transform existing floorboards into nice wood floor?

katejo

abwsco wrote: »

They'll come up lovely. We've done all of ours bar stairs, landing and kitchen.

We fill all gaps with a mixture of damp sawdust and PVA glue prior to sanding. I find using one of the big sanders really easy - same as hoovering:) Mess is unbelievable though but worth it.

Quick pic of our lounge floor although we did this years ago and there are some bits where the "filler" has come out over the years and it needs some more in again.

This looks good. I want to do similar with mine as the previous effort has faded, particularly where I sit. however my house is in a terrace with no side access to the kitchen/garden and the living room fills most of the space between the front door and the kitchen. I assume that I would have to put all my living room furniture into storage and move out for a few days.

How long does this procedure take from beginning to end?

27col

When did you kidnap our cat? Send her back at once!

abwsco

katejo wrote: »

This looks good. I want to do similar with mine as the previous effort has faded, particularly where I sit. however my house is in a terrace with no side access to the kitchen/garden and the living room fills most of the space between the front door and the kitchen. I assume that I would have to put all my living room furniture into storage and move out for a few days.

How long does this procedure take from beginning to end?

Took us a few hours one evening to fill all gaps in, one day to sand it all and stain it and then next day it was one coat of varnish early morning and another late afternoon.

Regarding furniture we just moved it all into bedrooms and our hallway plus some went into the garage. Not sure if we'd have done it if we had to put furniture into storage due to those cost issues.

katejo

abwsco wrote: »

Took us a few hours one evening to fill all gaps in, one day to sand it all and stain it and then next day it was one coat of varnish early morning and another late afternoon.

Regarding furniture we just moved it all into bedrooms and our hallway plus some went into the garage. Not sure if we'd have done it if we had to put furniture into storage due to those cost issues.

Not practical for me. My hall is tiny and I couldn't carry the furniture upstairs. I don't have a garage. I might get rid of all except the sofa as it is old pine which I have had for years.

victor2

Regarding knocking any proud nails firmly down. I did that once to a nail sticking up slightly in the bottom of a cupboard. Turned out the nail was sitting on top of a central heating pipe and in banging it down I punctured the pipe. Only realised when I later put my head in the cupboard and my glasses steamed up! That turned into quite a job...

shegar

We had floor boards fitted in our other house 6 yrs ago and the Ronseal diamond hard floor varnish high gloss was £32 then....We have now had a floor done in this bungalow and I went to B&Q last week and the ronseal is now £49.99 per 2.5 tin..!!, So its gone up a considerable amount , but its dam good stuff to use on sanded floorboards and leaves a good finish, "get what you pay for" I guess but the end result is brilliant ...............

charlotte99

My boards looked exactly like yours, I thought they were horrible and I had a decorator in at the time and said I was getting a new carpet. He said don't, those boards are really good quality wood and would come up fantasticl. He hired a sander and did the job, it's been about 10 years now and they still look fantastic. I'd definitely sand them.

Laydidi

Thanks for all the info - I've been deliberating about doing my floor - looks a bit of a mess with wear and tear. Bought the house 7 years ago and only tried touching it up - couldn't figure out how it had been treated, or with what. This week, I have time - my handyman let me down just as I managed to clear the room, so I've been researching online and having read these - I'm good to go.
Shopping list:
dust mask, protective eye gear, old clothes, vacuum cleaner, sander machine - 80 & 120 grade. Hammer & spike (to push nails down), more sandpaper for finishing room edges.

Questions:
1. Would you recommend wiping down with white spirits before applying varnish? (I plan to use yacht varnish).
2.What about gaps? Should I clean them out first?
3. Do I use wood filler or brown caulk to hide blemishes & stop gaps?
Has anyone used Draughtex or Stopgap - the first I'm told is reusable, but both seem expensive to me. On the other hand may save £20 - £40 in heating bills . . .
Any advice most welcome. Thanks