Unfinished white oak flooring

7 years ago

Purchased unfinished white oak flooring without realizing the cost of finishing!!! Have some furniture finishing experience should i attempt myself if so which products??

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User

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Can you afford to replace it when you dig into it with the sander, or your stain mix doesn’t turn out right, or the top coats have adhesion issues. Flooring isn't furniture. It’s much harder and easier at the same time. The two skills are only tangentially interrelated.

The #1 biggest issue is that a large flat surface is really hard to sand and not have divots and oversanding in spots and undersanding and rough spots in others. Then theres finishing. Again, it’s really hard to get stain even without lap marks and properly wiped when you don’t have experience or help.

You see DIY floors all the time that get accolades from fellow DIYers, but you seldom get comments from Pros about them because their eyes have better discernment about the visible problems.

If these were old floors with stains, gapping, and wearthrough, you’d have far less risk of tackling them, because almost anything would be an improvement. Starting with brand new unfinished wood is a much higher risk. Do you want 30 years of wear from these before redoing? Or do you want to redo them twice in a period of months? How do you plan to gain experience with the large heavy machinery and precise application required to make this last? Start with one room at s time over a period of months? And cost yourself more in machine rentals?

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Comments (6)

PRO
Uptown Floors
7 years ago
Something I put together a few years back.

Things to know about DIY Finishing

Several of my videos as well.
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Lyndee Lee
7 years ago
Unless you have a large area, machine rental will be expensive on a sq ft basis. By the time you rent the sander, the edger and the floor machine and then buy the sanding belts, discs, backing pars and screens, you have a substantial cost before you even touch the staining and finishing. Then you have the risk of getting equipment which is not properly set up or maintained. If you have never used the equipment before, you may not recognize the problems occurring but you will see them after the stain goes on.

I am reasonably strong but I don't have the physical strength, endurance and coordination to sand floors. The. machine needs to move over the floor in a straight line and a constant speed and I am not able to keep the speed the same going backwards and forwards. Raising and lowering the drum at the right moment is beyond my abilities as well, to say nothing of controlling that damn heavy cord which can't be allowed to get in the way. Applying finish isn't as easy as it looks either as you need to roll it on smoothly, consistently and quickly without drips or spatters.

A beautiful site finished floor is a wonderful addition to any home but it is a significant investment.
tenage thanked Lyndee Lee
PRO
Oak & Broad
7 years ago
Short answer is no.
tenage thanked Oak & Broad
PRO
G & S Floor Service
7 years ago
I like take-over projects $$$.
PRO
Johnson Flooring Co Inc
7 years ago
What width? If you don't mind a bit of a rustic look, rent a buffer, buff the floor with 100 grit paper until the milling marks are gone, sand any sharp edges/ends with an orbital sander or scrape them down with a hand scraper, then screen the floor and apply finish. DuraSeal stains are decent and pretty easy to work with.