Floor sanding is something that is not generally considered a good DIY project because of the fact that it is not very easy. This, however, does not mean that it is impossible. Many times, amateurs who have never seen floor sanders in their lives do a pretty good job with the right preparation. The following tips won’t make you an expert, but they will surely help you avoid various disastrous scenarios.

Here is what you should know:

Prepare the room

Preparation is always key before doing anything and with floor sanding it is one of the most crucial steps. Preparing a room for sanding can be quite easy. This mainly depends on the condition of the floor surface and the items in the room that you have to remove. The best thing to do is to get rid of everything that touches the floor surface. This, of course, means furniture and carpets.

Sometimes, moving a large wardrobe for example, can be quite difficult or impossible. In these cases you will have to be careful when sanding around it. It is also recommended to seal it using tape and thick plastic sheets. Other things you might want to seal include windows, doors and power outlets. If the door to the room opens into the room you will have to remove it, because it will be an obstacle when you want to sand under it.

Rent the machines

That’s right – you will need more than one machine. One of these will be the big sander that you will use to sand most of the floor surface. The other one is a small handheld edger that you will use to get close to the baseboards. You can also get a carbide scraper in order to get the finish off the corners of the floor.

Pick a grit

You will need different types of sandpaper grit in order to remove the old finish of your floor. Ideally, you would start with rough grits and move to finer ones. It is difficult to know which grit would be needed to properly sand your floor, because every floor is different. You will have to try for yourself until you find what you need.

Change the belts

Using the same belt for a long time will make it dull. Using dull sandpaper obviously won’t work and you will not be able to achieve the results that you want. It is important to change the belts of your floor sander according to the recommendations that you will get for the specific sandpaper that you buy at the shop. This is important because it is very difficult to tell when the sandpaper is dull and when it’s actually doing its job.

In conclusion, floor sanding is an interesting DIY job, but a very difficult one. If you are willing to go through the process of finding the right floor sanders, renting them, getting them to your home (beware of the weight), preparing a room and spending a lot of time doing the actual hardwood floor sanding, then you should go for it. Otherwise, it is best to put your trust in a professional which might even be cheaper and will definitely be less time consuming.