sanding floorboards

[ianbealesonwheels]

We are getting ready to sand the floorboards in our Victorian house. Ideally I'd like to retain their original colour, but also want to coat them with something we can wipe clean. I'd love to be able to mop them (if possible??) What type of finish can anyone recommend? I assume not oil. Thanks

Just come down for a cup of tea, after putting 3rd coat on newly sanded floor.

Water based varnishes.
3, probably 4 thin coats.
Sand
Hand finish sanding.
Sweep
Hoover
Hoover again
Have dusting brush in hand,( clean unused paintbrush) to go over each patch of floor before putting varnish on.
All this because it's so frustrating to find you've varnished dog hairs etc onto your floor.
Defo v. v. fine sandpaper between 1st and second coats.
gives sound advice

I get heavy duty water based finish from trade supplier used by local professionals.
A bit of googling will probably find you the same in your nearest city.

Thanks that is so helpful. But also makes me want to cry that this is going to be way harder than we realised!

Wondering how I'd have found the supplier if I didn't know it was there, iyswim,I just googled ' wood finishing suppliers' and it brought up the place I use

I used to work for a flooring contractor. Permaexhaustion gives good advice. We would've recommended Bona Kemi water based finishes. Any gaps or cracks can be filled by mixing clean dust (ideally from 2nd or 3rd sanding ) with filler. You can choose the level of sheen and will be able to clean the floor with a damp mop afterwards. Main thing we always said was sand, clean, allow dust to settle again in room and clean again to remove as much dust as possible before putting any finish on the wood.

OTOH, some people say I'm a bit of a perfectionist: you can be a bit more slapdash, and still get good results.

And if you love wood, it's a v satisfying job.

I've hired sanders, and sanded quite a few floors in my time.
Tbh, not as young as I was, so find heavy floor sanders a bit much. Plus I've come to realise how massively easier it is to pay someone else to do that bit : not just less work, but professional sanding machines do a better job, cope with uneven boards, and, release about 1/100 of the amount of dust into the air.

So now I get a floor sanded, and seal it myself.
But it's not cheap, and if I wasn't getting mates rates, or if I was skint, or had a lot to do, I'd still do it myself. But I'd pay some younger muscle to lift the machine, and take turns.

If you do hire the floor sanding and edging combo, go over the floors with a nail punch, and make sure nothings protruding- it'll just rip a £3 sanding sheet straight off. Professional machines just run straight over, and sand the nail flat.

You'll end up with beautiful, moppable( but don't leave pools of water or a damp mop on them)
floors, with a warm feeling.

Last thing, then I'll shut up.

Buy a kneeling pad

DH very much loves wood, but I will have to cope with the mess and the small DC while he is having fun It will all be worth it in the end though! We are having loads of work done, so rather foolishly thought we could save a bit of money by DIY this!

Shoofly I have looked up Bona Kemi it looks perfect thanks

We never went to such great lengths for our's. We hired two sanders, banged all the nails in, then we sanded. One sander for the edges and one for the middle. Then we wiped it all down with methylated spirit. Then we slapped two coats of Osmo oil on, 8 hrs apart. I used to steam clean it and did mop it occasionally, just preferred the steam cleaner.

I decided to use Osmo based on threads on here. Amazing stuff, I wouldn't use anything else.

how long should sanding one room take btw? we are doing 3 over the bank holiday

roughly 3x4 m each

We have done two rooms in our house, sanding Georgian/Victorian wood floors.

Don't underestimate how long it will take. To be completely honest, we hired for two days for each room. I'm sure more could be done in the time, but it is hot, gritty, dirty work and we wouldn't have managed more than one room over two days. Our rooms were about 3m x 5m and about 4m x 6m.

We used Ronseal DiamondHard Floor wax. It is brilliant, has a very soft sheen, dries like a dream and can be touched up as and when because it is natural feeling. I much prefer it to the varnished floorboards in my parents house as it feels warm and less "shiney" underfoot. Not cheap tho!

We sanded many times, with gradually finer sandpaper. Then wiped over with white spirit to clean off all dust without introducing water. Let the white spirit evaporate (not long!) and then waxed with two coats.

I've also used the floor wax to wax a stripped banister rail, an oak worktop and a wooden cupboard! It's very versatile!

dust mask

gloves

ear defenders.

ear defenders, I said. EAR DEFENDERS!

We did one room, 16 x 12 ft in two days. Best part of one day to sand the whole thing.

Yacht varnish gives a lovely smooth, shiny hard wearing finish.

Keep the sawdust and mix with pva to fill in any cracks.