Published on 12 June 2012

Posted in Floor Sanding Tips

“Being based in North West London, most of my floor sanding projects has been in the local area. I have, on previous occasions, taken my floor sanding equipment into Central London, namely when I had a contract to sand some wooden floors for a retail outlet situated right in Central London. Therefore, I was a little surprised to receive a telephone call from a principal of a technical college based in Lewisham.

In clipped tones, his opening lines, were, “Do you do floor sanding in South East London?”

The voice took upon a more serious pitch, “Perhaps I should explain, we are based in an old building and our laboratory floor is made from solid oak and it’s starting to look a little worn”. The voice continued, “We have an open day planned, so I thought that this would be the right time to get the oak floor sanded and varnished, ready for our visitors,” he explained. I replied that I was happy to bring along my floor sanding tools to South East London, I added that there might be a little extra transport charge from my regular sander rental firm, but he said that as I had been recommended to him, he was happy to cover any extra costs.

We discussed the condition of the wooden floor over the telephone and he thoughtfully emailed me some images of the oak floor, so I could work out which particular floor sander I would need to complete this floor sanding job. Based on the evidence provided by the college, I decided to rent a Bona 10 inch belt sander, as (in my opinion) this is the best machine for sanding oak flooring. I called up my local floor sanding hire shop, and booked the Bona floor sander together with a Bona edging sander and a selection of floor sanding sheets and edge sanding discs on a sale or return basis.

After first checking that I had some clean brushes, I also added four 5-litre containers of Bona Mega varnish. This would help to ensure that I could get the job finished within the time slot the principal had given me. We had agreed that I could start work as soon as the college broke up for their half-term, so asked the floor sander rental company to deliver the floor sanders and floor varnish right into South East London, first thing on following Monday.

So, there I was, right in South East London, with my floor sanding equipment delivered just on time, ready to start my first ever floor sanding assignment in south east area of the capital. The college had taken away all the laboratory apparatus and had covered the remaining bits and pieces with some cloth dust sheets. I was ready to start sanding straightaway. I attached a 40 grit sanding sheet to the Bona 10” floor sanding machine and I was away, neatly taking off the top lay from the oak floor, leaving a clean streak down the laboratory floor. Soon I was fitting some fine sanding sheets to the sander, ready to get a lovely smooth finish to this old oak floor – by the end of the day I had completely sanded the wooden floor, resolving to myself that I would complete the floor’s borders with the Bona edge sander the next morning.

The following day had me back in South East London, surveying a finished sanded wooden floor, with a top-quality fine-textured surface, that was crying out for the Bona Mega floor varnish. Bona Mega is a waterborne floor finish that uses oxygen in the air to achieve cross linking. This gives it the performance and durability of a two part finish without addition of a hardener. With my brush in hand, I always found it very easy to apply and, as time was tight on this job, I appreciated that Bona Mega was also designed for quick drying. I put down two coats of the floor varnish, which I deemed to be quite sufficient for this oak floor.

The next day, the College Principal found me still in his laboratory, putting the finishing touches to the newly varnished oak wooden floor. “So this is your first floor sander job in South East London?” he remarked, “You’ve definitely made a first-class job if it, I shall recommend your floor sanding services to my colleagues in the education field,” he added, looking rather pleased. I thanked him for his kind remarks and explained that most of my previous sanding duties had been in either North London or Central London, but this had been an interesting assignment, so if any of his fellow principals needed floor sanding work, either here in South East London, or elsewhere in the capital, then I was happy to take the job on.”

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