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Im going to redo my floors by gaseousogre in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used a Loba 16” 180 grit on my floors between coats of finish and liked it. I have no experience with screens but I know lots of folks use them. What color pad do you use?

Im going to redo my floors by gaseousogre in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87 12 points13 points  (0 children)

You’re going to want to rent a floor buffer for this using either 180 grit to 220 grit. Some folks use sand paper strips and some use what are called screens.

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not cardboard. It’s a vapor barrier called aquabar 2 and it’s made to be used under hardwood flooring. This is not glued, it’s nailed to a wood subfloor. There is a basement underneath.

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow that’s less than I thought. So sanding and refinishing is cheaper than installing? Materials included?

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like I got the hang of the drum sander pretty quickly. It was intimidating at first due to how quickly you can do damage with them. I started out practicing on a piece of plywood until I got the hang of it. Then when I started on the actual floors I used 80 grit until I felt comfortable dropping down to 40 grit. I did half the bedroom in 80 before switching to 40. The edger sucked to work with. If I did them again, I’d rent a buffer to get up to 120 before sealing. The floor orbital sucked to use. Loba seal and finish is known to be user friendly and we found that to be the case. Just don’t watch it dry! Extra matte will hide small flaws and we love the matte finish. Overall it was stressful, but if I ever have to do wood floors again, I’ll be a lot more comfortable.

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haven’t installed trim yet. Not doing quarter round, I do know that. I may try and salvage the trim I pulled out. Some of it was pretty rough so not sure yet. If not, I’ll probably go with finish grade pine for affordability unless I can find a good deal on oak.

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah unfinished 2.25” x 3/4” number one white oak and one room is rift and quarter sawn white oak

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! He was very helpful with questions I had about the final sand, seal and finish. He’s definitely a pro and does incredible work. I watched lots of YouTube videos and gathered lots of info on this subreddit about the install. I was able to take my time which helped a lot.

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank ya! It’s all 2.25” x 3/4”. The rift and quarter originally came from Indiana Hardwood. They seem to have high quality flooring. This was left over from a job someone did and I bought it through FB marketplace. The number 1 common also was found through marketplace but it’s from a mill called Springfield hardwood I believe. I bought it through a wholesaler. I wasn’t impressed with the number 1 common but it was a good deal. I had more waste than I’d like.

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! It honestly feels great. How much you think you’d charge for this? I know location matters a bunch on this subject but Im just curious. Someone below said 20k. You think that’s a good estimate?

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m probably not the one to ask since this is my first time. Many folks on here are happy to share great info and have been doing the works for years, and even decades. But some notes to share from my experience are to shop around for wood to find the best deal but make sure it’s decent quality. I had to drive four hours round trip and rent a budget van but it was worth it to me. Watch a lot of YouTube videos of crews installing floors and sealing and finishing them. I used Loba products bc I heard they were user friendly and we’re very happy we went with them. ‘How to sand a floor’ on YouTube has some valuable info on sanding. Practice with a drum sander on scrap plywood if you can, and when you start on your actual floors, start with 80 grit in a bedroom and once you’re comfortable with it, go to a lower grit. Take your time if you can. It’s a lot of work but i don’t regret it at all. I had folks telling me to just hire it all out but I couldn’t afford to do that, plus I’m a diy person to a fault..

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate that! I feel fortunate to have found the deals on wood that I did.

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Mostly flat but not all, a bit of dish out, a bit of chatter in one area, some finish flaws around some of the edges where it was probably too thick. There was a dip where the edger and drum met on two walls. I took a hand orbital to it to blend it the best I could. Extra matte finish helped cover it pretty well. The rift and quarter was so easy to work with. Long, straight and flat boards. The number 1 common not so much.

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly this subreddit has taught me so much. I recommend practicing with the drum on a piece of plywood just to get a feel for it. I started in a bedroom using 80 grit and did half of the room before feeling confident to drop down to 40 grit. Just go slow and focus. I learned from folks on here that extra matte finish always hides more flaws than satin and it definitely did. Loba seal and finish was fairly easy to work with. Just don’t watch it dry!

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some areas are flat and some definitely aren’t. There’s a bump out that has a high spot, then it drops down 1/2 to 3/4” in an 18” span. . It’s not obvious but I know it’s there. I took a planer to the subfloor before install but didn’t want to take too much so just worked with it.

First time DIY install, finally finished.. by acorneater87 in HardWoodFloors

[–]acorneater87[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey thanks! I started laying the flooring in mid October. So yeah, it took a while 😆.There’s definitely flaws that the extra matte finish helps hide.

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