Sanding floor in small room
As I mentioned in my earlier post about plaster repair, we’re down to the maid’s room in our restoration. It’s 11×6, and the w/d take up some of that floor space (they’re mounted/leveled on marine ply base, which I’m not going to touch). To sand the red pine floor, seems like it would be extreme…
As I mentioned in my earlier post about plaster repair, we’re down to the maid’s room in our restoration. It’s 11×6, and the w/d take up some of that floor space (they’re mounted/leveled on marine ply base, which I’m not going to touch). To sand the red pine floor, seems like it would be extreme overkill to rent a drum sander. My first thought is a 4″x24″ belt sander. It’ll be slow but cheap and lightweight. I suppose I could rent an edge sander but they’re pretty heavy. Any other ideas? It’s such a small area that I can just do the edges/corners by hand.
Thanks.
I did exactly that. 8×12′ room with a 4×24 belt sander bought used from a woman who bought it used to sand her kitchen floor. And I used two different random orbital sanders (one with a point to get into the corners) that I had for other projects anyways. Cheap ones, and they have held up fine.
I had some really worn boards that I did not trust the brute machines to finesse the floor, anyway.
Also, a drum sander in a tight space is like using a toilet brush in your mouth. No room to maneuver. Sorry about the analogy.
I am pleased with the results. If you have a feel for wood and when to step up to a finer grit, you should be fine. I did use the hand-held orbital sander with 120 grit for the whole floor to finish it off.
I just couldn’t justify the hassle and expense of renting the professional equipment, which I have used for larger surfaces.
Thanks. I had thought to use my random orbital for the whole floor but was worried I’d burn out the motor. Guess I’ll give it a whirl…so to speak…
What is a jenator machine? Guess that’s what google is for…
the belt sander may not sand as even as a drum sander; it may leave flat spots particularly if you move slower in a spot. As for the edges, a random orbital with 60 grit should work on pine. could try 80. sand it to 120.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me. I have a drum sander, edger, and all kinds of other sanders.
Steve
http://www.thetinkerswagon.com
347-813-9635
jenator machine with 80 grit screen and then 120 grit screens.