Floor sanding - Some questions.

[Coconutfeet]

Any ideas as to how much it would cost to sand the floors of a room approx 12ft x 24ft and a small hallway? We're in London btw.

Also someone told me that some people who do sanding have a sander that creates far less dust than the ones that you can hire yourself. Really? I have horrific memories of the amount of dust I managed to create when I sanded the floors in my old flat, so any way of reducing it would be great, especially as dp has a dust allergy.

We've also need to remove textured wallpaper throughout the room and, I suspect, get the walls replastered. Should we do this after the floors have been sanded?

[NicholasTeakozy]

Have a look at this site and be reassured about dust. They should also have a machine to do edges with minimal dust.

I'd probably do the floor first, then get it protected with polythene and hardboard before the walls are re-plastered.

[HazzaB]

We're just in the middle of doing exactly what you describe. The order we did it was - strip the old wall paper, skim the walls, leave to dry, paint walls (but not woodwork), then sand and seal the floors, and now we're just about to paint the woodwork. We're in Yorkshire, our room is 21m2 and it cost us £400 to have the nails knocked in, a few boards replaced, floor sanded and sealed (not stained). It's a good idea to get all the stripping and skimming done first, IME, because that creates quite a lot of mess potentially on the floor, especially the skimming. You can then get the walls painted and know that's all done and out the way. The professional floor sander doesn't create that much dust, and what it does can easily be brushed/hoovered off paint work. Any tiny little specks of dirt can be touched up on paintwork. Don't wallpaper or do your woodwork before the sanding, because you can't touch up wallpaper, and the sander might knock your skirting boards. If you leave the floor to dry for a good 24-48 hours before coming back in to paint the woodwork, it should be fine. Then cover with dustsheets.

[Coconutfeet]

Really helpful answers. Thank you to both of you.

Nicholas That video almost makes me feel like we could bear to do it ouselves and save ourselves a few hundred pounds. Do you have experience of that particular company?

Thanks for all the info Hazza. That's all really useful. I bet your room looks great now. £400 sounds reasonable - I'm always shocked by how much cheaper it is outside London. A friend was saying today that she paid £1000 for a similar job (which is making me even more inclined to do it ourselves).

[amazonianwoman]

We have some guys coming tomorrow to sand our small hallway, playroom (about 3.5 x 3.5 metres) and bedroom (6.5 x 4.5 metres) for £500 (Cheshire). I've used them lots in the past and they're amazing, the finish is way better than anything we could achieve doing it ourselves.

[GoTeamkozy]

I don't know that company, no. But I do have 15 years experience in flooring as a technical bod. So I know that type of machine works very well. If you have a Henry attach it to the edging sander, that will work way better than the bag it probably has attached.

Don't be scared, read and follow the instructions and you'll be fine.

[Coconutfeet]

Thats the thing Amazonianwoman. I'm sure that someone who does it every day is going to get a far better finish than I ever could.

Teamkozy well they're localish to me so I will give them a call and find out how hiring the equipment compares with getting it done by someone else.

[amazonianwoman]

It's definitely a worthwhile investment IMHO. The one time I sanded a floor myself it cost almost as much as hiring a professional, the edges were rubbish, the finish average and the varnish/wax/whatever we used didn't last as long. And I'd like to think I'm a perfectionist when it comes to DIY

[amazonianwoman]

They've been here less than an hour and the floors are already starting to look amazing. Get someone in!!

[HazzaB]

We started doing the floor ourselves, having hired a sander. It looked horrible mediocre and the dust was going everywhere. We're not complete novices - have always done it ourselves in other properties but the difference when you get a professional to do it is huge. So we stopped and called in the experts. They've done an amazing job.

[Coconutfeet]

Hmm. I'll get some quotes and see how they stack up. If it's going to be £500, then it's definitely worth getting someone in. If it's going to be more like £1000, then I think we'll be doing it ourselves. I'm sure they would do a much better job though. I remember having real trouble with the edges when I did it myself in our old place.

Hazza - Did you hire one of those new high-tech machines that don't create too much dust?

[amazonianwoman]

Coconut - my guys are in the north west but they have just finished a job in London. PM me if you would like contact details. Friends & I have used them in at least 6 houses. They have a huge amount of experience, long standing family firm. I could now roll around my bedroom floor in silk pyjamas and they wouldn't snag

[pootlebug]

We used this guy on a recommendation from here www.sandingwoodenfloors.co.uk/

He was great - filled the gaps properly with wood, not filler. The job was done around 8 months ago so can't answer for longer term wear and tear but just now it still looks amazing and everyone comments when they come round.

[Coconutfeet]

Amazonionwoman - I have PMed you. I love the idea of rolling round in my silk pjs all day (if only). The dust is a bit of an issue for us, given dp's allergy which has flared up again this weekend. Did they use one of the low-dust machines mentioned earlier in the thread?

Pootlebug - Thank you. I will drop him a line. I definitely want to get the gaps properly filled this time. When I did the floor in our old place I was advised to use a sawdust mixture which eventually fell through the gaps and left it really draughtly.

[HazzaB]

Hi Coconutfeet
The sander we hired when we started doing it ourselves was called the Multi-Speed Ht8 floor sander. We got it from a place callled Hire to You. It is high tech, apparently low dust, commercial grade etc etc. It might even be something similar to what the professionals used. But we just found it difficult to control and we were making a mess of the floor. Our floors in this old Victorian house had a thick layer of bitumen around the edges so that probably made it worse than it could have been. The professional guys have honestly not had a speck of dust outside of the room. They've hoovered and dusted (full wall dusting with feather dusters and an industrial vacuum) and I can't find a single speck anywhere inside the room. They hung huge plastic-coated sheets inside and outside the doors when they did the sanding. Honestly, it was amazing. And the floor looks breathtaking. They replaced two broken floorboards, filled all the gaps, and put edging around the floor as there was a bit of a gap between the floor and the skirting board when they were finished. I wouldn't have thought to do all that myself....