Yikes this wood floor is worse than anticipated!!

C

Courtney K

Joined
1 Jan 2022
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
Screenshot_20220103-080757_Gallery.jpg
Screenshot_20220103-080754_Gallery.jpg
Recently moved into a flat and the owner had warned me that the wood floor wasn't too great so he put carpet over it.

I've since removed the carpet as my spouse is adamant on having me restore the wood but I don't know how to make this look good.

I've tried using a belt sander and it makes it look smoother but doesn't get rid of the burn marks or the white marks which is presume is wood filler or white paint.

I've attached an image to show you exactly what it looks like. If you guys could provide some tips that'll be really helpful *

I've seen youtube tutorials on people restoring wood but there's doesn't look as bad as mine lol

Do I paint or varnish this? If I varnish it would it cover all the paint marks and burns? I have so many questions
 
Last edited:
OK, that just looks like paint. Simplest approach is to punch the nail heads under (hammer and a nail set) then sand the floor with a flooring sander, and by that I mean a big hired-in machine as doing a full floor of any size with a 4in belt sander will take a looooong time. You'll also need some means to sand the edges as the big floor sanders can't get hard up to skirtings or into corners. Bear in mind that with a floor sander you'll need to start at something like 40 grit as you are effectively going to surface grind the floorboards to reduce the thickness, then work up through the grits to about 120 or 150. Even then you may not be able to get all of it out, so be prepared to have to pick odd flecks out with a Stanley knife point.
 
As an extra thought, have you tried going over this with your belt sander and a 36 or 40 grit belt? It would be "proof of concept" if nothing else
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's not your house, so I wouldn't spend too much money on this.
I would paint just paint the lot.
If you want to retain the natural wood look, see if a spirit based dark stain makes the colour more uniform.
Then if you want to spend money, hire a floor sander and happy sanding.
 
Are you a downstairs flat?
If you have neighbours below, they will hear you tramping about.
Lots of flats prohibit bare boards
 
Tigercubrider said:
Are you a downstairs flat?
If you have neighbours below, they will hear you tramping about.
Lots of flats prohibit bare boards
Click to expand...

We live on the ground floor but yes we can hear our upstairs neighbours walking as the floor does creek alot
 
johnny2007 said:
It's not your house, so I wouldn't spend too much money on this.
I would paint just paint the lot.
If you want to retain the natural wood look, see if a spirit based dark stain makes the colour more uniform.
Then if you want to spend money, hire a floor sander and happy sanding.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your advice!
 
JobAndKnock said:
As an extra thought, have you tried going over this with your belt sander and a 36 or 40 grit belt? It would be "proof of concept" if nothing else
Click to expand...

We sanded it down and some sides of the floor look better than others. We used a 80 grit belt but we will try out 40 now
 
JobAndKnock said:
OK, that just looks like paint. Simplest approach is to punch the nail heads under (hammer and a nail set) then sand the floor with a flooring sander, and by that I mean a big hired-in machine as doing a full floor of any size with a 4in belt sander will take a looooong time. You'll also need some means to sand the edges as the big floor sanders can't get hard up to skirtings or into corners. Bear in mind that with a floor sander you'll need to start at something like 40 grit as you are effectively going to surface grind the floorboards to reduce the thickness, then work up through the grits to about 120 or 150. Even then you may not be able to get all of it out, so be prepared to have to pick odd flecks out with a Stanley knife point.
Click to expand...



Ahh I see, thanks for this!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top