Rant: I refinished my own hardwood floors and saved $2,000, but my back still hurts 3 months later

Did the whole job myself last summer in my 1920s bungalow in Portland-sanding, staining, sealing-and while the floors look amazing, the rental sander nearly broke me after day one. Anyone else think DIY floor work is worth it only if you never plan on moving furniture again?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul3303d ago

Three months later and your back still hurts tells me you probably skipped the knee pads and the good floor pad. The rental sanders are heavy, but the real killer is the orbital buffer for the final coats - that thing vibrates through your whole body if you don't use a vibration damping pad under your feet. Next time rent a floor nailer for the hardwood planks instead of sanding, or just pay someone to do the heavy work and finish the edges yourself with a hand scraper. Your lower lumbar will thank you.

mary4623d ago

Is it really that serious though? Three months of back pain from one weekend of floor sanding sounds more like you already had a bad back and the sanding just woke it up. Plenty of people do hardwood floors themselves and they're sore for a week tops, not a whole season. Maybe you just need to stretch more or get a better chair at work. Everyone acts like a rented floor sander is heavy machinery, but it's really not that hard to handle if you take breaks.