Installing Hardwood Flooring

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When you get about a foot from the far wall, pick up on the drum, then walk backward over the same path, easing the drum to the floor as you begin. Do not hesitate in one spot, or the paper will dig a hollow that will be nearly impossible to remove. With that done, raise the drum and move the machine to the left about 4". Then repeat the forward and backward passes (Fig. 11). The sander is designed to cut a tad deeper on the left side so the right edge is automatically feathered as work progresses; don't negate this bit of engineering by altering the pattern. When you reach the left wall, turn around and begin sanding the remaining third of the room in the same way. To avoid leaving a ridge where you changed direction, overlap the work a few feet at that point. Once the field has been sanded, load the edger with the same grit of paper and start on the perimeter.

Work this machine from left to right, using a gentle semicircular motion to follow the grain, more or less. A sanding block can then be used if needed to blend the perimeter with the straight strokes of the rest of the floor. For corners and crannies where the edger won't fit, a hooked paint scraper—the sharper the better—drawn along the grain will remove the roughest material. At this point, you can check the floor for nail holes, cracks and heads that have surfaced. Reset the heads, and seal all holes with a filler blended to match the type of wood and stain you're working with. Once it's dried, go through the entire sanding operation again, using the medium-grit paper. Finish up by repeating the same procedure with fine sandpaper. Parquet and block flooring call for a diagonal technique in sanding. Make the first cut from corner to corner, using mediumgrit paper on the drum sander and edger.

Once the entire surface is covered, switch to a fine grit and sand the opposite diagonal. The final run should be with the finest paper you have, straight through the center of the room's longest dimension. When all the sanding is completed, sweep the floor, walls and doors clean, and vacuum where you can. To pick up the really fine dust, tack rags—or a hand towel dampened with denatured alcohol—can be wiped over the freshly sanded surface. Plan on finishing the floor with a sealer or base coat the same day the sanding's completed to keep moisture from raising the grain.

Discussions of finishes could fill volumes, but I'll just separate them into two types: penetrating finishes and surface finishes. A penetrating finish or clear sealer is absorbed by the wood and hardens to wear with it. It accents visible features (especially under wax) and can be refinished without sanding. Stains and pigmented stains designed to highlight the grain are often used as sealers; clear finishes and natural oils (such as tung and Danish) seal the wood with little effect on its color, unlike clear primer/sealers. Surface finishes such as polyurethane form a tough coating to protect the wood from above.

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