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I’ve been renovating my Carroll Gdns brownstone for about 4 years now and I’m almost done. One of the last parts of the job is sanding and refinishing the 100+ yr old wood floors on the parlor floor. While I’ve never done this before, I’ve done most everything else in the house myself (with help from friends and family, and contractors) and think I can probably handle it. Also, I had a bad experience with a hack who did some other floor sanding for me. So, I have the following concerns/questions, and would love some input-

1. Best place to rent a sander and edger?
2. Is there lead or other harmful things in old wood floors?
3. I’ve seen ads for hepa sander dustbag attachments – any info?
4. Should I paint the walls/ceiling before or after sanding/refinishing?
5. I have a pretty good solution for filling in the gaps between the planks (paintable clear caulk before the last coat of poly) – but wondering if anyone else has bothered with this?

Thanks.