3 replies to this topic Post Order

[RABUBI]

I am moving in August to a house with wooden flooring (real wood, not laminated).

We want to have them restored, so I am looking for advice on DYI, or service providers that can do it, and what type of cost/M3 am I looking at.?

[gogo@]

Can't say much on costs, but this from our experience of old yellowwood floors...
What condition are they in?? If not too bad, go have a look at the woodoc sealers which are easy to apply and maintain then buy in bulk, otherwise very expensive. You may need to strip old polish & junk off the boards but can do that with a cloth soaked lightly in paraffin. And maybe a light sand after. If they need serious prep, then buy/hire a belt sander and get stuck in. It's messy! But if you contract someone be prepared to pay. Better to do it yourself if you can. Try to avoid sanding cos it does take something off the boards and depending on their age/condition they can get quite thin. There are also some water-based sealers out there if you don't like the woodoc route - we're about to try this out so can't say much on it yet...
Wood is great. You're going to enjoy! And I'm sure the DIY experts will give you more advice than I can...

[Sawdust]

Watch some videos on Youtube about floor sanding, go hire the sander and sand away.  Whatever you do, please put 3 coats of Plascon Purecoat (PUC1) on.  Varnish 1st coat  with the grain, light sand when dry, next across the grain, light sanding when dry.  Pack the car with the girlfriend/wife, dog, kids, before doing the last coat and leave the house for a few hours.

Use any other varnish and you are wasting your time in the long run.

[EigerSA]

Get a company in, and insist on them using the plascon product (the catayzed/epoxy one - can't remember the name). As sawdust mentioned above, leave the house when they put the coats down, a weekend would do it. You could try it yourself, but getting someone to do it means you have re-course if it don't work out well. Ask for references and do your homework by contacting said references, go look at their floors to make sure. Unless you're a big DIY'er and can stay the course, don't bother, it's a big job, you start with a coarse paper then medium, then fine, so that's 3 times round the floors for starters; then small machines for the edges, and then taping everything off etc... Don't use woodoc, stick to the plascon.