Floor Sanding for beginner

[unionworkeruk]

My 16 year old nephew wants to turn his room into a bed sit. Sanding the floor is the main job I can hire a drum sander for £36 for 3 days. He has already sanded the edges with hand sanders and the floor is about 4m x 4 metres with two coats of emulsion paint on them.

Unfortunately I cannot be there when he does it so how powerful are drum sanders in terms of controlling them or will it control him. He is 6 foot and does weights. I have also ordered 4 40, 80, 120 grit rolls. Enough ? Are there gears on the sander eg slow fast etc so he can control the speed and work his way up if needed or just sand slowly. He is not daft but any advice would reassure me in making it safe and him doing a good job. Thanks

 

[SFK]

Union,
Great video here:

You need good face (dust) mask and I also taped up the doors to keep dust in room.
Also suggest knee pads.
Note the item about pushing down nail heads - that is the expensive part as they destroy a sanding sheet.

I found it did pull a lot, but as they have dead man handles, they do not run away.
The biggest issues is not standing in one area too long as you then get a dint in the floor.

And I recommend "osmo" to seal the floor afterwards (wiped on thinly), not varnish.


Sorry I cannot remember how many sheets of sand paper I used (my hire shop provided lots and I paid only for what I did not return), and I do not think there was any gearing.

SFK

 

[SFK]

To add, one thing that actually made me stronger was ear defenders. These stopped me trying to put my hands over my ears at same time as switching it on, and enabled me to be more focused on the sander.

AND if very worried, get him to give it a first try with the 80Grit sheets (not 40Grit) as then he can get the feel of it without making a big hole in the floor.

SFK

 

[opps]

I have also ordered 4 40, 80, 120 grit rolls.

Rolls?

Not all drum sanders use the same size sheets. Ordinarily, one takes the sheets provided by the supplier on a sale or return basis (ie you only pay for what you use).

You may want to hire an edge sander as well though. You mention that the parameter has already been sanded, the drum sander will only be able to sand up to about 6" from the skirting. It is likely to remove much more wood than the previous sander did.

You mention that the floors only have two coats on then at the moment. Are you sure that they were painted with emulsion? Nevertheless 40grit may be too excessive, that is unless the boards are cupped at the edges and you them as flat as possible.

I haven't watched the video provided by SFK but I assume that it covers most of the basics.

The sander will not have gears. You start it up, the cloth dust bag starts to swell. You have a lever that lowers the drum down to the floor and it starts pulling you across the floor (not in an overly aggressive way but you do need to stop it running away). At the end of the run, you lift up the lever to disengage the drum before the machine hits the skirting and leaves a dent in the floor.

Sand at 15 degrees to the joins in the floor, and never let the sander remain stationary when the drum is in contact with the floor.



He will need a wide flat head screw driver to undo the screws when the sheets need replacing.

Most firms will supply ear defenders. You may need to supply your own dust mask and eye protection.