ridges after sanding old boards

Hi all,

My husband and I are doing last minute reno's to a 50's weatherboard house we bought three months ago, the rush is driven by first baby now due in 4 weeks.

And the rush is causing us to make mistakes..

So, after removing carpet, wallpaper and replastering and painting in the two front bedrooms which were decrepit (and doing a fabulous job) I suggsted my husband also sand the floors. We hired a floor sander and edger, bought Cabots CPC, read a bit and off he went...after work at night. (used 80, then 120 then 240 gradepaper and two coats of clear)

We woke up to examine the finished masterpiece this morning only to see a beautiful colour (they were dark brown, now golden, think it's tassie oak) BUT in the morning light; ridges (like lines) everywhere across the grain of the boards, as well as a few of the more circular scraches made by the edger.

Matt only used the sander with the grain but I'm assuming these ridges are just something you need to watch, and remove as you go?

What are our options now? I'm imagining they are:

1. live with it
2. re-sand ( will it be literally starting from scratch?)
3. get a professional to do it/fix it?

Help please ....

Have only done a couple of floors, one a hardwood floor and the other a very old baltic pine floor.Did the baltic first with the reommended circular sander and the finish was great - used Feast Watson to finish the floor.

Hardwood floor used the recommended belt sander, and wound up with little lines/ridges in the finish, which I could see fairly well before sealing. I think this was due to the uneven pressure front-to-back I used with the sander,, and with the slight diagonal changes in direction. Anyway, I got out my trusty little orbital sander and re-sanded the entire floor lightly ensuring I ONLY followed the grain - eliminated the majority of the problems and the end finish was great.

I suspect you might have to live with the result:( unless you want to strip it all and start again. It is always possible that the lines were inthe boards anyway, before you started sanding. And it is possible that the lines are the result of the original milling of the boards when they were new. If the latter, you are not likely to get rid of them - they are a bit like corrugations in a road - they stay there regardless of how many times the road is graded.

So, in my opinion I think your options are as you outlined, and I would be tempted to live with the lines. The other options are time consuming, expensive and probably not what you need with 4 weeks to go.

And being the father of 4 fantastic children - 17 to 7 - I can only say that you are in for the best experience that life has to offer. The wonders of parent-hood are the world's best kept secret - hope all goes well with the rest of the pregnancy,, the birth, and the new life that awaits the three of you.
Jeff

Call a pro and get a quote before making any decisions.

As already mentioned the only way to remove the srcaches is to to resand, if you decide this is the way to go, after the drum sander go over the floor with a buffing machine, this is how you can achive the smooth top quality finnish that the pro's end up with

If you honestly feel you can't live with it, I suggest you get three quotes to have it re-done.

I feel for your poor hubby. And yourself, of course.

Good luck with the bub.

Ohh, and one more thing, no baby has ever been born, come home from the hospital and gone "Who the hell did these floors? They look foul".

Thankfully, babies aren't that judgmental.

Hi There, I have just gone through the same reno rush to have a nice home for our now 2 month old boy! Trust me, there will be other things on your mind and plenty of junk on the floors in 4 weeks!

A few thoughts though ... I'm not sure what the Cabots finish is but I have found that on old floors a satin finish (rather than gloss) really helps conceal any imperfections. Maybe such a top coat could be applied?

Also, I have noted on older floors that it doesn't take too long to start marking them, especially with all the visitors you will soon have.

If it's only when the light catches it in the morning, maybe you can live with it? I have the same problem with some plastering I did at 2am ... but I know it is still a significant improvement on wat was there and bubs is a lot more comfortable because of the efforts.

Good luck.

I'd re-sand it but leave it till after the baby's arrived so you're not rushing it. Operating a floor sander is a skill which takes some practice to acquire and is not best learned in a rushed environment. Like many things with woodworking the secret is not to go like a bull at a gate.

With floor sanding, steady, steady and no sudden changes of direction. You should be able to rectify the problem with a light run over at 80 or 100 grit to remove any ridges then go upwards in grit but very lightly. Depending on the type of floor sander you use, this will probably mean 'keep it moving' to a) just skim off a little bit of timber and b) not to create any more ridges.

Good luck.

what most likely that has happened is that you either didn't punch down the nails far enough and the staples that was holding down the underlay were not extracted and as you were sanding you have hit the metal and have scored the sand paper. These are called sanding lines and we use a buffing machine with a 120 and a 180 screen grit to buff those lines out. we notice them more than others. you can remove them by going back over the floor with a fine nail punch and methodically go over the floors and punch down any silver tops you see, go get the Sander and edger , then use a 100 grit then 120 grit and go over the floor again. use at least 100 or 120 grit on the edger again. go get a orbital sander and go over the floor and touch up any lines or defects you can see. it wont take you long about half a hour with the orby. it wont take you long this time , you have already done the hard work the first time. Do it now don't wait or you will never get it done it will take you half a day to do all of it. re coat and sit back and admire.

Thanks all for your wealth of feedback - we did get quotes to 'fix' as hubby was over it at this point...bout$500-600 - decided we can live with it, by the time rugs are down and furniture is in place...and there is a letting go to be done - true, it's all about me; the baby won't care.

We'll review after the rest of the reno is done (by builder) - probably Feb

thanks again...due Monday!!