Floor Sanding for Fun and Profit

The floors in our house were in pretty rough shape. The bedrooms and hallway were carpeted when we purchased the house, but the carpet had been pulled back in the corners to reveal beautiful maple floors beneath. The living and dining rooms were uncarpeted and we could see that even though the oak was water stained there was potential in them. The first thing we did after closing was to rip the carpet up in the bedrooms. So, with a borrowed floor sander, I began a solid couple of days worth of work.

Sanding Equipment Ready to Go

I began sanding at 45 degrees to the grain of the floors with 36 grit sandpaper to flatten them. Even though they were actually quite flat, sanding in this direction helped to remove the surface finish. After sanding across the grain, I sanded once with the grain with the 36 grit. Following the 36 grit I progressed to 60 grit and then 100 grit, all sanded with the grain.

Staining on the Maple Floor

The oak floors were quite easy to sand, but the maple floors required more work. I know that maple is a harder wood than oak, but I didn't think it would really be a noticeable difference. I had to go over the maple floors an extra time with the 36 grit sandpaper to get them down to a more consistent bare wood. I also noticed that the sander appeared to burnish the wood while sanding it, causing some color variations. After a bit more sanding on the maple floors I did manage to get most of the stains out of the floors.

The Floors After Sanding

After two days of sanding, Becky and I went to Chicago for our honeymoon. While we were gone my dad cleaned up the corners where the edging sander couldn't reach. When we returned  from Chicago my dad and I lightly sanded the floor with a Fein random orbiting sander in order to smooth out any lap marks that may have been left from the floor sander.

The oak floors were originally stained a color that was close to the color of the woodwork, and it seemed best to try and stain the floors to a similar color. I had thought about leaving them natural but with the water marks around the door it seemed like coloring the floor would obscure them better without sanding too much off of the floor. So, I chose a stain color that was close to the color the floors originally were. I used Pratt & Lambert Fruitwood colored stain from Hirshfield's. the maple floors were given a coat of Benjamin Moore Natural stain to add depth.

After staining, the floors were allowed to dry for two days before finish was applied. I used Fabulon oil-based polyurethane to finish the floors. I chose an oil-based polyurethane for durability and to add an amber tint to the floors. Since we were also not actually residing in the house yet it would be easy to deal with the stink for several days. Thankfully my brother-in-law didn't mind letting us stay with him for a few days longer. After three coats of the polyurethane we just had to wait about six days before we could move any furniture onto the floor. While waiting for the floors to cure, we could still work on taping and mudding the ceiling.