Hardwood Floor / RO Sander

[Mike Burke]

Here is just part of the hallway that I am going to work on. Thank Tom for your advise
20190302_132612.jpg

[Jim Andrew]

I purchased the Bosch ros65vc just a couple weeks ago, and it is an awesome sander. Both the 5" and 6" pads work on it. I would probably rent the big ros sander from the big box store, using the roughest grit paper they have, and use the Bosch sander to sand it down finer before you finish it.

[Tom M King]

That machine will sand it plenty smooth enough. I have a floor buffer that is normally used for final sanding before finish, but never needed to use it when renting that machine. It might be worth using a small one between coats of finish. I do use the buffer for that.

[Mike Kees]

Tom is the sander you are talking about a Large RO ,like 24'' across ? I have used one like this to do 2-3 floors ,operates just like a power trowel.When I needed extra weight I just got one of my kids to sit on it. I also rented a drum sander once and that did not work out as nice.

[Tom M King]

These have three round 6" (if I'm remembering that right-might be 8") random orbit heads. The machine is plenty heavy enough by itself, but is easy to glide across the floor at whatever speed you want to. One slow pass with each grit works fine-no need to move it all around. I think the large square, or rectangular ones are more for between coats of finish. This does the whole sanding job. I think it's about impossible to dig in anywhere with it. You just pull the handle down to the floor to tip the bottom up, and the sanding disks are hook and loop to change. I even sanded the top of a large dock with one once.

[Mike Burke]

Sounds like I'll be looking at that machine Tom.
Thanks for your input and expertise. It's helping a lot.
I have used the edger and it is Easy to screw things up in a hurry.

I purchased the Bosch ros65vc just a couple weeks ago, and it is an awesome sander. Both the 5" and 6" pads work on it. I would probably rent the big ros sander from the big box store, using the roughest grit paper they have, and use the Bosch sander to sand it down finer before you finish it.

Thanks Jim for your comment on the sander. I'm looking at it for a replacement for my small porter cable palm sander.

[Peter Christensen]

I had a buddy sand his Oak dinning room floor with a 6" air powered Dynabrade RO sander. He sanded off all the finish and then went through the grits to at least 180, he had a ready supply of sandpaper. It wasn't a sander with a vacuum attachment either but it looked good when he was done even if he had to vacuum the whole house a few times. He also wears anti-vibration gloves to save his hands.

[Mike Burke]

Well it was a busy Saturday
Rented a U Sand from the local rental place. It worked pretty good. Lots of disc but made it through all the grits (36,60,80) and it looks pretty good so far.
The U Sand gets right up to the edge good so I did not need the edger..thats great. I did a little hand sanding on the edges and in the corners.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NKSRV8JGjsv7Z23e9

Now I have a couple problems that I am facing.

The transition between rooms. This is the wall way and all the adjoining rooms have been finished.
Im not sure the color and finish it going to match perfect. Im not sure what to do here. I could sand a straight line here and and have a distinct line. I don't suppose I would want to use any kind of threshold here.

The other issue is when they put carpet down they used tack strip between the rooms and the thresholds are full of nail holes.
Is there any filler that i could use that might match color wise or should I just leave them for care character ?
You can kind of see the door way threshold here.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EjoaiWp41YHUX8W37

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ssEQrwrQeFoQt7At8

[Mike Burke]

Well it was a busy Saturday
Rented a U Sand from the local rental place. It worked pretty good. Lots of disc but made it through all the grits (36,60,80) and it looks pretty good so far.
The U Sand gets right up to the edge good so I did not need the edger..thats great. I did a little hand sanding on the edges and in the corners.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NKSRV8JGjsv7Z23e9

Now I have a couple problems that I am facing.

The transition between rooms. This is the wall way and all the adjoining rooms have been finished.
Im not sure the color and finish it going to match perfect. Im not sure what to do here. I could sand a straight line here and and have a distinct line. I don't suppose I would want to use any kind of threshold here.

The other issue is when they put carpet down they used tack strip between the rooms and the thresholds are full of nail holes.
Is there any filler that i could use that might match color wise or should I just leave them for care character ?
You can kind of see the door way threshold here.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EjoaiWp41YHUX8W37

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ssEQrwrQeFoQt7At8

[Tom M King]

When making a transition on a floor with boards running longitudinally through the door opening, where I didn't want to redo the floor on the other side of the doorway, I've done it once before.

Using a straightedge, I cut a fine line with a knife where I wanted the transition, halfway under the closed door. I used that little cut line to catch the edge of a scraper, and scraped the floor to be finished down level with the sanded floor. This didn't harm the old finished room at all. If there is going to be a line there, that's different on opposite sides, the line needs to be perfect. I don't believe that can be done by sanding.

Sorry, no good answer for the tack strip holes, but if there is a threshold with such holes that can be changed, I'd change it.

[Bill Dufour]

I bought a used 12x18 floor sander for about $400. Sell it later for no loss. Is see them for sale sometimes at Hoe Despot. Wore out 1.5 5" ROS sanders to redo the living room and hallway. Buy the paper online . I used a carbide scraper made by sandvix to remove the finish before sanding. I would never trust myself to not do damage with a drum sander. Guy I bought the sander from said by the time complete one house you will figure out the drum sander but you will gouge the floor several times before you figure it out.
Bil lD

[Rich Engelhardt]

Go to Lumber Liquidators & pick up some transition strips. They by far have the largest selection & best prices. It will both cover the carpet strips tack holes & raise the height of the threshold up so there isn't a huge gap under the door(s).

[Jim Dwight]

I hired somebody to do most of my floor refinishing but I did one bedroom and hallway myself. I used a drum sander from Home Depot. It was much smaller than what the professionals had but it worked for my little job. I did put a line or two in the hallway but nobody has noticed so far. The home depot I rent from also has orbital sanders that use big sheets of paper that would seem better for this hallway. I edged with my Bosch DEVS1250 which worked great. It has a turbo mode which really speeds things up. But one handed control is a bit of a chore due to size and power. I used ZAR putty which comes in lots of colors. I was very happy with it. It dries fast and doesn't seem to shrink.