So you’ve got Douglas fir flooring in your house, and maybe it’s seen better days. If you have a refinishing project in mind, sanding is in your future.
Or, maybe you have brand-new Douglas fir floors. Even fresh from a local lumber company, to get a nice smooth finish, you’re going to need to sand them.
Before you head off to your local equipment rental place, take a few minutes to evaluate the scope of your project and decide which kind of sander you really need.
Drum Sanders: These are the big boys of the sanding world. These are large, walk-behind electric machines that weigh more than 100 pounds. They have the horsepower to strip off old finish or smooth down bumps and discolorations much better and more quickly than any other type of sander. They cover a wide area with each pass, so that you can do an entire room in less than a day.
That said, a drum sander is so large and powerful that it takes expertise to use one well. Once it’s turned on, you can’t ever let a drum sander sit in one place—it can gouge deep swirls in your floor in a matter of seconds.
When to use a drum sander:
• If you have some training and experience with this type of machine.
• If you have floors that are discolored, severely scratched, or otherwise need a lot of material removed to get the results you’re looking for.
Orbital Sander: Like a drum sander, the orbital sander is a large machine that you hold upright and walk behind as you move it across your floor. However, it’s not as large or as heavy as a drum sander. That means you won’t be able to remove thick layers of wood. It may take longer to go over the entire surface of the room. It also means it’s easier to use and you’re less likely to accidentally create ugly gouges in your beautiful Douglas fir floors.
When to use an orbital sander:
• If you have an older floor that’s been sanded several times already and you want to be sure you don’t remove too much of the remaining material.
• If you don’t need to do get the floor entirely down to bare wood, but plan to just remove the top coat and reapply a new coat of finish.
Edge sander: No matter which type of sander you use for the main portion of the room, you’ll need an edge sander to get where the big sanders can’t reach. Edge sanders are hand-held, but the type used by floor refinishers is heavier and more powerful than the small hand-held sanders often used for furniture projects. Like their walk-behind counterparts, edge sanders also come with an attached bag to collect the dust. If you’ve done your job right with the larger sander, there will be a visible area around the edges of the room, and you’ll need an edge sander to blend in the edges and continue your sanding project right up to the wall.
When to use an edge sander:
• For doing the same job the drum or orbital sanders do, but in hard-to-reach spots.
Handheld random orbital sander: This is the most common type of sander—small, inexpensive and versatile. You might already have one in your garage. For many household and wood-working projects, small sanders such as the Black and Decker Mouse are perfect. For finishing wood floors, these don’t have the horsepower to accurately smooth out uneven areas or remove thick layers of finish. Unless you’re working on a very small area and you’re willing to take a lot of time, don’t try to sand your floors with a handheld random orbital sander.
When to use a handheld random orbital sander:
• For household projects, furniture finishing, or small areas of Douglas fir floor where renting a large sander would not be practical.
- Jennifer Rouse
This post was posted in All Entries, Douglas Fir Flooring, Care & Maintenance and was tagged with Douglas fir flooring, douglas fir floors, finishing floors