Sanding Hardwood Floors

bigbrew

Plan on redoing my floors in my house. I've heard several opinions on sanding with drum sanders is not a diy thing to do. I have never used one but i think understand the concept of not stopping it with the drum down. I've also found a website where the guy said that a rental drum sander will never do a good job-it is not heavy enough and will chatter the floor. Is it possiple to do a good job with a rental from lets say H depot? I've done everything else to my 70 year old house by myself without contracting anything out.

Floordude

It can be done, but the learning curve is greater then one might think.

40-60-80 is a good grit schedule on both the big machine and the edger.

80 grit is all you need to go, if staining. 100 and the stain doesn't take as deep or as dark.

Those retal sanders, have usually been put throught the ringer.

Home Depot, had a Hummel big belt sander sitting by the door, someone had returned, from a rental and actually look newer.

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bigbrew

thanks for the advice. Before i begin, i will practice on plywood. Should i overlap 1/3 of the previous run? How long will the sandpaper last(sq ft per piece)? I really don't think one of those orbital sanders will do the job. I do have some nail holes around the edges of the rooms(from carpet strips). Should i fill them after i have sanded it? I have the wood filler made from real wood to fill them with.