floors. Sure hand sanding is a little slower than power sanding. But the truth is that with top quality sandpaper and a few special tools sanding by hand can be made a lot more pleasant. Be sure to always identify the board by running a close inspection at the point where the floor meets the wall if it s too thin you need to be extra careful and sand very lightly or you ll damage the floor.

Sanding a wood floor is a tough task that is usually done with a power sander. The groove overlap is typically about 1 4 inch thick.