Festool Rotex for Hardwood Floor

[George Parrott]

Is Festool's Rotex 150 a viable machine to restore some hardwood floors that have been spattered with paint and covered with carpet for who knows how many years? The dust collection would seem to be the biggest advantage over other solutions, if the machine will do the trick.

Thanks
George

[Bob Marino]

George,

Yes, depending upon the condition of the floor (how much paint, etc.) the Rotex would do the trick,for sure.

Bob

[Jamie Buxton]

George --
While a handheld sander could indeed do the job, you'll break your knees and back doing the whole job with it. Rental centers will rent you big floor sanding machines. You stand upright to use them, and they sand lots faster than even a Rotex. Those are the machines which pros use.
Jamie

[Jim Becker]

It will work very well as Bob eludes to, but as Jamie points out, it may not be the best tool for the job; at least the major part of it. Unless you have a very small room, renting a larger machine and using the Rotex for spot finishing makes more sense to me.

[Bob Marino]

Jamie and Jim are exactly correct. If it is for whole rooms, rather than small areas, the flooring machines are the way to go. No ros can compete with the larger machines for speed and efficiency.

Bob

[Tyler Howell]

The pro machines are for pros and very good or very lucky beginners. Some real good threads on the floor finishing process on this forum. Check it out. I talked to the Jobber that did my floors years back and he said " a majority of their work is repairing what DIYers mess up". It can be done. "I did it" and some of the new machines are much more user friendly. Some of them old timers can burn their way to the basement in a heartbeat. Practice in a low traffic area first. Good luck.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi George,

I have done a few floors. The next time I will rent one of the sanders that have the four ROS pads. Joe Tonich (I know the spelling isn't right sorry Joe) he is a member from OH, used this sander when he did his floor. DO NOT get the vibrating pad sander! They are not aggressive enough. After spending 1/2 and hour on a space the size of a regrigarator footprint my brother-in-law returned it and got the drum sander.

The dust collection isn't good on many of the drum sanders. As mentioned above the drumsanders can gouge a hole quick and can burn but they are not impossible to use.

I used water based poly- Varathane Diamond coat. Get the large professional applicators if you can find them.

link:
This is for the sander I was talking about.
http://www.u-sand.com/index.html

[Jim Taylor]

George,

As others have said... it can be done. I did about 600 sqft of unfinished qtswn red oak with an 8" Fein ROS. Look at it this way, it's good exersice for your legs and back. I was tempted to go rent something, but two thoughts came into my head....

1. spend the money on my own tools instead of renting
2. what did they do in the 1840's? ... that one really made me suck it up and go back to work.

It is not really that tough, though my wood was unfinished, and would be much easier than starting from where you are at...

Also, it is not so easy to get perfectly flat with and POS. I am going to do another 40 sqft in the next month or so... this time I might consider using a hand held belt sander, with an extended base for flattening... just consider the floor one big panel...

-Jim

-Jim

[Chris Padilla]

I had an uncle who sanded his own floors with a small sander. It came out all wavy. Oak can be tough due to the sofer earlywood and denser latewood.

[George Parrott]

Thanks to all for the input. I had considered the drum sanders, but there are 3 small rooms of about 120 sq ft each, plus small closets, and one larger room at maybe 225 sq ft. The main attraction to the rotex was the dust collection. My wife had heard from a friend that even with sealing the area off, the drum sanders created dust throughout the house.

I guess I'll take everything into consideration and ponder awhile.

Thanks again

[Tyler Howell]

Finish on those size rooms is pretty stinko too! You might concider moving out for a day or two. We found floor dust in the freezer one story down and in in the beds, closets etc one story up. Just accept it and clean afterwards, although the DC is getting much better.

[Jamie Buxton]

You may find it easier than you think to seal off the work area. Use the thin (1 mil) plastic dropcloth, and masking tape to hold it to the walls, floor, and ceiling. Very often, doorways are good places to put the seal; the tape holds well to the painted trim. Remember to seal forced-air ducts. They connect to other rooms too. If you can, arrange your entrance into the work area from outside, so that you don't have to keep undoing and resealing one of your seals inside the house.

Re the stink, you might use water-borne finish. It doesn't stink nearly as badly. The stuff is just as sturdy as solvent-borne finish. It doesn't have the amber color of traditional varnish, which may be a good thing for you. If you'd rather have the amber color, you can get a toner to put in the finish to add it.

[Steve Evans]

I find that a powerful fan in a window, along with sealing everything off, does wonders. The fan will depressurize the room enought that very little dust will escape. Just don't try and overcome the prevailing wind. I use a small old furnace blower.

[Mark Rakestraw]

I agree with the exhaust fan idea, it works wonders and can virtually eliminate dust in the rest of the house. The trick is to use a fairly powerful window fan in the work area exhausting the air. Don't completely seal the work area off from the rest of the house. The replacement air should not come from another window in the same room but from part of the house you're trying to keep clean. This creates an airflow from the clean living space through the work area directly to the outdoors.
Mark