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Question - I am seeing all of these videos where wood filler is being put down after the initial run with the drum sander to remove the existing. I understand why the filler, and like the idea.
But I have a question/concern about using it.
The floor is 17 years old, has been in the home since day 1. I am going to be doing this project in two weeks during the last week of March. I live in the DC area. There are not that many "gaps" in my flooring between the boards.
I am curious if using wood filler across the floor is wise in the sense that it'll all get pushed back out as the wood expands/contracts during the seasonal changes? Don't I want some minor elbow room between the boards to allow for natural swelling? We get pretty humid around here in the summer, and quite dry in the winter (although I do have a whole-house humidifier that I use to maintain around 30% humidity level at a minimum).
I don't want to see little lines of goop coming up from the floor in a few months. Do I need to be concerned about that with using this wood filler mixture?
thanks!
Your thinking is right-
Filler is used for gouges, chips, and voids in knots (like #3 oak or hickory). Avoid using it in the long axis of a board; especially when the R/h is low and boards are at their smallest.
Thanks K'ledgeBldr! I just remember someone telling me about how their floor was installed too tightly and it was a huge mess because the wood eventually swelled with the summer season.
One more question if I may - do you think 100 grit for the final pass is high enough? Or should I go 120 (or higher)? I am starting off at 60 grit for initial pass, then 80 and then 100. But have time to make changes to the grit and noted on a Bona training video of them skipping a grit (advised to no skip but one grit level only).
Thanks again!
davebarnes - that UV technology is no joke. I am completely sold on it myself. Have UV lights in my HVAC systems that have made a massive difference in air quality of our home. Also have it in our hot tub that dramatically reduces the need for weekly chemicals.
Ok, I am back with the results for the main floor (2,000 SF). I did this last week while the wife and kids went to the beach (impossible to do with kids around). First off, K'ledge was right, that floor drum sander is indeed a beast! But surprisingly, so was the edge sander as well. The drum sander is like trying to walk an angry pit bull who is chasing a cat! But the edge sander is like trying to wrestle that cat if it were on crystal meth! This project totally kicked my butt, and if I ever do it again (which I will), it will be in much smaller doses than an entire floor of a home. Our master bedroom, upstairs hall, and stairs are next and hope to have them all done by the end of the year. I might pay someone to sand the bedroom and hallway though, but I'll do the finish.
The project was to remove the dark stained floors that were 18 years old and had worn through the poly and getting down to the bare wood in some areas. The wood is red oak, and were sanded in-place by the builder. The goal was to end up with an un-stained natural look that won't yellow (amber) over time. That meant a water-based sealant and finish were going to be needed. I decided to go with Bona Natural Seal and Bona Traffic HD in an "extra matte" finish.
Total cost to do this was around $2,500, with $1,600 of it spent on the Bona products, which I have enough to finish the entire house with. I rented a drum sander, square buffer, and edge sander for a week.
I had to go two passes with a 40-grit paper on the drum sander to get all of the old stain removed. I then went one pass at 60-grit on the drum, and one pass at 50-grit on the edge sander. I finished with the square buffer with single passes at 80 and then 100 grit. It took me a solid 5 days of just sanding. I never went beyond a 20 degree angle against the grain of the wood. First pass at 40-grit was 10-20 degrees, second and third passes were straight with the grain.
I put one coat of the Bona Natural Sealant down, let it dry over night, and then did 3 coats of the Traffic HD over the course of 18 hours. End result was a very smooth floor! There are a couple of "nits" here and there, but you really have to be looking for them to see them. As a first-timer at this, I would rate the overall outcome of the new floor as an A-. I am very happy with the results. One minor glitch I have found since finishing it up is despite the multiple vacuuming passes and wiping clean with a microfiber towel, I still ended up with a few "items" getting stuck in the finish coat. When looking at them further, they're actual nats that landed in the wet finish and got stuck underneath it. So, I'll have to fix that.
But, I would not recommend anyone try to take on so much floor surface by themselves. I am 44 years old, in decent shape, and took some notable lumps from this project, which was easily the biggest and toughest I have ever done in my life. My lower back was on fire (still sore), I have 8 blisters from my feet to my hands (wore shoes and gloves), and the top of my right forearm is completely numb. One saving grace was the weather, which was in the 50's with a gentle breeze, which allowed for me to have the windows opened. I still sweated by tail off though.
Dust containment is a MUST for anyone attempting to do this, and not overly complicated to do. I bought a shopvac and dust bags for it. I bought some extra tubing that allowed for the shopvac to sit in the corner while I worked. I had 0% of dust in the air, and ultimately filled up nearly three 55-gallon trash bags of sawdust. I probably took off 1/8th to 3/16th of the flooring to get down to the raw wood.
I love Bona! Stuff is not cheap ($130/gallon), but hardly smells and dries in about 2 hours to the point of being able to walk on it.
Ok, the pictures of the job and end result are attached. The staircase is how the entire house looked. The dark floors are the "before" photos. The photo from the second floor downward to the foyer is the final picture, which has the 3 coats of finish and 12 hours of curing. As the finish continues to cure over the next few days, the beige aspect should fade away a bit more to reveal more of the natural coloring of the red oak.
One heck of a job, and my hat is off to those who do this for a living. NOT as easy as the YouTube videos suggest by any means. Certainly can be done (because if I can do it, anyone can), but I would strongly suggest to do it in smaller doses or have a helper or two with you if you're going larger than say a bedroom or two.
Thanks guys, I am very happy with the results and even though was a tough one to do, I do indeed like the personal pride feeling of tackling it on my own. This floor was the big hurdle to clear to keep fixing this place up. Now I can see the much needed trim work and what it’ll really bring to the house. The stairs are definitely next, but wife and I are at odds over spindles. She wants the black rod iron. I want bright white squares. Steps will match floor, kickers will match trim.
Barnes, I too write checks, but for those things that I can’t do. And if I’m not sure, I’m at least going to try first and if I have to stroke the check, it’ll be to fix my mistakes. This project was hard because of the amount of brute force it took. I’m just fine with brute force, getting it done right, and padding the retirement account that much more. Plus, it feels good to put in some hard work, even if it means a blister or two and a few sore muscles for a while. But things like hvac units, new garage doors, roof, upgraded siding, yeah I write those checks!
Awesome job! Floors look great! I've contemplated doing this in our home (two floors of wood) but every time I think about it my back says" nope, nope nope". I'm in my 40's too but realizing I don't have the stamina to do these large projects anymore. Gonna have to pay someone. Good luck with the rest.
It’s definitely one of those projects where you won’t feel like you wasted the money to pay someone to do it for you. They certainly earn their money! I am on the fence of doing our master bedroom and upstairs hallway myself, or paying someone else to it. I am honestly leaning towards paying someone. I have a guy who is the subcontractor that the general contractors call. He charges $2.25 psf for a full sand/stain/seal/finish. I am likely to call him to just sand and I’ll take care of the rest (sealing and finish is very easy via a t-bar applicator approach).
What bugged me was the $4.50+ psf the flooring companies wanted to charge. They’re basically charging twice the amount that the actual guy who does the work charges. The challenge is finding the subs and going direct. I’ve had some good luck with the Thumbtack app for this. If you haven’t tried it, it’s worth the time.
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