28
votes
How can I fit a glass cooktop hood into a space that's too tight?
Any glass intended for a kitchen is almost certainly tempered. You cannot modify tempered glass. It will explode or disintegrate. Even if it's not, you're unlikely to be successful without specialized ...
- 144k
28
votes
Is my wooden deck salvageable? Repair tips and Stain vs Paint questions
It appears to be somewhat weathered, but overall solid.
You can do as much or as little as you like to it, from there. It's a deck, not a living room floor. If it's not structurally compromised (and ...
- 223k
26
votes
Paint-stripping purgatory - stuck in the middle - what should we do?
Given the high likelihood of lead based paint, I would not under your current circumstances attack this with a grinder or a sander. You'll create lead-contaminated dust which will haunt you for a long ...
- 23.1k
24
votes
Paint-stripping purgatory - stuck in the middle - what should we do?
Is lead really there?
First and foremost, check your assumption about the presence of lead. Lead appears in 2 places: certain bold pigments like orange and red lead oxides (not that yellow chromium ...
24
votes
Is it appropriate to sand a hardwood floor with a 20, 60, 100 grit sequence?
I've only refinished two hardwood floors myself but I do know a bit about woodworking given my dozen years of experience as a cabinet maker. The first floor was done with a rental rotary sander. This ...
- 341
22
votes
Chipped floor planks keep snagging my socks
These are "shakes" - this is where the lumber separates along the growth rings.
Fill the cracks with glue (PVA / polyurethane / epoxy / cyanoacrylate) then place cling wrap over them and ...
- 23.2k
20
votes
Is it necessary to use more than two grits for a sanding job?
We use a progression for grits to quickly and efficiently sand things.
Each successive grit is used only long enough to remove the scratches left by the coarser grit before.
...
- 223k
19
votes
Accepted
Sanding down or staining floor tiles possible to alter design?
Ceramic tile has none of the properties of wood. It cannot be sanded or stained.
Tile has a top layer that is very hard, the "glaze". It is the layer that has the pattern and color. Sanding ...
- 37.8k
18
votes
Is it appropriate to sand a hardwood floor with a 20, 60, 100 grit sequence?
I'd only consider 20 if you know you need to remove significant material--such as when dealing with deep scratches or stains. Otherwise I'd start with 60. If that doesn't work quickly enough on the ...
- 144k
18
votes
Accepted
How can I fit a glass cooktop hood into a space that's too tight?
Glass does not take well to sanding, cutting, etc. It can be done, but not so easily. It is even harder on an assembled large object, as opposed to large flat sheets.
On the other hand, wood and ...
17
votes
How to sand/smooth out this uneven/chipped wood?
I would leave the posts in place and build the wall around them. The footings for the posts are not the same as a footing for a load bearing wall. That slight difference in the beam at the bottom will ...
- 36.3k
17
votes
Is my wooden deck salvageable? Repair tips and Stain vs Paint questions
I've worked on many decks that look just like that. Get a pressure cleaner/washer and go over the entire deck. You'll be surprised at how that cleans up the deck. Don't use a 4500 PSI (31 MPa) washer, ...
- 83.7k
14
votes
How can I fit a glass cooktop hood into a space that's too tight?
If the hood is this kind of arrangement, basically a pair of glass wings extending from a central machine .... my suggestion is return it and buy something different.
No matter what you do it's going ...
- 43.4k
12
votes
Chipped floor planks keep snagging my socks
When facing a similar issue in my home office (but with smaller bits of damage) I found a good color-matched wood filler, and applied it according to the package instructions. It has held up well, and ...
- 12.4k
11
votes
Accepted
Should I use an orbital sander or a belt sander for sanding a section of varnished floor?
I've got both types of sanders and I use the belt sander when there is a lot of wood to be removed and the orbital sander when the amount of wood to be removed is small. You have a little better ...
- 83.7k
11
votes
Why don't I see more progress when sanding my stair treads?
A vibrating or oscillating sander isn't going to be aggressive enough for that job. It's really only suitable for light finish sanding. You need something that spins, or at least something with a ...
- 144k
10
votes
Accepted
meshed tape exposed on sanding
It's joint compound, commonly called mud, and not grout.
If you are sanding into the tape, you have not applied enough.
It's not a "one and done" product. You apply joint compound and embed ...
- 223k
10
votes
Sanding down or staining floor tiles possible to alter design?
What you see as messy, I see as surprisingly realistic, just imitating a different species than your third picture.
If you really, really want the yellow tone of the second picture, as if the wood had ...
- 32k
9
votes
Is it appropriate to sand a hardwood floor with a 20, 60, 100 grit sequence?
Start with the fine stuff, if it's too slow go for the coarser stuff.
From the look in the photo, 60 or 100 would probably be suitable for the first pass.
Hire a drum sander for the middle of the ...
- 23.2k
9
votes
Is it appropriate to sand a hardwood floor with a 20, 60, 100 grit sequence?
Try starting with the 100 grit and see what happens. You can always switch down to a coarser grit and continue, then return to the finer ones later.
From your photos, looks like the wood itself is in ...
- 11.2k
9
votes
cylindrical sanding block
A sanding drum is a common device, commercially made. Some use a clamp mechanism to hold flat paper,
image source https://www.woodcraft.com/product_images/sanding-drum-3-x-3-x-1-2/...
- 223k
8
votes
Can I reduce the width of a board half an inch by sanding?
It is not feasible to sand down a wooden member by a whole half of an inch.
If something is too long then cut off the additional half inch using a saw.
If something is too thick (wide) by the half ...
- 65.7k
8
votes
Is it appropriate to sand a hardwood floor with a 20, 60, 100 grit sequence?
As one of the comments asks, what's wrong with the floor? It looks pretty good. If you're just wanting to add a new coat of finish, use a fine grit (120 or even higher) to scuff up the floor before ...
- 259
8
votes
Should I sand down the drywall or put more mud to even it out?
I would sand down the worst of the high spots and then get a nice wide (12" at least) taping knife and some light white mud and go over it ....may have to scrap or even sank a bit between coats ....
- 23.2k
7
votes
Would it be appropriate to sand a floor between coats of poly with a handheld orbital sander?
I had two floors to do once and between coats I used a broom with 3 bits of fine sanding paper taped to the broom head - cheap, cheerful and effective...
Also, had to punch down the floor brads (...
- 28.1k
7
votes
Accepted
Would it be appropriate to sand a floor between coats of poly with a handheld orbital sander?
You could use a hand-held orbital- like you mentioned the biggest downside is time. But you're correct, sanding between coats of poly isn't stripping an old floor- it's just scuffing up the previous ...
- 1,141
7
votes
Should I use an orbital sander or a belt sander for sanding a section of varnished floor?
I always find belt sanders for this type of work to be a tad too aggressive. Especially when you only have a small area to do. An orbital sander will glide over the surface easier and has less risk ...
- 8,851
7
votes
Paint-stripping purgatory - stuck in the middle - what should we do?
I sympathise with you your situation. I am sure that most of us have started a job that has become a lot tougher than anticipated with no easy way back. I know I have.
Try a different paint stripper....
- 593
7
votes
Should I refinish high-traffic areas of a hardwood floor only or the whole floor?
Do the whole floor.
Trying to match edges to join seamlessly is a no hoper.
- 28.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Why is a screen used to sand drywall, but paper used to sand wood?
Gypsum drywall and it's paper covering, spackle and joint compound are much softer than wood (except perhaps balsa) and produce a lot of dust that clumps together and sticks to sandpaper, rather than ...
- 8,329
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