Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Sanding - Belt or other?

I am about to refinish my hardwood floors and have a few questions regarding the finishing and treating aspects... Do I necessarily have to go out and rent a belt sander or seeing as how I have 4 orbital sanders could I just get a gang of friends to help me out using those? Or would they damage the floor? Also, after I polyurethane the floors, sanding and wiping in between coats of course, do I have to rent a polisher or what?

Kid Frosty:confused:

Frosty:

Check out this link. The content with pictures, had folks like you in mind when it was created.....keep in mind this procedure dealt with a badly neglected floor and the house was moved 30 miles. If you have any questions you can email me and I'll forward an email to you for the person involved in the work.


http://www.floridawoodfloors.net/job.htm

A word of caution about those orbital sanders:

The guy at my equip rental place told me the orbital was the way to go, but I found out that they do not take off the finish as good as a belt sander.

I ended up with splotchy parts where the finish did not come off all the way. After using up $70 worth of sandpaper on the orbital (the sandpaper for the obital costed more than the belt model), I had to return it and use the old fashioned belt sander.

Perhaps the orbital sander I rented was in need of maintenance and was not functioning properly, but for me it was a waste of about 4 hrs of my time. In the future, I will always go with the belt sander.

A word to the wise---if at all possible go with a natural clear finish.

http://www.finishingwoodfloors.com/