Loft Floor Sanding

[BaileyNo5]

I have a 170 sq ft Douglas Fir floor in the loft that needs sanding - it's a new unfinished floor.  I would prefer to use a small - 12" or so - orbital floor sander, because I have to horse it up a set of spiral stairs.  Unfortunately the local tool rental stores only carry a large 12" x 18" pad sander, which they estimate would take two guys to haul up stairs.  Don't think I could handle that.  The only other possibility would be a Clarke Super 7R edge sander (a 7" rotational sander) at the rental place.  I also have a Festool Rotex 125 EQ Plus sander, which is only a 5" sander but it will do rotational plus random orbit sanding.

My initial thought is to break out the knee pads, rent the Clarke and take a pass or two, then switch to the Rotex to finish up.  Never having done this before, I thought I would consult the brain trust here, you guys always have good ideas.  Also, any thoughts on grits I should use?

[AUswimKC]

If you're set on giving it a go, skip renting the 7" and use the money to buy yourself a nice 6" to both rough and finish sand.

Sounds like a lot of work. Can you leave it not sanded and a bit "rustic" ?

[Bob10]

I have a 170 sq ft Douglas Fir floor in the loft that needs sanding - it's a new unfinished floor.  I would prefer to use a small - 12" or so - orbital floor sander, because I have to horse it up a set of spiral stairs.  Unfortunately the local tool rental stores only carry a large 12" x 18" pad sander, which they estimate would take two guys to haul up stairs.  Don't think I could handle that.  The only other possibility would be a Clarke Super 7R edge sander (a 7" rotational sander) at the rental place.  I also have a Festool Rotex 125 EQ Plus sander, which is only a 5" sander but it will do rotational plus random orbit sanding.

My initial thought is to break out the knee pads, rent the Clarke and take a pass or two, then switch to the Rotex to finish up.  Never having done this before, I thought I would consult the brain trust here, you guys always have good ideas.  Also, any thoughts on grits I should use?

use a pulley and come along to get it up there might even use a couple of 2xs to make the stairs a ramp

[BaileyNo5]

use a pulley and come along to get it up there might even use a couple of 2xs to make the stairs a ramp

Nope.  Spiral stairs.

[BaileyNo5]

Sounds like a lot of work. Can you leave it not sanded and a bit "rustic" ?

Probably not. You know.....boss issues.

[Bob10]

Nope.  Spiral stairs.

I hate those

[Joel H.]

My only recommendation is buy as large a belt sander as you can use on other projects and get to it.  170 sq ft shouldn't take too long I'd think.  Not saying this is ideal, but if you really need to get it done - this will do it.

Joel

[KC]

I have a 170 sq ft Douglas Fir floor in the loft that needs sanding - it's a new unfinished floor.  I would prefer to use a small - 12" or so - orbital floor sander, because I have to horse it up a set of spiral stairs.  Unfortunately the local tool rental stores only carry a large 12" x 18" pad sander, which they estimate would take two guys to haul up stairs.  Don't think I could handle that.  The only other possibility would be a Clarke Super 7R edge sander (a 7" rotational sander) at the rental place.  I also have a Festool Rotex 125 EQ Plus sander, which is only a 5" sander but it will do rotational plus random orbit sanding.

My initial thought is to break out the knee pads, rent the Clarke and take a pass or two, then switch to the Rotex to finish up.  Never having done this before, I thought I would consult the brain trust here, you guys always have good ideas.  Also, any thoughts on grits I should use?

I know it ain't brain surgery and lots of folks do it... but I think I'd hire that out.

[tomsteve]

please dont use that edge sander. you can very well destroy the floor with it.
seems if this is a new floor you could use something like a porter cable 7424. it has quite an aggressive throw to it and could sand pretty quick. theres no dust collection on it so youd need ventilation/filtration.

[Cooler]

I rented a four head random orbital floor sander from Home Depot.  You won't need to rent the edge sander as this goes right up to the edge and your regular ROS can get the last 1/2" or so.

The one I rented was quite heavy.  I've been told that they have lightened the unit considerably.  And while that might make it easier to transport I don't know if it will function as well without the weight on the sanding heads.

This is a nearly foolproof piece of equipment as long as you don't accidentally run over the cord.  Buy a lot of extra discs.  Home Depot will allow you to return the unused ones.  It will kill a lot of time if you have to stop sanding and run back to the store to buy additional discs.  

I sanded a 12' x 12' room (rough sanded and finish sanded) in about 2 hours.  I rented for a half a day and returned it well before needed.  I blew off the sander with my leaf blower and the clerk was very appreciative.  Not a big deal for me (about 30 seconds worth of work) but time consuming for the clerk who would have to use a shop vac instead.

For really big floors I would use a belt style.  Much faster but requires some skill.

Some floor finishers advertise that they will sand-only.  Check the penny saver.  It might make sense to let a pro do the sanding and you do the staining and finishing.