Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Refinish Wood Floor - Sanding & Replacing Planks - What to do first?

Hello Everybody,

We bought our first house and took out the old carpet. We are about to sand the hardwood floor and stain it. I read a lot and think I understand the basic steps we need to take (at least in theory :rolleyes: ). Unfortunately, we have to replace some planks which are damaged badly. Further, the old furnace left a 2x3 foot gap in the hallway which I need to fill in with planks.

Should I sand first and then replace the boards or should I replace the boards first? I am not sure about the condition of some planks so I thought I sand first, see how the planks look like and then decide what needs to go. Then I sand the 2nd and 3rd time. This would maybe also make it also easier to match the colors.

Any opinions about the ideal order?

Thanks!
Ben

P.S.: Does anyone know a good tool rental place in Marietta, GA / North Atlanta?

P.P.S.: I invested a lot of time reading through this board. This is a great community and I hope I can get some advise here ... maybe I can even pass some advise on later after I succeeded redoing my own hardwood floor.

It is best that replacement boards be removed from an inconspicuous area such as closets to get a better match. Then, new wood can fill in where you borrowed the replacement boards. Make repairs before sanding.

Go to www.nofma.org for detailed instructions for sanding and finishing floors.

Thanks about the tip with the replacement boards. I can borrow some boards to replace a few damaged boards, but it won't be enough for the 2x3 feet hole where the furnace was.

I understand that I should do the repairs before sanding. Does this apply to filling the holes with wood putty, too?

Replace your boards. Sand that area down to match the existing height of the surrounding wood, using 36-40 grit.

Then cut A small section with 60 first to see if you need to go with more aggressive grit to cut through the finish.

Cut the floor. Trowel fill and cut with 80. Then cut with 100 if your not staining or you feel it needs it.

There is absolutely no problem with roughing the entire floor off before starting repairs, as you suggested. I prefer it so I have a good idea of what needs to be done before the saws get packed away. you can also see the wood color as you also noted. Assuming!! this is an oak floor, you will need to determine if its red or white before buying your material. I doubt you have the skills to do that without sanding it, and then you'll probably need a piece of each to see what matches.(if you can post a photo, I can tell you) I also prefer working on the raw wood rather than old slippery finish.

Thank you Marco,

I just took out two samples, sanded them with a handsander to determine the wood type. Here is the picture: http://bellsouthpwp.net/r/p/rpr2003/IMG_0946.JPG

There are two types of wood in the house. The smaller planks seems to be white oak and pretty standard. They are in good shape and probably don't need much sanding. I will need a lot of them to fill in the 2x3 foot hole and take some surrounding planks out to match it better. So I hope can find them at Lowes or so.

I have no idea what wood the big planks are. They are in two smaller bedrooms and in the kitchen joining the living room. I need to patch some of them but will have the chance to take plenty out from an extra room which will become a bathroom and get tiled.

Thanks for your opinions!
Ben

... btw: the big planks are 3 1/4 and the small ones 2 1/4 inch wide

The big planks are a softwood, probably pine. Could possibly be horizontal grain fir, but doubtful. I don't see much pine on the west coast.
You are right, the oak is white. I don't think you will find that easily in Lowes. Better to look for a specialty shop or distributor. Be a good time to start shopping for finish supplies too.