Sanding down wooden floors

Given the right treatment, old wooden floors and worn-down parquet can be made to shine like new.

Instructions

1

Remove all furniture, carpets and curtains from the room. Use a small chisel to detach the skirting boards, and knock in any protruding nail heads. Then vacuum clean the floor thoroughly.

2

If you only have to remove shoe marks and give the floor a consistent colour, all that is necessary is reconditioning. However, if the old coating has to be completely removed, then several sanding runs are required.

3

Reconditioning: The damaged coat of varnish has to be removed or matt sanded, in order to create a bond with the new varnish. It is sufficient if you sand over the parquet once with an orbital sander.

4

Sanding: Depending on the condition of the surface, two to four sanding runs with a sanding machine are required. Important: Sand mosaic parquet and square parquet diagonally across the grain; floorboard flooring should be sanded parallel to the run of the floorboards. Do not stop or change direction during sanding. Sand the corners and edges of a room before the last sanding run using edge and corner sanding machines. To do this, use a disc with a grit of 40 and for the subsequent fine sanding use a disc with a grit of 100.

5

Touch up cracks and joints before the last sanding run using joint filler. Then clean the floor very thoroughly

6

Sealing: Apply the sealing varnish in uniform strokes. Work away from the light source, so that you recognise any flaws. After approximately two hours, it is advisable to perform intermediate sanding by hand or using a hand sander with a grit of 120. Then carefully clean the floor again. The second coat of varnish can now be applied and should be left to dry for approximately eight to twelve hours.