Floor sanding - floorboards are in bad condition in parts

nina_she

Hi
I recently purchased a 1930s terrace house in Dublin. The downstairs rooms have original floorboards however some boards are badly damaged in large patches by what seems like animal scratchings.

A builder advised me to laminate over the lot as a cheap and quick solution as my budget is limited. However I can't help but feel that it would be a shame to laminate over original boards, even though in bad condition.

Can anyone advise on whether laminating over damaged floorboards should be considered or whether I should strip &varnish instead?

Also if anyone can recommend a reasonably priced person to carry out the work that would be great. Preferably someone whom you've had experience of and whom you know to be professional and reliable. Thanks.

Rooms (3m x 4m) and hall (1.3m x4) -approx

hfallada

I imagine a builder will make more money from laminate than sanding. As he can add margin to the cost of the laminate and the labour. Try a professional sanding company like Atlantic flooring. They arent the cheapest, but one of the best. They do all the sanding for basket ball courts in Dublin. So they are good.

chopper6

If they're in bad condition don't bother sanding them...seriously.

For starters it's a big messy job(dust will be everywhere for months) and when it's finished it just wont look as good as you think it should.

Also floorboards,even when restored will pit and dent very easily even with normal wear and tear and you'll need to get them sanded again and again..it's just not worth the hassle..trust me,i've been there.

Get a good quality laminate and cover them up!

hfallada

chopper6 wrote: »

If they're in bad condition don't bother sanding them...seriously.

For starters it's a big messy job(dust will be everywhere for months) and when it's finished it just wont look as good as you think it should.

Also floorboards,even when restored will pit and dent very easily even with normal wear and tear and you'll need to get them sanded again and again..it's just not worth the hassle..trust me,i've been there.

Get a good quality laminate and cover them up!

Not if you use professionals. They can limit dust. My floors in my house are soft pine and still look.perfect 8 years later. If you have common sense they will stay perfect for years. Eg no high heels on them, dont drag furniture on them. OP ask a professional company what can be done with them. Some of them will tell you there is too much work to be done with and don't bother.

But I would have laminate as last resort. Good quality laminate is an oxymoron. It looks cheap no matter how much you spend on it. I have yet to see laminate that looked as nice as hard woos flooring

chopper6

hfallada wrote: »

Not if you use professionals. They can limit dust. My floors in my house are soft pine and still look.perfect 8 years later. If you have common sense they will stay perfect for years. Eg no high heels on them, dont drag furniture on them. OP ask a professional company what can be done with them. Some of them will tell you there is too much work to be done with and don't bother.

But I would have laminate as last resort. Good quality laminate is an oxymoron. It looks cheap no matter how much you spend on it. I have yet to see laminate that looked as nice as hard woos flooring

I've beenthere with pine floors..wouldnt wish the sanding on my worst enemy.

The OP has already stated that the boards are in poor condition..this causes a whole world of other problems..replacing them can be difficult and when the new ones are installed they can creak and splinter...the gaps between them are often very noticible and they cannot take any sort of hard traffic.

Oak floorboards or something similar is a differnet kettle of fish but pine is a soft,easily damaged wood..cover em up is my advice...a high-end Balterio Oak or similar will look as good as the real thing and be infinitely harder wearing.

hfallada

chopper6 wrote: »

I've beenthere with pine floors..wouldnt wish the sanding on my worst enemy.

The OP has already stated that the boards are in poor condition..this causes a whole world of other problems..replacing them can be difficult and when the new ones are installed they can creak and splinter...the gaps between them are often very noticible and they cannot take any sort of hard traffic.

Oak floorboards or something similar is a differnet kettle of fish but pine is a soft,easily damaged wood..cover em up is my advice...a high-end Balterio Oak or similar will look as good as the real thing and be infinitely harder wearing.

My father is a builder and has used professional sanders in a houses dozens of times with no complaints about dust. I have seen sanding take out massive high heel marks from floors with no issues. Wooden flooring is different in every house. Have scratches or bleaching from the sun add character to the floor.

OP sounds like they have a period house if its 1920/1930s. Any potential builder in the future will see laminate like a floral carpet from the 1960s. They will want to rip it up when they move in. Laminate just isnt nice compared to solid flooring

OP I would get a free quotation from a professional sander and see what they have to say about the floor.

uch

Give Able Flooring a ring, I've only ever heard good reports about them, as for price, sorry no idea


http://www.goldenpages.ie/able-flooring-ltd-dublin-D6/2/

HivemindXX

hfallada wrote: »

Not if you use professionals. They can limit dust. My floors in my house are soft pine and still look.perfect 8 years later. If you have common sense they will stay perfect for years. Eg no high heels on them, dont drag furniture on them. OP ask a professional company what can be done with them. Some of them will tell you there is too much work to be done with and don't bother.

But I would have laminate as last resort. Good quality laminate is an oxymoron. It looks cheap no matter how much you spend on it. I have yet to see laminate that looked as nice as hard woos flooring

Agree with this. I got a professional in to sand, stain and varnish the floorboards in my 30s ish terrace house. Upstairs only, I have tile and laminate downstairs. My floorboards were in poor condition too meaning they have some holes and gaps but not so badly that any of them needed replacing.

There was absolutely no issue with dust at all. It looks beautiful, far better than I expected. Five years later and they haven't needed maintenance.

I would be slightly more wary downstairs since the floors there get a lot more abuse. They might need more maintenance, but dust should be a non-issue if you use someone competent. I didn't have original floorboards downstairs so this wasn't something I needed to decide on.

I used this place and I can't praise them enough.
http://www.floorsandingdublin.ie/

nina_she

Hi
Thanks all for your replies. I appreciate everyone taking the time to give their opinions.
I agree that I should try a few sanding companies first as the wooden floors are original so laminate would be a last resort. I think the floors are oak but they are in bad condition (house was tenanted for over ten years and they wrecked the place )

Thanks for your recommendations. I've 4 contacts I can now call for quotes from this thread and I really appreciate it. Thanks again.