Sanding and Varnishing Floors

J_Tous

We are thinking of getting the floorboards in two rooms and a hallway sanded, cracks filled, and varnished.

I have been quoted £14 +VAT per square metre by my local builder - does this seem reasonable? We are debating whether its cheaper to just get the whole thing carpeted. I live in London by the way.

Thanks.

catbert_2

I hired a floor sander for £20 and did both bedrooms in my house myself- took a weekend each including staining and varnishing.

Not too hard to do, and very satisfying to admire afterwards.

I know this doesn't answer your question but I am no DIY expert and the sander was bigger than me ;o) so if have can attempt this job anyone can! Gives you an alternative - and it saved me a fortune

Also I would suggest - depending on how badly they are cracked - you can always turn over a floorboard and re-lay it before sanding to obscure blemishes.

J_Tous

Thanks for this -
yes this would be a good solution and we did consider doing it ourselves, but as I am expecting a baby in a few months I'm not really capable of wielding a sander right now, and its a lot for my partner to do on his own as he's being kept busy decorating the flat at the moment!

Lemoncurd

We've just had three specialists round to quote for doing our wood mosiac hallway and living/dining room, the total area is about 40m sq.
The cheapest was £150 for repairs + £17 per sq m for sanding and finishing, the other two came in at just over £1100 total. I expect it wouldn't be as much to do floorboards. Somebody has made a real mess of our floors in the past so we think it's too much of a risk for us to do it ourselves in case we make it worse.

scms1969

Hi,
I am currently doing my floor boards and after extensive research I found it cheaper to hire and do it myself.
The £14+VAT is not that bad compared to some I have seen but If you have the time(full weekend for 2 good sized rooms sanded and varnished) get a Sanding pack from a hire company for a weekend (best I foound in Berkshire was £67 for the weekend) make sure you knock all nails or staples down sand twice and use the second lot of dust mixed with PVA to fill gaps any big gaps try to find a like coloured wood and fill with that sand again and you should be ready to stain or varnish Im using a hard clear satin varnish (3 coats) and it looks great.
Hope this is of help to you
If you try and fail get someone in after all its better to pay through the nose than to be known as the DIY man

Karina1234

I sanded my bedroom for about £50.00 but I hired it for about 4 days. Maybe not the best option (though cheaper) if you have a baby on the way. Bare in mind dust. Took forever to get walls cleaned (I had the ggod sense to move all furniture out!). To sand yourself doesn't actually take that long, as long as you've got the right machine.If you do hire equipment, pay alittle extra for insurance just incaes something goes wrong and then you don't pay to get it fixed. I'm speaking from experience! Do you not fancy a the wooden floor you put in yourself? With sales right now you could get something at a good price.I helped my boyfriend do his living room that way. Not as easy as sanding and it felt like it took forever, but it looked nice. I'm useless at things like that but we did a good job. Good luck!

NervousYetFeisty

Slightly OT, but anyway - you're having a baby. Don't get carpets! They will be trashed within a couple of years (muddy footprints/pramwheel tracks in the hallway, jam in the sitting room and so on). Even if you're careful and precious about them (children and carpets alike) , at some point he/she will throw up, will need potty training, bring their play dough into the sitting room, you name it. Hardfloors are the way to go, especially if you can make them not to slippy.

lady123_2

deffinetly get your oh to do it yourselfs, ive done 6 rooms in my flat and 6 rooms in my dads over the last couple of years, very easy once you get into it, just be patient and always keep the sander moving, firstly against the grain or across the room then when you get a decent look with the first sanding sheet which is the thickest and dearest, go with the grain, use the next sheet down, and do the same, but will be so much quicker, then use the very fine sheet to finish, then use the edger to finish the outside of your rooms, 3 or 4 coats of water base varnish and bobs your uncle, two days of hard graft will save you £800 quid, and just remember to do the foors last of all, make sure your painting is all finshed, if your in london, try (floor store direct) great firm and will sell you 5ltr finish for £40-50 from a swedish firm which is great stuff, think its about £70 for the weekend, or 120 for the week, good luck