Well over 7 years of home renovation under our belts (how did that happen!?)) it’s inevitable that we’ve tackled more than our fair share of projects. Out of all projects, our favourite home improvement is sanding floors (for the result, not because it’s enjoyable in any kind of way!).
Over the years we’ve shared a lot of different posts on how to sand floors and floorboards so it’s well overdue that we share a round-up of all of our flooring related posts!
If you’re thinking of sanding your floors, this will hopefully give you an overview of what’s involved, how much it will cost and help you plan your project. I’m not going to lie, it’s really hard work but it isn’t difficult and it’s very rewarding!
What No One Will Tell You About Sanding Your Floor (& How We Did It)
This was the first post we ever shared about the floor sanding process and I honestly think it’s a must-read for anyone thinking about tackling the job themselves.
This post definitely gives you an idea of what to expect in terms of how long it will take to sand your floors and how much hard work will be involved. So, if you’re wondering what a weekend of floor sanding looks like you’ll definitely want to give it a read!
DIY Guide – How To Sand Wooden Floors & Floorboards
We get so many questions about how to sand floors and floorboards. It seems like it’s something everyone wants to do but no one quite knows where to start.
Here we share a full FAQ answering all of the most common questions we get asked. If you have a question about sanding your floors I’m pretty sure that it’ll be covered here! And, if not, just let us know and we’ll add it to the list!
We’re Sanding Again
The kitchen floor in our home was a complete yucky mess. The floorboards weren’t in great condition and we really weren’t sure how well the floor would turn out after sanding.
This post will hopefully give you a good indication of just how much sanding can transform your floors even if your floorboards are a bit of a mess. Our before and after pictures will hopefully help you decide if sanding your floors will achieve the result you’re looking for!
We’ve Finished Our Floors
Sanding our floors was the first big project we managed to complete in our current home. It was a huge job as we have fairly large rooms. We split the apartment into two which not only gave me a much-needed break, it also gave us the space to be able to move all furniture around so that we had completely empty rooms to sand.
This post covers the first half of our home which includes sanding our parquet floor!
The Truth Behind Sanding Floors
After sanding the first half of our apartment, I admit that I wasn’t looking forward to doing any more sanding – ever again! I couldn’t exactly leave the floors as they were though (we kept getting splinters in our feet!) so I forced myself to get the other half done.
Was it worth it? Well, of course, it was. The thought of perfectly sanded and smooth floors in our whole apartment was the only thing that kept me motivated to push through the project.
How To Sand Parquet (Well, Kind Of!)
As I just mentioned, we’re lucky to still have the original parquet floor in our dining room and living room. Sanding parquet is quite different from sanding floorboards (which are very forgiving) and there’s no getting around the fact that it’s much more difficult to do.
I really struggled to sand our parquet floor and I’m tempted to say it’s best left to the professionals. It is doable though and I am happy with how our floors turned out but it may be worth a read if you’re thinking of attempting to sand a parquet floor!
5 Common Floor Sanding Mistakes & How To Avoid Them
All together we’ve sanded around 250 square metres of wooden floors and we learned a lot during the experience. We see the same mistakes over and over again (use the right sandpaper people!) and here we’re sharing some of the biggest mistakes we see over and over again.
We’re definitely guilty of making some of these mistakes, so by sharing them, we’ll hopefully help you avoid making them!
Bonus:
If you aren’t lucky enough to have original floors that can be sanded and you don’t have the budget for a gorgeous new parquet floor you might want to consider a plywood floor or painting your floor (although it does have to be in a good condition to do so).
How To Lay A Plywood Floor
We installed a plywood floor in our guest bedroom and it turned out amazingly well! It was really easy to do and is very affordable, too! I’m not sure how durable it would be in a high traffic area but it held up really well in our bedroom. When I say well, I mean not a scratch or dent in sight!
How To Paint A Wood Floor
I admit that I was hesitant to paint the floor when I saw how lovely the plywood floor looked. It looked great but ultimately we decided that painting it would be the way forward (which might have had something to do with the fact that I’d already bought the paint!).
The painting technique we used should work for any timber floor. Just make sure it’s clean and dust-free before painting and don’t forget to sand it between every coat of paint, too!
As you can probably tell, we have a bit of a love-hate relationship with sanding our floors. There’s no denying that it’s backbreaking work but it’s always so rewarding that we do it again and again!
Have you ever sanded wooden floors or floorboards? We’d love to know how you got on! Do you have a favourite DIY project? Or a home improvement project that you just hate to do?
Vicky Stackhouse says
We have just finished sanding down our hall floor. It was a pretty standard brown/yellow colour and we hav emanaged to sand it back to a sort of paleish beige. However we would like it to be a sort of pale grey colour and do not know if this is possible. If it is do we get a pale grey stain and then varnish over it? I would be grateful of any help you can give
Christine says
Yes, that should totally be possible, Vicky! I’d recommend using an oil that’s tinted so that you can do it all in one step. We have tried both oil and varnish on our floors and think that oil gives a better finish, too. Check out the Osmo website where you can order samples of their oils that also come tinted. I just had a quick look and think that the white tint sounds like it could be a good fit for you! Here’s the link.
Hope that helps & would love to know how you get on!
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