Floor sand/ polishing- have you DIYd and would you do it again?

We are up to floor sanding and polishing on our IP Reno.
We have just under 100m2 of hardwood floors.
Had originally planned to get a pro to do it, though we have gone over budget and hubby coincidentally has a week off work this week- we are considering tackling the floors ourselves.
Is it really as tedious as you read?
Have you done it yourself and would you recommend it?
Is it worth the money saved?
Hubby is really handy so is capable of most things but I'm worried he could somehow wreck it or it could end up way more time consuming than we realise

 

I did it in our PPOR once......wasn't too bad but boy did I learn a lot and screwed it up in a few places with the drum sander.

Once you put down the coating etc wasn't too noticeable and was a 30 year old semi etc do didn't really matter but if they are relatively new.....might be one to leave to the pro's.

 

Yes.

No.

 

My father recently did a room by himself. He ended up getting a pro to do the other 2

 

I have laid 100sqm of Tassie Oak and also sanded and polished it myself on a previous PPOR. Turned out fine and saved me 50% of total cost if I got someone else to do it.

Would I do it again, heck no but at the time (2003) it was required as I was busy creating some sweat equity

 

Is floor sanding and polishing hard? No.

Is floor sanding and polishing hard to get looking good on a first attempt at DIY? Yes

Is floor sanding and polishing hard to get looking good on a first attempt at DIY and on hardwood for a PPOR? Hell yes

 

here is my experience

ive done about 4 jobs, and every time I had high expectations , and they all turned out well below expectations. I used all teh right equipments incuding multiple advice from the experts,
If I hired a pro and got my results, I wouldnt pay them,
My jobs were acceptable for a an IP

I would do it again purely to save money for a cheap IP

for me after 2 or 3 coats there was little shine and it wasnt that smooth

 

Whoa thanks for all your replies. I will definitely find other stuff for hubby to do this week and will get the pro in for the floors. It's only costing a bit under $1800 for the whole house except wet areas that we tiled, so sounds like that's the way to go!

 

Hi Otie

Not sure where in Vic you are, but members of one of the other forums I'm on speak highly about a sander down this way:

Clint Fudge: Floor Sanding & Polishing

if you need another quote and want a good job. Great pictures.

 

I haven't DIY but know with colleagues re: polishing floors, you're typically better off hiring someone who's experienced to do it. You'll save time and the output will be significantly better.

Cost saving for this type of work is marginal in the grand scheme of thing and focus your energy on other value-add work

 

I've done it and if you're handy it's worth the savings for an IP. Cost me something like $300 to do a small house vs 2k for a pro.

 

I am glad we saved your husband from this work and hope he got to watch the football instead.

 

Lol he is glad too!