Everyone is sanding floors THE WRONG WAY

There is a myth in the floor sanding industry that has been around for decades. Today, I bust that myth

THE BEST LACQUER for Wood Floors (by FAR):

And the one thing everyone seems to forget when refinishing their floors:

If you want to get serious about refinishing your hardwood floors, do a good job and save money:

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[Weirdaman]

Thanks Youtube for showing me a mad lad that build a floor just to prove a point.

[ajax]

Howdy from the States! Glad you're still making videos. I had never sanded, stained or finished a floor in my life. Bought a house over the summer and ripped the carpet out to find wooden floors. I followed most of your videos to a T. Took me about a week and wasn't easy. Had other contractors come in for varying work asking me who did my floors after it was all said and done. Got a bunch of compliments etc stating it looked like a professional job. Wanted to thank you man. I'm incredibly grateful for these videos and I'm glad I happened upon them. Along the way I got a ton of different and contradictory advice. I don't know why but I went with yours. It's amazing how hard it is to find the 'right' advice. Anyways thanks a million.

[valaverett]

It took me 25 years as a Wood Flooring Contractor to figure this out on my own. You explained the science of wood grain and drum sanding perfectly. I wish I had had access to this video 24 years ago, which would have eliminated some callbacks to "fix the ripples!"

[LordoftheJamesClan]

Hello, sandpaper manufacturer here. I can say that yes you need at least 15 degrees to offset the waves, this is also something that takes place all across sanding in general (not just floors). The screen we make for hand sanding and pole sanding in drywall is actually die cut at 15 degrees to avoid waves.

[Cardinalfloors]

I started my own floor sanding business 4 years ago after working under my dad. Unfortunately he passed away when I was too young and didn't get a chance to fully learn. I have learned more from your videos and program than anywhere else, and for that I am forever grateful.

[matthewreynolds]

Great explanation. Sanded my upstairs over the summer and I couldn't explain what I was seeing after I finished it. Everyone said I was being too picky. Now I know how to fix it!

Some of the best sanding analysis online. Beyond professional and skirting into scientific understanding of sanding as a trade.

PS - the demonstration with the markers was a great way to explain why to diagonal.

[chrissavill]

That's how I was trained to sand a floor so it's good to see someone putting the record straight, and the reasons why. Good job

[mattwayand]

Cross checking a hardwood floor. I’ve worked in auto body and paint for 20 years and I cross everything from grinding metal to flat blocking clear at finish but probably wouldn’t have thought to do this. I’m doing my first hardwood floor this weekend and was dreading it until I saw this video. Now I can’t wait to fix and finish! One of more satisfying videos I’ve watched. Thank you!!

[Hawkeyelaotzu]

As far as I am aware you are the only person showing how to sand floors correctly. Also how to fill holes and gaps between boards. Many Thanks.

[volundrfrey]

Happy to learn that my dad taught me correctly, and especially glad that I just followed what he taught me when I sanded my own floors.

[olroy]

Excellent explanation and exactly right! I've sanded wood floors for 40 years. I always cross cut my first cut. Newly installed wood floors are especially important to do this due to the amount of overwood across the floor. I've never had problems with ripples

[mindlessmeatball]

I can’t get over the fact that you built a floor to make this video. That is some serious dedication.

[paulcs]

Brilliant video. Makes sense. This is also the reason why car gearbox’s have helically cut gears (diagonally cut) to eliminate noise and vibration.

[aaronjohnson]

Sold on this method, but the ending really drove it home.
First with the grain, then again at a 15⁰ angle.

Then years of experience, haha

[IllumiNationGaming]

I'm currently ripping up carpet and tiles in my house and found really nice hardwood flooring underneath, just needs a good freshen up, so I've been watching a bit on YouTube about repairing, sanding and refinishing old hardwood tongue and groove flooring. I'm a qualified automotive refinisher (spray painter) and was constantly wondering why people are sanding everything straight?? Then I see your video cross hatching it, exactly the way my brain would think to do it from my experience in getting car panels dead straight, so I'm glad to see that cross hatch sanding will work fine on the floor, and I'm not a complete madman for thinking to do it this way!!

[WatchingTrainsGoBy-PassingTime]

It's great that we can share real experience like this to figure things out. Thanks...
I've met lots of people with 30 years experience doing a job, wrong... And they rest their laurels on time instead of quality. The bad habits you learn when you start almost always carry on forever and get worse over time. Experimenting helps us learn when we see different results. It makes it easier to figure out what was actually happening. So kudos to you for this one.

[MCTobiasz]

I remember geeking out with my best friend as we were both learning to get his floor business going, pouring over the details of why things were looking the way they were. This is a great explanation and demonstration I remember the day he showed up and said we were doing the diagonal afterhe had talked to somebody at the Supply Warehouse. I was like what? Noooo! But sure enough, it's the way

[ironassbrown]

I was taught to sand 15-30 degrees to the grain with the drum sander. I find it varies depending on the floor sometimes you gotta hit it at 45 degrees from multiple directions sometimes 5 degrees is fine. There are so many variables I don't even know how to type a comment about it, and this video made me aware of even more variables, very informative and well presented.

[justalittletoointrusive]

I used to do this professionally and am about 10yrs out of practice. I am in the process of renovating my own house and have been trying to explain things to my father.... this video has been invaluable for putting into words the things I mostly remember but am very out of practice at. The WHY of things is important. Cheers mate, thanks for the clear and concise explanation.

[troys.]

I used to do scientific samples preparation for a laboratory for electron microscopes. We always alternated sanding directions until all of the previous directions marks were gone. Worked great for high precision work, makes sense to do it for floors. Thanks!