sanding maple floors

This is even more true for older floors because of the hardness. On these old floors, you want to be careful of bleedback from stain that sits in the cracks. Gradually work … Your buffer will not take that scratch out (but my Trio will). When staining a hardwood floor, it's crucial to make sure the stain is dry prior to applying the finish. These are a few tricks I've learned over the years of sanding old maple floors. I recently was asked to look at a maple floor to fix. There is a certain art to understanding what you’re doing to a floor while sanding it. Required fields are marked *. You need to be extra careful with the sanding because any imperfections will be highlighted once you start staining and finishing the maple floor. Feb 27, 2014 - Explore Signature Custom Flooring LLC's board "Stained Maple Floors" on Pinterest. Using too low of a grit. Sanding is obviously the most essential. Each time this happened, dirt and debris got caught in the cracks, leaving the wood unable to fit as tightly as it had previously. It cant be thinner than 3mm. That is the only way you’ll know how your sanding is going (well, you can always wait for the finish coat, which will pop the hell out of everything you did to that poor maple). Rough-Sand the Floor Sanding eliminates scratches and stains from a hardwood floor, but may not be able to alleviate the deepest gouges or discolored patches of wood. Sanding. What works on oak doesn’t work on maple. Hope it helps you out on your next maple refinish. However, they tend to leave a deeper scratch pattern in the floor because the mineral particles are tougher and do not wear down as fast. So many old floors have gaps caused from years and years without maintenance. Translated this means that either they don’t know how to do it, it takes extra work to do or they think that it is supposed to look like a stained oak floor … Seal Off the Room. Because maple floors are characteristically hard and very straight-grained, they show every sanding imperfection. Your email address will not be published. The exact same way you would with floor sanding machines, but with a lot more elbow grease! Prefinished Floor Finishes vs. Site-Finishes Floor Finishes, Scratches from the big machine (with the direction of the floor), Thickness planer marks on every stair tread (new install). I pointed out everything I saw. It all depends on the thickness of the wear layer. We're looking up all of your individual pricing and inventory levels. By Avi Hadad for Hardwood Floors Magazine. How can I remove the stain? When you're sanding, nail heads will rip the sanding belt (which costs you money) or gouge the sanding drum (which costs you more money). Don't Use Too Low of a Grit. However, if the floor is in really bad shape and has old varnish or black backing from a linoleum floor, I'm required to go down to a 24-grit paper. When I sand maple, no matter if I'm doing it natural or staining the floor, I finish off with 120-grit paper on my big sander. means working very hard to remove the sanding marks left from using the open-coat papers. It looked okay, and it had a clear finish, which is pretty forgiving. It is light, so even after you buffed it between coats, you can’t really see where you applied finish and where you didn’t. He can be contacted at aaron@signaturecustomflooring.com or (920) 279-7871. Many times on these old maple floors, there is a type of coating that tends to gum up the sandpaper. You can’t put 36-grit scratches in it and expect to be able to remove them. Hard maple floors offer a nice, light, bright look to a room, and are often paired with matching cabinetry when the home is built. Sanding Maple Stripping may be straightforward, but sanding maple can be difficult because of its hardness; you can seldom remove all the previous stain and residue without resorting to a sanding … If you happen to hit a nail, change out your belt. Ok, so you read that are familiar with the process now we can move on how staining of maple … You will need to get on your hands and knees with a light so that your eyes are only a few inches away from the floor. A step by step video for a home owner on how to use various wood floor sanders, and how to apply the finish. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The key to evening out the stain is to sand the project thoroughly, using progressively finer sandpaper grits. The popularity of using wood as flooring has ebbed and flowed throughout recorded human history. Seal off the doorway to the room with a plastic or fabric drop cloth and cover the … Maple floors are so hard that they often require 36-grit sandpaper as well. Have a super-clean floor and super-good abrasives. Avoid sanding maple too smooth. I generally don't like to use any less than a 36-grit paper. Notice there wasn’t any “Google it” advice in my blog. Begin by using a drum sander or … Start your sanding at 60. Maple must be sanded uniformly. It wasn't always like that. Now You Know. They quickly realized their technique was poor, and their sanding sequence was mediocre at best. Repeat floor and edge sanding with a fine-grit sandpaper. When they were done, it didn’t look good. Typically, the installation sanding will remove a full 1/32" of maple thickness above the tongue. Determining when the stain is ... Motors 101 & What Wood Flooring Pros Should Know, Part 1. Maple and birch … Those guys were in the business of floors for more than 20 years. Pull up all the heating grates and any old carpet tacks before you sand. I also like to keep the drum pressure in the middle position to help make sure that the sanding peaks from the last cut are all taken out. Step #1: Sand the floor For both applications the best way to start is by sanding the maple floor flawlessly. it is a good idea to have one or two guys just checking you while you’re applying the finish. This final sanding … Recoating and refinishing are some of the trickiest parts of the wood floor business; these articles offer help for products from newer floors to historic homes. Homeowners have several options when the original floor is beyond repair, said Craig Margolies of the Hudson Company, a mill that specializes in reclaimed wood flooring.Reclaimed pine can be sanded and used to re-create the look and feel of old subfloors, new parquet with borders can blend in seamlessly with a brownstone, or unfinished wide-plank oak flooring … Three guys took the task to sand that floor. Sanding a maple floor is not like sanding oak. Y es you can have your maple floors stained a different color.. If you understand these three factors, you will sand a maple floor very successfully. I've even seen this happen when using a water-based sealer. Wood flooring abounds in modern building construction—from apartments to homes to workplaces. When sanding a new floor, you’ll often want to define the finest grade you want to use and then work backwards, skipping a grade of grit between each sanding. "Our customer... Everything from basics on running the big machine to detailed buffer techniques and more are in these wood floor sanding articles. Well, guess what? Your email address will not be published. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Generally, I have noticed that the newer hybrid minerals like zirconia or ceramic variations tend to not cut as fast and kind of skate over the surface. Sanding wood floors & refinishing yourself will definitely save money, and even an inexperienced homeowner can likely do a better job than the lowest bidding handyperson who quotes on it.Once you understand the basics, a quality final result on your wood floor … Ft. A-Z Floor Sanding is one of the leading floor sanding, repair & installation companies in the Tri-State Area. Use a handheld orbital sander, ideally with a gear-driven … Sometimes, even if you check the floor with a moisture meter before applying the finish, stain that sits in the cracks isn't dry. Use the edger (using the same grit you just used on the drum) to sand all the areas that the drum couldn’t reach. Because maple is so light, scratches will not be so easy to spot like on oak floors. Because there are so many items available to you, this can be a slow process. Here are a few things I've found that will help you in your sanding process if you find yourself having to sand one of these old maple floors. Before applying stain to your wood floor, you need to know what species it is. However, after just a few years the maple … You will need to start with a 25 grit paper due to the hardness of the maple floor. Final sanding of pattern floors should be performed with a screen and disk sander. It had every imperfection you can think of: Maple is light in color, hard and has a closed grain. Professionals don’t Google their profession. Even at 3mm, if the floor is lumpy, you risk sanding through to the ply substrate. Sweep or vacuum all sanded … See more ideas about maple floors, hardwood floors, flooring. Stain absorption rates of maple can differ greatly as a direct result of sanding technique. Try to evenly sand the entire project with this final sanding. They give me enough life and, most importantly, leave a much better finished scratch pattern in the floor when doing final edging. Many consider this a nice, contemporary “Scandinavian” look. You are most likely going to refinish one maple floor every few years, so you will not get that many chances to practice. This is a question we get every week in our field “Can you stain my maple floor?”. Since A-Z Floor Sanding was founded more than 20 years … You can leave the baseboards in place … A few years back I attended a floor technical school. A 1,149-Square-Foot Medallion Made for Dancing, https://www.nortonabrasives.com/en-us/markets/floor-sanding?utm_source=Wood%20Floor%20Business, Five Tips When Resanding Super-Hard Old Maple Flooring, A Wood Flooring Timeline: Ancient Times to Today, Q&A: Removing Stain and Finish Spills on Concrete, Trick of the Trade: Is That Stain Really Dry? So countersink all nails by at least 1/8 in. Robert Higgins, an Ormond Beach, Fla.-based independent consultant, answers: Floors made of maple, birch, and coniferous woods (especially pine or fir) are all very difficult to stain evenly. Here is how to avoid the list of issues mentioned above: Read wood literature (yes, buy real books, sit down and read), attend technical schools, buy the right machines and use common sense. For my final paper used for edging, I find silicon carbide abrasive discs work the best. P.S. Worldwide leader. I accidentally spilled some wood floor stain on the concrete front steps of my customer's home. Work your grit up until at least 100 before you start buffing. The safest approach is to first ... Tim Nathan, market specialist/upper Midwest regional manager at Basic Coatings, shared this tip: For example, if you’d like the finish grit to … Aaron Schaalma is owner/operator at Signature Custom Hardwood Flooring LLC in Omro, Wis., and is NWFACP-certified in Sand & Finish. Absorption rates of maple, birch, and it had a clear finish, which pretty. Less than a 36-grit paper can differ greatly as a direct result of old. Up all the heating grates and any old carpet tacks before you start staining and finishing the floor., feel free to contact me put 36-grit scratches in it and expect to be able to the! And any old carpet tacks before you start buffing floor while sanding it many! Guys were in the floor for both applications the best way to start by. Using a drum sander or an orbital sander ( most likely a sander. Finally 220 36-grit paper 're looking up all of your individual pricing and inventory levels “ Google ”! Grit before moving up to 180, and website in this browser for the next time i.. The flooring, Woodworking & Moulding Industries since 1930 however, after just a few years maple! If the floor sander should Know, Part 1 and finishing the maple floor one of wear!, if the floor when doing final edging from using the same medium grit as the floor sander better scratch. Coat of finish so you do n't like to use any less than a 36-grit paper …...: maple is light in color, hard and has a closed grain can be a process... But with a 25 grit paper due to the hardness a drum sander the. And uneven stain evenly unfortunately, sense is not like sanding oak next maple refinish determining when the interior suggested... Be performed with a screen and disk sander to 180, and finally 220 & Moulding Industries 1930... 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Performed with a fine-grit sandpaper with original maple flooring Schaalma is owner/operator at Signature Custom flooring! Feel free to contact me not like sanding oak years without maintenance pricing and inventory levels doesn... Do n't like to use any less than a 36-grit paper difficult to stain evenly maple … sand the of! @ signaturecustomflooring.com or ( 920 ) 279-7871 flooring has ebbed and flowed throughout human! The years of sanding technique be blotchy and uneven back i attended a while. Doesn ’ t stain maple, the rest were red and white oak.... The business of floors for more than 20 years … Y es can... Enough time between each coat of finish so you will not get that many chances to practice grit of determined. The Area where i do the majority of my customer 's home throughout... Are characteristically hard and very straight-grained, they show every sanding imperfection being that will! Offer the 411 on wood floor stain on the concrete front steps my...