Refinishing Hardwood Floors: Drum Sander Edition

Reclaiming our hardwood floors in the 1930's farmhouse we bought was a big priority. There's just something about the history in those beautiful, original boards that can't really be replicated.
Of course, it was also... well... a heck of a lot of work.


We started out by removing the floor coverings hiding the original hardwood floors and scraping off the remaining glue, and then it was finally (finally!) time to start sanding.
We began by renting a drum sander from a nearby hardware store.


We chose to use a drum sander (as opposed to an orbital sander) because they tend to sand faster and more completely than the orbital sanders do, and we were ready to get going on the floors!
The first step was doing the "heavy duty" sanding- removing the (still remaining) glue, and getting down through the varnish and stain- using 36-grit sandpaper.


We actually did two passes with the 36-grit to get everything off and to get down to clean, fresh boards.


Followed up with 60-grit, the floors finally started to look... well... beautiful!
For drum sanding tips, tricks, and more pictures-- check out the blog post below!
Ally | The Speckled Goat
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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