The second option is to rent an industrial floor sander from your local hire shop and sand the floor smooth. The sander will have a dust-collecting bag. Fine dust will escape, however, so you should wear a dust mask, eye protection, and old clothes or coveralls. Before sanding, it is vital to punch all nails well below the surface of the floor. The machine is capable of grinding the floor down by a considerable depth, and any protruding nail will tear the paper belt. Wherever possible, running the sanding machine in the direction of the wood grain will produce a better finish, and always progress from coarse to fine sanding belts. You may also need to hire a small belt sander to get into corners and close to the walls where the large sander won’t fit.
As an economic, if laborious, alternative, you can scrape the edge areas of the floor with a Skarsten scraper and then finish off with a sanding block. Once sanding is complete, dust off the floor and vacuum it thoroughly before applying any finish. Using a damp cloth will help to settle fine dust. If you plan to leave the floorboards exposed, you will need a good-quality laying hardboard Hardboard gives an even surface and prevents dust rising up between the boards.
Before laying the sheets, condition them by brushing water onto the mesh side. e Pin the sheets with their long sides parallel to the floorboards, staggering the joins in each row. finish. Apply the sealing coat as soon as possible, before the boards have a chance to become dirty, choosing a seal that is formulated to withstand heavy wear. Some sealing products are sold as floor seals, others as varnishes. When applying the seal, work the first coat into the wood with a pad made up from an old handkerchief or sheeting material filled with cotton wool.
This acts as a key for further coats which you can apply with a brush) and it ensures that the seal does not flake away. If you wish to stain – or paint – the floor, there are many methods involving separate stains or dyes and combined formulas that stain and seal. ft” Woodwork metal work and the care and attention you put into the preparation stages of treating wood and metal surfaces prior to decoration pay big dividends. Treating old or damaged wood or metal not only gives it a professional appearance, it also means less on-going maintenance and redecoration in the future. Preparing bare wood, The first preparatory stage is to sand the wood, working along the grain with successively finer grades of abrasive paper. e Treat sound knots with one or two coats of shellac knotting to seal in the resin and stop it oozing through the paint film.