Installing Hardwood Next Week

cjc21021

I am installing 8" unfinished pine in my newly purchased house. Do to costs I am thinking of sanding the floors myself. I have a friend that owns Apartments and refinishes his own hardwood floors there. He will lone me his orbital sander and instructed me on what edger to rent. His son is going to come out to help and instruct me on how to use it. His son has done more rooms than my friend. My only concern is that I am not sure how rough and square new unfinished wood is?
Will it be easier or harder to sand then refinishing floors. I am not going to use a stain but wanted to check on your opinions for sealer and polyurethane. I am laying this down on subfloor and I have 770 square ft to do. Any tips would be very helpful.

PrecisionFloors

Some of the s&f guys will be along to help I'm sure, but I do know one thing about pine.....an aggressive sander in the hands of the inexperienced can lead to disaster. Pine is very soft and therefore you can screw it up pretty darn quick.

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floorinstall

What kind of orbital sander are you talking about. I hope it 's not some small hand held unit. Is the wood white or yellow pine. Pine is hard to sand because it loads up the paper pretty quickly. I have found that the easiest way for the inexperienced person is to use a 17 or 18 inch buffer with sanding disk. When you install the would take the extra time to be sure that all the boards are pulled up tight to each other both along the side and at the ends. Pine dose not lend itself well to filler. Staining pine is difficult for the pro's. The only advise I can give you is don"t try to stain it to dark. The darker the stain the more pigment it contains and the harder it is to keep it even. This especially true of yellow pine. Hope this helps if you have any more specific questions post them here or PM me. Good luck.

cjc21021

The sander is at least 18 inches and is a commercial grade sander. I want the floor to be light in cloor so I am not even sure if I will stain it or just cover with poly. I included the link to let you guys see the product. I am sure you guys will be honest with me and not hold back you opinions. Any help and tips will be greatly appreicated. I have no other choice than to use these boards and I need to have it complete by the end of the month. I must be out of my apartment by then. Money is tight with a home and apartment and the total cost of this floor was only 970.00 for 770 square ft. If it is too bad I am not going to go broke replacing them in a year.


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