Stripping paint from white painted floorboards (img included)

proformance

Hi guys
We have just walked into our new place and after removing the fridge caught a glimpse of what the floors once were - and we like it.
Can anyone advise how much effort this would be for two DIY-newbies?
And for comparison - how much this might cost in terms of a tradesman's labour for a small 1 bedroom flat?
Thanks,
Z

grumbler

Before calling a tradesman try DIY with a paint stripper

proformance

grumbler said:

Before calling a tradesman try DIY with a paint stripper

Sounds too good to be true! You just lather this stuff on and leave it for x hours, then wipe away? Like a nail varnish !?

grumbler

It's supposed to make the paint soft, not dissolve it lake nail vanish remover.

It's worth saying that, most likely, the floor was painted for a reason and is in worse condition in other places than it is in the corner. If so, it'll need sanding and re-vanishing.

proformance

So likely we'd need to (chemically) strip, sand and re-varnish.

Even so, are these three stages doable by the (very) rookie DIYer? 

fenwick458

proformance said:

So likely we'd need to (chemically) strip, sand and re-varnish.

Even so, are these three stages doable by the (very) rookie DIYer? 

if you have enough spare time yeah

MovingForwards

Yes you can DIY it. Strip, sand (don't use a hand sander, hire a proper floor sander for ease and to save your body), vac and wipe to get up dust, then a few coats of varnish.

Emmia

Floor sanders can be hired - don't use a hand sander (apart from on fiddly bits like going right into a corner), as you'll never get even pressure over the whole floor and will end up with dips. 

proformance

Thank lovely people. Doesn't sound too difficult for once.

Any estimations on how long this could take a novice? 

neilmcl

proformance said:

Thank lovely people. Doesn't sound too difficult for once.

Any estimations on how long this could take a novice? 

Famous last words, Whilst in principle it may be straightforward, completely paint stripping and sanding the floor isn't going to be that easy and certainly not a quick job, not to mention, as somebody above as, there's probably a good reason why it was painted in the first place, ie, the boards are probably not that great to begin with. Good luck though.

Jeepers_Creepers

proformance said:

Thank lovely people. Doesn't sound too difficult for once.

Any estimations on how long this could take a novice? 

You'll have the floor sanded in a day. But it'll be a tiring one - the machines are noisy and awkward. Very satisfying, tho'...

You'll then spend a few days applying whatever finish you've chosen. That's the important part - make sure you know what finish you want - do your research.

Personally I wouldn't bother trying to remove the paint beforehand - that'll be a horrible and messy job. Instead, make sure you get lots of spare sanding sheets with your roller sander, and include quite a few coarsest '80' grit in there (do they even do '60'?!). That'll make short-shrift of flattening the floor and removing the paint. (You then move to progressively finer sheets - I have personally never gone daft on this, and usually jump from 80 grit to 120 (I think) as 'perfection' doesn't really apply to a bare floor imo.

You start with the coarse stuff, but ease off the pressure/weight from the roller to begin with (by gently pulling the handle down to 'lift' some weight off the roller), so the 80 grit just lightly starts to strip the paint. If you do this first bit slowly, then the paint should be turned into dust and not melt, and it'll also get mixed up with the sawdust being produced, so will be far less likely to clog up the grit paper.

Basically, you try and see what works. It could even be that the paint layer is thin and fully hard, so won't even try and clog your paper - you might be able to get stuck right in!

Your boards look nicely tight - very lucky. If there's a visible gap between it and the skirting boards where there's a draught coming through, seal this up with summat - some folk push in a foam strip, others use decorator's caulk/ frame sealant.

If there's any draught coming through the T&G grooves, you may need to run frame sealant or similar in there.