Hardwood Floors April/May 2025

FLATTENING THE FLOOR Once down to raw wood, and also on newer floors, the sanding process still may require a belt sander to get the floor flat. This is where your first cut should be angled at 7° to 15° to the direction of the flooring in order to efficiently flatten the floor. The steeper the angle cut, the more aggressive your material removal will be. These are some factors that directly affect the amount of material removed, and the angle of your first cut during a resand: • Excessive wear and deep gouges that will require more-aggressive sanding, will require additional floor surface material removal. • Removal of existing bevels from a floor will require significant material removal from the surface of the floor, which will reduce the floor’s lifespan. • Previous sanding jobs also play a crucial role in the life-expectancy of the floor. Poor sanding techniques, “professional” usually will result in deep drum marks, sander gouges, and that shadow along the perimeter where they tilted the edger against the baseboard. All of these will increase the amount of wear layer removed from any wood floor significantly. REDUCING MATERIAL REMOVAL DURING REFINISHING such as uneven sanding caused by a DIYer, or an inexperienced

Once the existing finishes have been removed and the floor has been flattened, multi-disc sanders are particularly effective in maintaining uniformity throughout the sanding process, reducing the risk of inconsistencies and over-sanding in certain areas. The introduction of multi-disc sanders have revolutionized the entire sanding process, allowing contractors to achieve superior results while preserving more of the wood’s surface.

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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