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  • Wood floors. Rather than fork out for new boards we want to keep the original floorboards we found under the carpets. They're a bit wonky which we're OK with, however we will sand them down and treat them.

    We've picked out all the tacks/staples etc but there are still some heavy duty nails with 1 or 2mm above the surface. Is this going to fuck the hired floor sander?

    Am I really going to need to go inch by inch around 70 square meters of floor with a hammer and punch knocking them all in?

  • Strictly speaking, no, but you'll tear through the belts faster without and could potentially damage the machine , costing you more in deposit money. I did as many as I could before and still missed some, partly because I got lazy. It then ate in to the time I had to sand, from hammering them in because it was chucking out sparks every time I went over one, which didn't feel to safe with a massive bag of potentially explosive sawdust so close. If they're cast iron victorian ones it'll be a total pita, as they'll have rusted into place.

    tl;dr yes, but if you value your time more than your deposit don't bother.

  • Am I really going to need to go inch by inch around 70 square meters of floor with a hammer and punch knocking them all in?

    Get a young relative to do it for £20

  • Basically, yes. I had a nice warning from my neighbour about that though - he once did it to a nail that was resting against a pipe. Splosh.

    If you do it holding a punch, wear gloves and don't pinch the punch too tightly - your fingers will be tingling for days otherwise.

    To find proud nail heads, run a scraper along the floorboard and see what it clanks against.

    I hired from these guys: http://www.floorsanderhirelondon.co.uk

    The power switch failed on the edger just before we finished, but that was just bad luck I think. They were good to deal with.

    If you don't want huge amounts of dust everywhere, the Bona DCS is a worthwhile addition I think - you have a pipe to lug around (put it over your shoulder) but it really does reduce the amount of dust. Don't forget to read the instructions on the side about how to empty the filter to make it work properly. Also don't try and remove the bag - it's like a big long sausage that you tie off and cut.

  • I'll come down and do the job for £1 a nail head, merry fistmas!

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