Pro tip: refinishing hardwood floors on a Saturday teaches you patience

I was at my buddy's old house in St. Paul last summer helping him sand down a 1950s oak floor, and we hit a nail plate and ruined the belt in under 10 minutes. Has anyone else found that older homes always have some hidden metal that slows you down for the whole weekend?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.dylan25d agoTop Commenter

Actually that "nail plate" you hit was probably an old conduit staple or maybe even a heating pipe bracket. Pre-1960 houses often used metal lath under plaster for the ceilings and walls, and when they added hardwood floors later, they'd just nail right through anything. I once spent four hours pulling out a dozen old tinsmith nails embedded in a maple floor from a 1920s build. The real kicker is that some of those old metals are so soft you don't even hear the sander change pitch until the belt is already shredded. Ever try using a magnet over the whole floor before sanding the next time?

the_kim25d ago

Four hours pulling out a dozen nails from a 1920s floor? Man, that sounds like a nightmare. I have a 1940s house and I found a single old wire staple buried in the subfloor once, and I still had to stop everything to dig it out with a pair of pliers. I can't imagine doing that over and over again, especially with a maple floor where every nick shows. That magnet trick you mentioned is something I never even considered, but now I'm wondering if it would pick up the really small, thin pieces that are almost flat against the wood. I feel like I'd spend an hour just running a magnet over every square foot, but it might be worth it to save a belt or two.