got any experience of floor sanders???
 

The parkay flooring we have just discovered under a carpet isn't flat.

Pretty much every piece is out of level with it's neighbour. Some as much as 3mm.

I've never used a floor sander. Are they ideal from sanding down such uneven floors?

Be very careful if you are using an industrial one, they take off like a Bugatti if you aren't used to using them, make sure all children and breakable things are removed from the area before turning on:eek:

If it was me I'd lift the wood and see why it's so uneven, it may be easier to flatten the floor below and relay the parkay floor.

Got plenty of experience.... as I work for a company that hires them :getmecoat:

As said, they can take off like a scolded cat. But press down on the handle as you start, then slowly move forward as you lower it and away you go, when you get the other end, lift up and turn round and start again.

As for taking off 3mm, no problem, just go across the wood to level it out and then 'with the grain so to speak' and it will will look lovely :D. You can get a wide range of grades of paper (I do: 24grit, 40, 60, 80, 100 & 120). But would not recommend using the 24 on your floor!

What ever you do, don't try to rush the sanding, take it carefully and it'll look brilliant.

Most floor sanders don't get right to the edge (but you can get an edge sander as well :D), or you can use a detail sander if you have one.

Cheers guys. Mucho helpfullo.
It's uneven because some bone ed has laid it badly and then planed and hacked at it. Looks more like he's used an adze in places. Because he has used the wrong bonding most of it has come loose. So I am taking it up where it's loose, cleaning the concrete and bitumen form the pieces of parkey and relaying it.
It is taking aaaaaaages.:mad:

Still! it will look nice when finished.

I can confirm this is true - I hired one to sand a pine floor and the damn thing shot off across the floor and then climbed half way up the wall.

Take care with them.

Keep them moving...... if left too long in one spot you'll end up with a dip.

Use a Belt sander for doing the edges of the room.

I hired one for our kitchen & hallway but when l sanded the boards in our lounge l decided to save money & bought a rotary sander from Machine Mart & did it by hand. I got the disc's from my brother who is a panelbeater/sprayer & though it takes a little longer, the floor came up well & l have a sander l can keep.
No good for levelling parquet flooring though.

As above but also make sure that your dust bag is secure as if not then it'll go all over the place. My advice is to empty the room, take down any curtains and seal off the door to stop dust escaping. Also go over the floor and knock in any nails etc as they'll spark and rip the sanding paper. I've done a couple of floors and have never got them down to a clean fresh look but some of the old board stain showing through gave it character.

Good luck!