100yr old ironbark floor - is it possible it's unsandable?

Hi all,

I have been told by the sander I employed that my floor is 'unsandable'. The floor is ironbark and is rough sawn - you can still see the saw marks. He said he sanded for a long time (3hrs) on two rooms and still doesn't feel happy with the result. He therefore wants to give the job away :~ He says that the boards are not even, even though he has taken at least 1mm off.

So am I dumb in thinking me, an inexperienced suburban housewife could go down to my local hire place, hire a sander and edger and take on the task myself? He says in all his ten years of sanding, he has never sanded such hard wood.

Well, here goes, I guess there's not much chance I can gouge or wreck the floor? Anyone have any tips for me?!! I am curious to know if anyone else has been told their floor is unsandable.

I was sold on the floor the minute I saw it sanded as the colour is beautiful, let alone the smell of freshly sanded timber!

Hi Ram,

I'm a carpenter, little experience of sanding tho', about to sand my floor. See my thread re 60 yo floor. I'm going to have to take off 2mm or so to get my floor level. I've been told this is ok. Re Ironbark, I reckon you're ok sanding it as long as the final thickness is still 15mm or so (most flooring comes dressed at 19-21mm from 25mm sawn timber), so check the thickness, but you're almost certainly going to be ok with this.

You will likely get some more professional replies here (and look at 'Similar Threads', there's 5 re ironbark), but you could also try calling a few sanders by searching on yellow pages using "Floor Sanding &/or Polishing Services" and talking to someone who has sanded more than one ironbark.floor.

Re doing it yourself I'd reckon it'd be a bitch of a job! A specialist timber place in Rozelle, Sydney called Ironwood has some gorgeous sample floors in their showroom if you want to see how it may come out. Hope this helps,

Nick

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Originally Posted by ram5

Hi all,

I have been told by the sander I employed that my floor is 'unsandable'. The floor is ironbark and is rough sawn - you can still see the saw marks. He said he sanded for a long time (3hrs) on two rooms and still doesn't feel happy with the result. He therefore wants to give the job away :~ He says that the boards are not even, even though he has taken at least 1mm off.

So am I dumb in thinking me, an inexperienced suburban housewife could go down to my local hire place, hire a sander and edger and take on the task myself? He says in all his ten years of sanding, he has never sanded such hard wood.

Well, here goes, I guess there's not much chance I can gouge or wreck the floor? Anyone have any tips for me?!! I am curious to know if anyone else has been told their floor is unsandable.

I was sold on the floor the minute I saw it sanded as the colour is beautiful, let alone the smell of freshly sanded timber!

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I'd be inclined to believe the guy you employed to do the job didn't know what he was getting into and has lost interest. I'd start asking around and try to find a sander that has a good reputation and some experience behind him.

Personally I wouldn't try sanding the floor myself - but YMMV.

Ironbark is real hard and as its rough sawn there must be a lot to sand just to get it flat.

But it will sand back if you spend enough time on it and you'll possibly use a lot of paper. Use a big drum sander

If you want it - do it.