First Reno, Girrawheen WA - Timber Flooring advice please!!

[Hahn]

Hey guys,

I am currently head down bum up in my first reno and was looking for some flooring advice, what better place to come that SS right

I have pulled up most of the carpet throughout the house (2 layers think with underlay in most areas!) with the intention of sanding and oiling the jarrah floors that have lied dormant for years. A few things I have found;

1. The floors in the main bedroom and living area have already been sanded and oiled, then had carpet laid over them.
2. In the second bedroom the previous owner has oiled the floors, but was lazy and didn't oil under an old cabinet leaving a 1.5*0.5m patch or bare timber.
3. The other bdrm and hall are looking as new as the day they were laid due to 5cm of carpet covering them for 30 years. The 3rd bdrm does have slight water staining however.
4. Kitchen needs the most work. Pulled up the vinyl and the boards will need serious sanding and are covered in what looks like the remnants of old carpet underlay

Questions (apologies for rookiness but this will be my first experience with it!);

1. Should I just re-sand the second bedroom completely and oil in with the hallway and 3rd bdrm? Or can I attempt to just oil and finish the patch that was left?
2. Would I be able to lightly sand the water marks out with an orbital or small belt sander? They don't appear to be very deep set.
3. To achieve a more consistent colour throughout the house, is it worth stripping back the already finished areas and just oiling everything together. It would be a bit more work but not massive as its a small house

Any help is always appreciated!

Cheers

 

[tomlemke]

hey mate it might be worth giving a few floor sanding mobs a call and getting a few quotes I've had my two i.ps and ppor done and for the price it cost i wouldn't even attempt it my self.

 

[wylie]

I would also recommend a floor sander. Our son just had one smallish kitchen done and as we had removed walls and it ran into living areas... and they ran into bedrooms, he paid $100 per room extra to have the living and bedrooms buffed and recoated. I think it was $1000 all up. The rooms that had already been polished were not sanded, but he used (I think) some sort of buffer pad and recoated the whole house (kitchen/living/three bedrooms, back landing)... well worth it.

One thing I'd say is that when you say "oiled", you need an expert to tell you what was used. In our son's house the sander didn't do one bedroom at the back because it was in very good condition, didn't meet up with the rest of the floor, but mainly because he couldn't tell what sort of product it had been done with.

He did say if he didn't sand it all off, whatever finish he put over the top could react with the old finish, so he thought it better to leave it, especially as it really didn't need doing.

The other thing I'd say is that in the room where it sounds like there was originally a rug and the floor was "oiled" around the edges, we've had houses where this has been done. Often it was called "Japanning" where the edge is stained darker than the middle. Once sanded, the outside edge that has been stained ends up being lighter than the middle where the boards have been exposed to light and air for years.

You will never get rid of the difference in the colours, so best to either keep putting a rug in that spot, or accept that it will be noticeable and live with it.

 

[westminster]

How long are you going to keep it, will you be demolishing one day?

I wouldn't spend a fortune on it but enough to make it look better. I don't think people mind if there is variation between rooms so if you already have rooms in good nick then leave as is.

 

[Hahn]

Thanks for the reply!

I would also recommend a floor sander. Our son just had one smallish kitchen done and as we had removed walls and it ran into living areas... and they ran into bedrooms, he paid $100 per room extra to have the living and bedrooms buffed and recoated. I think it was $1000 all up. The rooms that had already been polished were not sanded, but he used (I think) some sort of buffer pad and recoated the whole house (kitchen/living/three bedrooms, back landing)... well worth it.

That does sound reasonable. I have heard that for the effort sometimes it is better just to get someone in, I may have to look into some quotes. The reason I wanted to do it myself is that I can get the equipment through a friend for next to nothing and I would like the experience as I think this will be the first of many renos for me

You will never get rid of the difference in the colours, so best to either keep putting a rug in that spot, or accept that it will be noticeable and live with it

The room is quite small so I think once a bed and storage is put in that may not be THAT noticeable. I think you just helped me make my decision, the patch stays!

 

[Hahn]

How long are you going to keep it, will you be demolishing one day?

I wouldn't spend a fortune on it but enough to make it look better. I don't think people mind if there is variation between rooms so if you already have rooms in good nick then leave as is.

This is a great point, I think I will be keeping this one for around 5 years but that may change depending on circumstances. I have, and will be doing most of the work myself to reduce costs. This is my first so its a learn as you go project Hopefully get a bit of equity (nothing huge I wouldn't think), increase market rent and gain valuable experience.

As with the variation in rooms I think I tend to really notice that sort of stuff but I think I have to get over that as it wont be me living in there No point doing extra work and spending the time for no huge gain.

Cheers!

 

[Of The Vultures]

I would like the experience as I think this will be the first of many renos for me

Good to see

I don't know too much about oiled floors but would agree that it is not worth spending too much trying to get rid of patches and such - tenants won't care much and won't take care of the floors as well as you'd want anyway. Different story if you were selling maybe, but you're not.

I second the suggestions to get quotes. You might find with the sum involved it's not worth your time to do it yourself.

Good luck, post photos of the results if you can

 

[Hahn]

Good to see

I second the suggestions to get quotes. You might find with the sum involved it's not worth your time to do it yourself.

Good luck, post photos of the results if you can

Yeah I will get some quotes next week then hopefully get the ball rolling!

I will post up all the before and after photos plus all the figures in a separate thread once most of the work is done, stay tuned

 

[MTR]

We also did a reno job in Girrawheen, we opted for sanding and a couple of coats of flat finish, not oiled. Mr MTR did it himself, if you go down this road you will save money, however its a bugger of a job, got to clean walls, fine red dust, and what we found many of the machines you hire are not in good condition, added stress. Do yourself a favour and save the pain, do what you are doing, get quotes

We have jarrah floorboards in our primary residence, flat finish, fantastic durable, this is what I would get if holding the property, looks great and also practical.

Side issue - Does the home/bedroom have robes?? If its typical State home generally wont, something I would consider necessary for a rental.

MTR