Loft Floor Sanding

[EricU]

I used a 4 head ROS floor sander, and I figure it would work ok on a new floor.  but it sounds like there isn't anything like that available.  I did finish a floor that was a little over 100 square feet by hand power tools, but my standards weren't that high.

[jasfrank]

The 4 head sanders work fast and do a great job. You could check with countertop shops too, they use them for corian surfaces a lot.

[BaileyNo5]

Dangit, the Home Depot website says my local one does not rent tools.  So that's out.  No 4 head sanders available locally at the other rental places.

tomsteve, thanks for the info on the edge sander.  I was a little concerned about that, it looks like a little beast of a sander.  But unfortunately the Porter Cable you mention is not available for rent in my area.

Maybe I will have a look into hiring someone......

[BaileyNo5]

Well, it's done.  I spent a couple of days on my hands and knees, going at it with the Festool Rotex.  Took a decent number of breaks to keep the personal wear and tear to a minimum.

First pass at 90 degrees with 40 grit, rotary mode, knocking down the high spots.  Then I took a pencil, went over the entire floor with my hands, and marked high/low spots I missed.  Sanded those spots until the pencil marks disappeared.  Then I did a pass with the grain with 40 grit, rotary mode.  Then a pass with the grain using 80 grit, random orbit mode.  Used sawdust and a filler and troweled the floor to fill any small cracks.  Then a final pass with 80 grit, random orbit mode, with the grain, to sand back down to bare wood.  Dust collection with a Festool vac worked really good.

At the end, I was a hurtin' unit for a bit, but overall it wasn't that bad.  Here's a shot of work in progress.

[jteneyck]

Wow that looks nice.  You, the sander, and the dust collector have all earned a well deserved rest.  And you get beer or 3 to wash down what dust the DC didn't get.  Maybe some vitamin I for your knees, too.  

John

[Cooler]

The 4 head sanders work fast and do a great job. You could check with countertop shops too, they use them for corian surfaces a lot.

I used a 4 head sander for two rooms in my house.  I rented from Home Depot.  It weighed a ton, but that was good as it assured good contact with the floor.  I heard that people were complaining about the weight of the sander, and now Home Depot is renting light-weight versions of that same unit.  

Is it going to work as well?  I would have to try it to be certain.