Home DIY

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.

For this part of the job I'd have someone else in - call around, some refinishers don't bother punching in nails and just give 'er.

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

What about splitting when driving nails in?
With floors that old, I imagine the wood would be extremely dry.
Might it not be better to cut the nails off anyway?
Just asking, don't know.

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.

Everything everyone has said just makes me want to get a carpet.

I'll have a crack at hammering in the nails for now I guess and get a few quotes for someone to sand in the new. Just want it clean for now and less covered in plaster.

Shelves next... Tbc...

PS thanks though, some useful, if depressing, tips up there.

The nails shouldn't be so long that pushing them in an bit will put them in to a pipe. But if so, think about where they may be running, it will be next to a wall and you can always pull up a plank to have a look.

You can get away will one mm or so of proud nail. Otherwise I'd knock with a hammer.

I'm now using a guy who is as cheap as it is for me to hire a machine.

As mentioned it's worth taking the time to hammer down proud heads, the damage you risk to the drum of the sander is not worth it. Not to mention the danger of sparking with lots of dust in the air.
I hired my sanders from http://www.floorsanderrental.co.uk/
I used the Bona felxi, and didn't bother with the dust care system and was really impressed with how little dust it produced.

Finally getting towards the end of the floor project. On goes the Osmo

I would echo everyone else's comments that it is worth knocking nails down. I tried to cut a few corners and didn't bother knocking them all in and went through loads of sanding sheets as they ripped and exploded on me (first few were a bit of a shock as well!). Cost me a lot of money for the sheets at £8 a time and changing the sheets can take a while. I would recommend prepping as much as possible - it will save you timemoney in the long run

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

Big-ass Victorian cast iron nails that have corroded into place take a lot more than one tap. Try 3-10 hearty whacks with a punch and lug hammer, if you're lucky. Some left gaping holes around them, I'm going with it looking 'rustic'.

One for gas people.

When did having a gas hob the cuts the gas if it doesn't light become a must have and not advice till being replaced?

Gas Cooking Appliances (Safety) Regulations 1989

And regulations aren't retrospective.

your answer, possibly > http://www.landlords-gas-certs.com/latest-news/hobs-without-ffd-s-in-flats/

Thanks you to you two.

I thought that it not retrospective and something that rive_gauche links shows. Just confused as the corgi guy came this year mentioned that the hob needs to be changed for next gas safety cert.

How old is your hob? I'm assuming you are renting if you have yearly visits.

Not renting, for the girlfriends house. She has a an annual service and safety check. Same guy as usual and he came up with this.

So is she renting or just really paranoid about the cooker as a house owner?

The gas guy said he'd let it pass this year but she would have to change it to pass next year.

Maybe you need to work out a bit more

You're so right, I don't even lift, bro.

That's odd, with a username like that I thought you did. :)

The gas guy said he'd let it pass this year but she would have to change it to pass next year.

Not sure what he is thinking. It's either a dangerous appliance and he'd have to cut off the gas supply to it or not and it passes the Safety Check.

Unless he is aware of new bit of legislation arriving next year...