Bed Stuy Reno
« Back Parlor Painting
November 9, 2009
Back Parlor Sanding
Removing the Paper After Painting
The First Pass with the Drum Sander
The Finished Results
After painting the back parlor room, G and I switched gears the following weekend to sanding the floor. We still had the sander and edger we were borrowing from our generous neighbor, with which we had previously sanded the kitchen floor.
We needed the back parlor habitable by Thanksgiving, since G’s mom was coming from Brussels to stay with us. At the time, G and I were camping out on the bottom floor and trying to get the top floor rented. The last time G’s mom had come for a visit, we were still living on the top floor, where we had just finished painting and sanding, and the bottom two floors of the house were still deeply “in progress.” We wanted to show G’s mom that the house had evolved since her last visit, and also give her a comfortable room to stay in.
We had about three weekends to go before T-day, so we needed to crank through the sanding and get on to the sealing, so we could let the floor dry, and then try to furnish the room in some kind of inviting way.
When sanding, G works the drum sander, and I work the edger. I hate the edger. It’s heavy and awkward to use, and extremely powerful and aggressive, so requires a lot of control. It’s also incredibly loud, and the whole thing creates a lot of dust too. The experience of sanding is really intense, kind of like spending a day inside an airplane engine. But the best part of it is the transformative results.
The back parlor floor cleaned up pretty well – I wouldn’t say perfect, being that there were a lot of stains and weird marks to begin with. We got maybe 80% of all the stains and marks up, but the floor still bears some evidence of its history.
Comments
Looks great! I like the diagonal boards, and they cleaned up really well. Gives me hope for our floors.
Posted by: albemarle at November 9, 2009 11:58 AM
I have always thought that painting before sanding made more sense, but professionals have told me it's the other way around.
What is the consensus - paint then sand or sand then paint?
Posted by: Stonergut at November 9, 2009 1:49 PM
awesome hepl me have another look wait for new work ~~
: ). I can’t be happier.
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Posted by: williamtiger at November 10, 2009 7:53 AM
In our house, we've always painted and then sanded. Our concern was getting paint on the nicely sanded and sealed floors.
Sanding creates dust (lots of it), but you can always wipe down the walls and vacuum after.
- Peter
Posted by: P at November 10, 2009 8:28 AM
wow, great job. the paint color looks really nice too. Strange that the area in front of the fireplace is wood instead of something inflammable. Do you think it's a patch replacing stone or marble?
Posted by: BHS at November 10, 2009 2:29 PM
Yeah, unfortunately, someone at some point took out whatever hearth (is that what you call it?) existed in front of the fireplace and patched it with wood. Same thing in the front and back parlor. Some day, we'll get these fireplaces up and running, but I think that will come with a hefty price tag. The fire boxes most likely would need to be rebuilt to code, new linings in the chimneys, stripping the mantles, and setting some nice stone in the floor in front of them.
- Peter
Posted by: P at November 11, 2009 9:13 AM
When I saw the room, I immediately thought "hmm, looks very Belgian!" The dark walls ( complex rich colour) and the light floors really say "Belgian" to me, so it is funny that one of you is!
I know that you have plans for the floors throughout your house, but have you ever considered leaving them light -- treating them with lye and finishing with white oil? I think they would look amazing.
Posted by: MD at November 16, 2009 9:29 AM
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