Restoring a parquet floor

[MyLittleStudPony]

There's one in the living room and it's in poor condition under the rug that's there.

I should restore it. Or pay someone to do it.

Has anyone ever done one?

[Rockburner]

Kerist... That brought back a sudden recall of doing just that at my parents old house.

We hired a floor sander and did 2 (fairly large) rooms.

Do it in spring, or summer, with all the windows open, and all the doors shut. Wear a mask. The amount of sawdust is unbelievable. Also the vibrations of the sander will leave your hands and arms vibrating for about 3 days after.

Can't remember what we put on the floors afterwards, but it should be fairly easy to figure out.

It's an easy, but messy job.

[DefTrap]

What he said.

I arrived halfway through my brother doing a, small, house. Looked like he'd been down a mine. I didn't stay to help.
This was a while ago now though, you'd think the machinery, dust extraction, would've improved somewhat by now.

[Count Steer]

I suppose the first question is what state is it in terms of integrity? Not much point in sanding it if bits of it are lifting/warped/wobbling about. If it's in good nick then sand and seal (3 or 4 coats) but, as mentioned above, get some good extraction. (Airborne wood dust can be quite explosive, but I've never heard of anyone blowing up their house when restoring the ballroom floor ).

[Skub]

It's one of those jobs you'll be sorry you started.

[MyLittleStudPony]

Thanks chaps. It's sound structurally, just not pretty to look at. I think there's one block which needs fixing back in place.

I think I need good weather to do it as I'll have to move all the furniture out onto the roof terrace.

[Rockburner]

Thanks chaps. It's sound structurally, just not pretty to look at. I think there's one block which needs fixing back in place.

I think I need good weather to do it as I'll have to move all the furniture out onto the roof terrace.

So it can get covered in the sawdust billowing from the windows? Good move .

[Count Steer]

Thanks chaps. It's sound structurally, just not pretty to look at. I think there's one block which needs fixing back in place.

I think I need good weather to do it as I'll have to move all the furniture out onto the roof terrace.

So it can get covered in the sawdust billowing from the windows? Good move .

There shouldn't be much furniture to move out of the ballroom.

[MyLittleStudPony]

There is a surprising amount. And some of it is heavy. Fortunately the roof terrace is large so I can put it out of the way of any billowing.

[demographic]

I've done a couple of em, sand it with a large belt floor sander which you can hire, it should have a bag and make sure the fucker fits properly.
Replace the damaged bits before you sand the rest so its got a better chance of matching.
Ideally remove the skirting cos you can get closer to the edges.
Wear a proper bumblebee style mask with the removable filter pods cos they almost always fit better than the ones that look like they'd protect a cricketers knob.
Do the main part with the big sander (and be very careful at the ends of runs cos they can dig in and sand a dent into the floor fast) and do the edges with a orbital sander (about a half sheet size or so will do) cos they get closer to the edges.

Oh and ideally? Get some other poor sod to do it.

[Wossname]

Potential problem - the grain of a wooden floor consists of harder and softer lines, that's what makes the appearance of grain. When you sand it, you inevitably remove a little more of the softer stuff. That forms higher and lower areas and when you've finished the job it looks lovely, but the lower bits collect the dirt more. It gets shabby quite quickly and is hard to keep clean. Our experience, anyway.

[cheb]

Or do it properly, if you are buff enough:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_raboteurs_de_parquet I have a copy on my workshop wall

[westers151]

What he said.

I arrived halfway through my brother doing a, small, house. Looked like he'd been down a mine. I didn't stay to help.
This was a while ago now though, you'd think the machinery, dust extraction, would've improved somewhat by now.

Had he taken his small house up the dirt box?

[Greenman]

[demographic]

Potential problem - the grain of a wooden floor consists of harder and softer lines, that's what makes the appearance of grain. When you sand it, you inevitably remove a little more of the softer stuff. That forms higher and lower areas and when you've finished the job it looks lovely, but the lower bits collect the dirt more. It gets shabby quite quickly and is hard to keep clean. Our experience, anyway.

Depends how flat and how soft the sander platten/backing plate is dunnit.
Usually sanding flattens it but wear and tear from footfall leaves the harder areas higher.

[MyLittleStudPony]

I got some floor goons in and they did it.

Done (Medium).jpg (146.59 KiB) Viewed 137 times

[ZRX61]

Helped my step dad sort one. First we had to remove it from a former Govt building on the top of Portsdown Hill, then install it in two rooms & a hallway at the house....and THEN refinish it. It was all oak, herringbone pattern.

With hindsight it would have made more sense to refinish it before removing it. We took about 1000sqft, the room we removed it from was probably 5000sqft, maybe even 8000sq ft.

We both vowed never to do it again.

[the_priest]

My study has a parquet floor as does the entrance corridor. All being done by someone else and sealed by Friday... Yay.