wavy floorboards

[Anonymous]

My 100-year-old pine floorboards, for years covered in carpet, seem to be in fairly good condition, but are wavy, curving down to the joins in-between. Is anyone able to tell me whether sanding can make them level again?

Your advice much appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

" whether sanding can make them level again? "

Yes, it can. But it will also make them thinner. How much will you need to take off to make them level?

 

[Anonymous]

Between 1/4 and 1/3 inch would do, though to make them totally level, more would be needed off them. The boards themselves are 3/4 inch thick. Would 1/3 inch off leave the boards too thin?

Many thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

You have to sand the boards level with the edges of each board othewise you will end up with light and dark stripes.
You will also weaken the boards, if these are sound 1/4 of an inch should be ok, any more and you will be pushing your luck.
What is wrong with "lovely" old bowed floorboards anyway?.

 

[Anonymous]

Sanding will risk making them too thin, it would be very hard to judge a perfic flat finish while your sanding. I would consider the uneven floor as a large part of the charm of the old house, wonky walls cielings and floors are part and parcel of period properties its called character.

 

[Anonymous]

When the sander gets down to the level of the nail heads an interesting effect occurs. Best not to find out.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, I will keep the wavy floorboards, and hope my non-period laptop doesn't wobble too much.

Thanks to Moo. Middi, Silas and Biff Vernon.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

Please see my peice in the finding out section regarding floor sanding. It is perfectly possible to sand your floor without taking a third of an inch off!!! Contrary to stated opinion even a quarter of an inch is definately NOT recommended!

You will need to hire a belt sander and a random orbital sander. Take off the worst of the cupping and bowing (i.e the distortion of the individual boards themselves) and then finish with a hand sander. The large belt sander will follow the contours of the boards to a large extent. If the floor is very uneven you may have problems using the edger, you will need to hire a good quality edger like a Lagler Unico and use the coarsest P24 grit discs or the machine may stall.

Hope this helps,

Toby Newell

 

[Anonymous]

Very informative articles. Although I'm paying a pro to do the sanding, I wanted to be as well-informed as possible about options and problems. Now it's just the hand finish left, and your articles helped here too, so thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I am very glad. Did you know I am pro too! When I finish my website you can see some pictures.

Regards

Toby

 

[Anonymous]

A web site is an excellent idea. I spent quite a long time looking for websites with floorsanding information before coming across periodproperty.
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