There are many good causes to sand a wooden flooring. It will possibly make the ground (or subfloor) stage, removes stains or undesirable paint, and provides the wooden a silky-smooth end that feels nice underfoot. I ought to know, as I sanded my self-layed parquet flooring utilizing orbital sanders.
One factor that may put you off sanding wooden floors is uncertainty over the prices, which fluctuate relying on components akin to whether or not you go for DIY or skilled sanding, the realm of the ground and even the kind of wooden.
That will help you funds for wooden flooring sanding, we quizzed Harry Younger, a property developer and Director of HeyProp.co.uk, and David Clarke, Proprietor of Absolute Ground Sanding Ltd., to get their tackle the everyday challenge prices.
Learn on for our breakdown of kit, supplies and labour prices for sanding wooden floors – and the way to save cash in your flooring sanding challenge.
HeyProp.co.uk is a property growth firm working in and round Hampshire. Director, Harry Younger, calls upon 13 years of expertise within the building trade to tell his growth initiatives, which have typically concerned wooden flooring sanding.
Components affecting wooden flooring sanding prices
There’s no set price for sanding a wooden flooring. In line with Harry Younger, Director of HeyProp.co.uk, the outlay is affected by a number of components, most significantly the ground’s situation and the kind of wooden.
“A pine flooring in good situation is perhaps on the decrease finish of the price vary, whereas sanding hardwoods like oak or walnut tends to push prices greater – significantly if there’s a heavy varnish or prior harm,” he says.
“Older flooring which were painted or poorly maintained, or the place the wooden is warped, can demand extra effort and time to revive correctly. This will increase the labour time and materials necessities, which displays within the ultimate price.”
In fact, the dimension of your wooden flooring will even have an effect on the price of sanding – most importantly for those who’re getting it accomplished by knowledgeable. A bigger flooring will price extra to sand than an identical, smaller wooden flooring, however these with giant flooring would possibly get higher worth for cash.
“Minimal call-out charges typically make smaller rooms disproportionately costlier per sq. metre, whereas giant open-plan areas can profit from economies of scale,” says Younger.
Location additionally comes into play. Getting a flooring sanded usually prices extra in areas with a better price of dwelling (particularly London) or in distant and underserviced areas.
Breakdown of wooden flooring sanding prices
Gear buy or rental (for DIY sanding)
- Ground sander: ~£25-85/day (rental). You’re more likely to hire this huge, specialised kind of sander than purchase one. Charges at main device rent suppliers akin to HSS begin from round £25/day. A flooring sander is essentially the most environment friendly device for sanding a wooden flooring, however they’re heavy, require complete focus to make use of and generally lack the precision of a smaller, lighter sander. Sometimes, you’d additionally rent an edge sander to sand the perimeters of the room. Greater-quality sanders rented by specialist suppliers come at greater charges.
- Orbital sander: ~£100. This versatile kind of sander is a sluggish however exact choice for sanding wooden floors. (I used just a few totally different fashions to sand my oak flooring). I’d advise utilizing a robust, corded mannequin just like the Makita BO5041/2 an orbital sander you should purchase on (£107.18, Amazon) to make sure fairly quick progress and keep away from frequent battery recharging.
- Palm sander: ~£30. With their sq. sanding pads, palm sanders are perfect for sanding on the sq. corners of a room, the place an orbital sander can’t attain. If utilizing this device for element work solely, you will get away with a fairly priced mannequin (there are a number of choices for palm sanders to purchase at B&Q)
- Mud extractor: ~£80/day. Hiring a contractor-grade mud extractor (from a supplier akin to HSS) will tremendously cut back the well being and hygiene burdens created by mud launched into the property. Be sure the extractor’s hose will match the mud extraction port of your chosen sander.
Supplies (largely for DIY sanding)
Store prudently, and you need to have the ability to purchase all of the supplies wanted to sand and refinish your wooden flooring for beneath £100.
- Sanding sheets: ~£10. You’ll want a number of grades of sandpaper to progressively sand your wooden flooring to a smoother end. These have to be suitable together with your chosen sander device, and costs fluctuate relying on kind, high quality and model. For reference, I purchased a 100-set of 125mm orbital sander sanding discs (varied grades) from Amazon for beneath £10, and this was way over I wanted to sand one flooring.
- End: ~£15. After sanding your wooden flooring, you need to end it with an oil or varnish to guard the contemporary floor from marks, stains and water harm. I like to recommend Osmo Polyx-Oil (from £11.80, Wooden Finishes Direct). You’ll want a paintbrush to use the product.
- Wooden filler and knife: ~£15. Filler can {smooth} out minor irregularities in sanded wooden flooring, akin to nail holes in reclaimed floorboards, or gouge marks out of your sander. Good ones like Osmo Wooden Filler may be purchased for lower than £10, they usually are available varied colors to match totally different woods. You should utilize a filling knife (£6, B&Q) to use the hard-setting putty whereas it’s mushy.
- PPE: ~£50. The mud launched by sanding poses well being dangers if not handled correctly. You’ll want a wonderful mud masks or a low-cost respirator you can purchase at Screwfix, well-fitting security goggles, purchasable at B&Q and protecting gloves, you can additionally purchase at B&Q. I’d additionally advocate utilizing a kneeling pad (£7.97, Screwfix), and you need to put up a plastic mud barrier door (£11.99, B&Q) in your doorframe (even when there’s an precise door behind it) to minimise the ingress of mud into different rooms. These reusable gadgets may be bought for round £50 in complete – a small worth to pay for safer sanding.
You would possibly have already got a few of these assets at residence, by which case the added expense can be decrease.
When selecting a ending product to use after sanding, think about its longevity and upkeep necessities, as these will have an effect on your prices long-term.
“Oils, stains and lacquers all include their very own prices and upkeep implications. Some finishes are extra labour-intensive or require a number of coats, which provides to the time and complete price,” Younger notes.
Skilled flooring sanding prices
The prices of getting a wooden flooring professionally sanded and refinished within the UK vary significantly. Some suppliers promote charges as little as £20 per sq. metre, whereas others change as a lot as £65psm.
“As a tough information, we go in at round £40psm, together with VAT,” says David Clarke, Proprietor of the ground sanding supplier, Absolute Ground Sanding Ltd.
“That components in the whole lot from our wages and working prices to supplies. We’re priced a bit bit above the center floor within the commerce, as we use good merchandise and all the fellows take common coaching programs.”
Based mostly on Clarke’s pricing, getting a 20㎡ wooden flooring professionally sanded and refinished would price round £800.
With that mentioned, for those who’re glad to do the refinishing your self, you need to have the ability to safe a decrease charge per sq. metre for sanding.
“I usually allocate round £25-35 per sq. metre if I’m getting a wooden flooring professionally sanded throughout a property growth challenge,” says Younger.
In case your funds is decrease, DIY sanding is perhaps the best choice.
“The DIY flooring sanding market is taking off, and we do now provide sander rent,” says Clarke.
“On common you save 50-60%. For a job that I’d quote for a grand, you’ve spent £400-500 by the top of the rent. Some folks do a improbable job with the identical good gear we might use.”
David Clarke is the proprietor of Absolute Ground Sanding Ltd., an Essex-based firm which offers skilled sanding, flooring set up and sander rent providers.
Extra prices to contemplate
If all goes completely, the prices listed above will make up the majority of your wooden flooring sanding funds. Nonetheless, some further bills would possibly creep in for sure initiatives.
Throughout sanding, you could discover that some floorboards have to be changed or repaired so as to make the ground safe and stage. That is a kind of small jobs that comes at a comparatively excessive price when accomplished professionally, with estimated costs of round £250 to cowl sooner or later’s work.
A DIY floorboard substitute can price far much less. Some particular person boards retail at beneath £10 (like this one from Wickes), and the price of screws for fixing from Screwfix is negligible. That mentioned, you could require a round noticed to regulate the board(s), and cordless drill can be important.
Normally, the mud from sanding a wooden flooring may be bagged and disposed of within the (out of doors) garbage bin. Nonetheless, it won’t be permissible to burn scrap wooden from the challenge, particularly if it has been handled with a substance akin to wooden preserver that may launch fumes when burned. If a big amount of scrap wooden is left over, you would possibly must have it collected in a skip (ideally together with different waste from your property enchancment initiatives).
Irrespective of how fastidiously you’ve deliberate your wooden flooring sanding challenge, it’s smart to set some funds apart for sudden prices.
“I often embrace a small contingency (round 10%) for sudden subfloor points or further prep work, particularly in interval properties,” says Younger.
FAQs
What’s the general price of sanding a wooden flooring?
As we’ve seen, many alternative components have an effect on the price of sanding a wooden flooring, together with the ground dimension and materials, whether or not you select skilled or DIY sanding, and which supplies you employ to finish the challenge. This implies the general challenge price can fall wherever inside a large worth vary.
“In my property growth initiatives throughout Hampshire and the South of England, the price of sanding wooden floors has usually ranged between £700 and £2,000, relying on the ground’s dimension, kind, and general situation,” says Younger.
“For instance, in a latest renovation of a Thirties semi-detached property in Southampton, we had roughly 30 sq. metres of authentic pine floorboards. The sanding, sealing, and ending work got here in at just below £1,000, utilizing an area specialist who provided a mid-range lacquer end. The boards have been in honest situation, however some patching and nail elimination have been wanted beforehand, which added to the prep time.”
“In distinction, for a bigger four-bedroom property in Southampton, we labored with round 50 sq. metres of engineered oak flooring that required mild sanding and re-oiling. As a result of the boards had bevelled edges and a custom-tinted oil end, the price rose to £1,850.”
What are the very best methods to cut back the price of wooden flooring sanding?
In case your goal is to minimise the price of sanding your wooden flooring, there are many avenues to discover. One choice is doing the job your self
“DIY can provide financial savings, particularly in smaller rooms or the place an ideal end isn’t important, however many individuals underestimate how rapidly the extras add up,” says Younger.
“A standard subject with DIY sanding is the standard of sanding sheets supplied by rent outlets. These are sometimes lower-grade, rip simply and put on out rapidly, particularly when eradicating paint or previous varnish. This implies you’ll seemingly undergo way over anticipated, including to your general spend.
“A greater strategy is to purchase professional-grade abrasives individually, which may price barely extra per sheet, at round £1.50 to £2.50 every, however last more and carry out extra successfully. Over the course of a full flooring sanding challenge, this typically works out cheaper and positively much less irritating.”
If hiring knowledgeable, there are steps you possibly can take to cut back the invoice.
“We cost if the shopper leaves furnishings within the room, as it could possibly imply a two-day job turns into a three-day, and we’ve got to issue within the guys’ prices,” says Clarke of Absolute Ground Sanding Ltd.. He advises that haggling on worth may also cut back your sanding prices – however provided that you’re prepared to compromise on the end.
“Usually we don’t decrease our costs; we decrease our merchandise,” he says.
“We use Loba model lacquers which definitely aren’t the most cost effective, but when the shopper needs a cheaper price we are able to use cheaper lacquer.”
What are the attainable hidden prices of sanding a wooden flooring?
Whereas sanding appears easy, a number of hidden prices can catch you off guard for those who’re not skilled,” says Younger.
“Probably the most frequent points is discovering that the floorboards are too skinny for one more spherical of sanding. This typically occurs in interval properties the place the unique boards have already been sanded a number of instances over a long time. If there’s not sufficient depth left, you could want to switch sections and even set up new flooring, which is way costlier.
“One other shock I’ve encountered is the necessity for in depth preparation work. For instance, flooring which were lined in adhesive, bitumen, or layers of previous paint typically require aggressive sanding or chemical remedies earlier than a end may even be thought of. This will increase each the time and the price.”
Hopefully, you will now have a greater concept of the seemingly prices concerned in sanding your wooden flooring. If the figures are too excessive to your present residence renovation funds, there are different choices to revive your flooring which could show cheaper, together with varnishing or portray floorboards.
