A wooden floor is maintenance-friendly and can often last for years. After about ten to twelve years, the wooden floor is usually in need of a makeover. There are scratches in the lacquer due to sliding furniture and the wooden floor can discolor considerably due to the influence of sunlight. To make your wooden floor look like new again, it must be sanded and lacquered. Of course you can have this done by a specialist, but if you want to save hundreds of euros you can also do it yourself.
The preparation
Remove all furniture in the room with the wooden floor. Close cabinets and doors with access to other areas because of the dust released by sanding. After this, check that no nails or screws are sticking out of the wood. Make sure there are no loose floor parts, tap them with a hammer.
What do you need?
In order to sand and varnish your wooden floor, you need the following products. You can rent or buy all these products at a DIY store.
- Sandpaper grit 40 to 80
- A parquet sander
- An edge sander
- Parquet lacquer
- Parquet varnish roller
Different types of parquet sanders
The first thing you need is a parquet sander. You can rent these at a DIY store. There are several parquet sanding machines for rent. You can use a belt sander. However, this grinds coarsely, which means that there is a chance that holes will form in your parquet floor. In addition, there is a sander with a rotating disc. The sander with the rotating disc is difficult to control at first and you often have to practice with it to get the hang of sanding. Sand the floor in lanes and remember at the end of each lane to lift the sander so that the machine does not twist into the floor. Always ask your DIY store for advice on which sander is most suitable for your wooden floor.
How do you proceed?
Depending on the type of wood, sand the floor with sandpaper grit 40 to 80, starting with grit 40, the coarsest grit, and working towards a finer grit. Work with the longitudinal direction of the planks and sand the floor completely blank. Make sure that the parquet sander always keeps moving. If the sander comes to a standstill, it can damage the floor. Below you can see which grain can be used for which type of floor:
- Grit 20 to 30 – This grain is not often used and is only suitable for removing several old paint layers and when the floor is uneven. By ‘uneven’ is meant a height difference of more than 4 mm.
- Grit 30 to 40 – This grain is suitable for floors with a height difference or multiple layers of lacquer. The grain is suitable for a hardwood floor. Hardwood floors include oak, beech and tropical woods.
- Grit 40 to 60 – This is the grit most often used to start with when sanding normal flat floors made of soft woods such as spruce and pine.
- Grit 60 to 100 – This grain is suitable for the second sanding of all floors.
Sand corners and sides
With the parquet sander you cannot get into the corners and sides. The corners must be sanded separately. A special edge sander can be used for this, but a normal hand sander also works fine. Areas that are difficult to sand, such as under the heater, can be sanded by hand.
Cleaning and painting
Has the floor been sanded completely clear? Then you can start painting. To do this, thoroughly clean the sanded floor. Vacuum the floor well and then wipe it with a damp cloth to remove all dust residue. Remember that a freshly sanded floor is fragile. So do not walk over it with heels, this can cause dents in the wood. Dirty shoes are also not a good idea, they can leave streaks on the wood that can be difficult to remove. Before you start painting, remember to finish at the door. There are different types of paint on the market. You can choose from high gloss, satin and matt. You apply the lacquer with a lacquer roller. Apply at least three coats of lacquer and spread the lacquer in straight lines. When you have finished painting the floor should dry for 24 hours.
To clean
A lacquered floor is easy to clean with water and a mild soap or oil. It stays nice by adding a little polish to the water when mopping. Now that the floor has been sanded, varnished and cleaned, it looks like new and can be used for another ten years.