Hi Guys and gals… I usually hang out in the Knotts Forum but I have a ‘building problem’ so here I am. I’m involved with rebuilding/restoring a Lighthouse. It is on a small island with NO electricity, so all power comes from a medium sized portable generator and EVERYTHING has to come out by boat. Last season we installed a new ‘finished’ floor…. 2×10 beams on 12″ centers, 3/4″ plywood deck glued & screwed to the beams, rosin paper and 5/4 verticle grain fir t&g over that. The fir has received one coat of dewaxed shellac on all surfaces before being installed (nailed). There are minor variations at the joints and so we need to sand the floor (14 x 28)before going any further.
Do I need a large sander or is there something that uses less power and can be handled by a volunteer (amateur) crew of willing and able people? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Is there one machine that is ‘better’ than another for this process? I’d rather not hire a professional (lack of funds) and I don’t think they would be too happy loading their equipment onto / off a boat to get to this job.
The finish will be one more coat of de-waxed shellac to seal everything and then 2, or hopefully three coats of water-based poly.
Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.
SawdustSteve Long Island, NY (E of NYC)
Replies
Tough call,
There is a plate sander that runs on 110, is easier to handle and can be run by rookies, but, it does not do the best job. It has a tendency to remove the sapwood faster, leaving a slight ripple effect. The drum sander does the best job but is a monster, not a job for rookies. The drum sander "cuts" the floor flat, and is not as effected by grain, very aggressive, errors leave dishes, gouges etc.
If the floor is straight grain fir, maybe the plate sander will do. Regular sawn, and I'd have to vote for the drum sander and put your best guy on it.
Anyway you look at it, its a job for pros, being taken on by,..... ahh,... unpros
There are at least a couple of floor sanders that have 3 or 4 random orbit heads on them. They are much more user friendly than drum sanders. I have not used them, so I can't speak from experience. I have a friend (handy, but not a professional) that recently did the new floors he laid in his whole house remodel. They turned out looking great. I don't know if the sander used 110 or 220, look for these sanders at rental centers. Some "home center" type stores also rent them.
Sounds like a fun project (the lighthouse, not the floor)
There are 3 different types of sanders that you can use, ranging from most aggressive to least : drum, ROS (random orbit sander), and pad sander. This also translates into fastest to slowest. Many rental places (like HD) are likely to have all 3, in a version that runs on 110 VAC for the simple reason that 's what homeowners have.
As others mentioned, the drum requires good handling which comes with experience. If not you're gonna screw up the floor (fast). If you or your accomplices have never used a drum, your best bet is the ROS (actually a gang of 4 or 5 6" discs mounted together). It's fast enough and easier to figure out.
All 3 machines will likely have a 1.5hp or bigger motor, needing at least 12 amps or so. That's about 2500 watts or so, make sure your generator can handle it.
AFA finishing, why bother with the shellac again instead of 3 coats of poly?
Correction, above should have been ~14 amps and around 1500 watts (110 v x 14)
Edited 4/6/2007 7:19 am ET by sharpblade
Thank you all for taking time to reply. I guess I'm going to look for the multi-head unit. After 10+ seasons working on this lighthouse, I really don't want to screw up on the part everyone sees, the floor. In case anyone is interested, go to http://www.huntingtonlighthouse.org to see some of the photos. At this point, ALL we have to do is finish the floor, install the last part of the baseboard molding, a bit of inside trim on the windows and make and install the door casings. With one modification to allow the public better views of this small lighthouse, it now looks like it did when it was built in 1911.
I don't care what 'This Old House' says, custom molding to exactly replicate the original moldings gets VERY expensive.
SS,
They do make and rent drum sanders that use 110 volts. They operate just like a regular drum sander and they have a clutch handle that drops the drum to the floor so that one can control the machine from leaving "drop marks" better than the average rental. One can always palm sand out any errors made by the drum. Call a flooring distributor in your area. They usually rent them. A floor contractor in your area will hook you up with one. You can most likely sand the edges with orbital palm sanders. Stay away from heavy grits for the drum. Fir is soft and will sand with 80g to level and 120g to final. Edge with 60g first, 100g then 120g. Hand sand the whole floor by hand briefly with 120g trimite. Vacuum and apply coating. Tell your story. People will offer advise and goodwill pricing for your rental and supplies.
What a gorgeous lighthouse! Good on you for saving her.
Kool project.
Please come back and give us some updates and more pics.
I did the floors in two 10'x12' bedrooms and a connecting hallway with my Porter Cable 4" belt sander. Took a couple of very long days to do it, however... It did give a much better finish than the bedroom that I did with a commercial floor sander, which ended up with a few minor ripples.