Refinishing an existing hardwood floor

Specification

The assembled specification

Machine 1

Belt floor sander — progressive grits, field only

Machine 2

Floor edger — matching grits, every perimeter and detail

Machine 3

Planetary / multi-disc — refining, blending field into edges

Machine 4

Buffer / screening — final uniform surface and intercoat

Dust containment

HEPA throughout the process

Sequence

The sequence, start to finish

1. Moisture testing and acclimation — minimum 72 hours in the actual conditioned space.
2. Belt sander, progressive grits, field only.
3. Edger, matching grits, on every perimeter and detail.
4. Planetary / multi-disc, refining and blending field into edges.
5. Buffer / screening for a final uniform surface.
6. Vacuum, tack, apply the finish system.
7. Intercoat screening with the buffer between coats.
8. Final coat.

Failure modes

Where this goes wrong

• A big machine cannot reach a perimeter. Skipping or under-gritting the edger leaves a visible halo around every room that only appears once the finish goes on.
• Without the blending pass, the boundary between what the belt sander reached and what the edger reached stays visible for the life of the floor.
• Intercoat screening is invisible on handover day and produces an uneven surface and weaker adhesion when skipped.
• Dry to walk on and fully cured are different dates. Furniture returned to an uncured finish marks it permanently.

Answer

What we recommend

All four machines, in sequence, with intercoat screening. Equipment is not the difference between companies — the sequence and the discipline to complete it are.

Provenance

Where every claim on this page comes from

• The Craft — sequence
• The Craft — the four machines
• The Craft — edger
• The Craft — planetary
• The Craft — equipment is not the moat

Framework pillars this bears on

• Pillar 5 — Dust containment and sequence

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