What kinds of floors can be sanded or polished?

Are your floors looking dull and scratched? Can you have them sanded and polished or do you need to replace them? You might be surprised to discover that you can sand and polish more types of flooring than you think you can. Our guide to floor sanding and polishing tells you what you need to know.

Sanding solid timber flooring

Most of us know that solid timber flooring can be sanded and polished. While DIY sanding and polishing is possible, there's more to it than meets the untrained eye. It takes skill to use a floor sander and floor sanders from equipment hire shops can be old or in poor condition. If you're an amateur, you can easily dig gouges into your floor, which may not make the floor as smooth as it should be.



Floor sanding services start at around $28m2 for sanding and polishing, and this price will vary depending on the condition of your floors, access and where you live. If you want to use a water-based, eco-friendly floor coating, the cost will be higher. Other things that can affect the cost include:
 

• Badly worn floors
• Furniture removal and replacement
• Carpet removal
• Small areas that require more careful sanding

If you don't like the colour of your timber floor, you can have it stained for an extra charge.

#hiptip factors like the condition of your floors, where you live and whether you want your floors stained can make your floor sanding and polishing job more expensive

To save money, some things you can do in the lead up to your floor sanding job include:
 

• Removing furniture
• Pulling up carpets if you have solid timber under your carpets
• Countersinking exposed nails (let the service fill the holes)

Getting the right quote

When you get quotes for floor sanding and polishing, give the services as much information about your floors as possible, and send pictures of the space and your floor's condition. This will allow them to give you more accurate quotes and you won't be surprised or disappointed when they give you a firm quote after they have inspected your floors in person.

#hiptip when searching for a floor sanding quote, give as much info as possible, send pictures of the space and be detailed about your floor's condition

Sanding floating floors

Floating floors are popular because they can be installed on top of a concrete slab. Better quality floating floorboards have a genuine timber veneer surface that has been factory sealed and polished. Because the timber is a thin veneer, extra care is required to sand the floor or you may sand through the veneer.

Some floating floorboards have a photorealistic paper laminated to the surface. These cannot be sanded and polished, but you can repair minor scratches.

If your floating floors need sanding and polishing, make sure you know whether they have real timber veneer or photorealistic paper under the top coating. Your supplier or installer can tell you if the floor can be sanded and polished and what type of coating to apply. As with solid timber flooring, it's probably better to have your floating floor sanded and polished by a professional.

Can bamboo floors be sanded?

Whether bamboo flooring can be sanded and polished is a contentious issue. Some floor sanders have done it, while others say it cannot be sanded and polished.

Consider the arguments against sanding and polishing bamboo flooring before you decide to try it:
 

• Bamboo is a grass and is often made by first pulverising the grass and re-structuring it under pressure. When you sand the floor, strands can come loose.
• Formaldehyde is used in the manufacturing process. When you sand bamboo, the formaldehyde will be released into the atmosphere. Formaldehyde is linked to cancer and at the very least can cause eye, nose and throat irritation.
• Some types of bamboo flooring can contain up to 20 percent glue. When you sand the floor, glue pockets may appear.

#hiptip before booking in someone to come and sand your bamboo floors, triple check whether they're safe to be sanded, as there's a lot of information out there that advises against it

While these drawbacks exist, it may depend on the type of bamboo flooring you have. Ask your supplier about your bamboo flooring. Some newer types of bamboo flooring no longer contain formaldehyde and you may have a type of bamboo flooring that can be sanded without risking strands coming loose or glue pockets appearing.

Sanding parquet flooring

Parquet flooring can be made from solid timber or timber veneer. If you have solid timber parquet flooring, you can sand it, but because the grain will not be in a straight line, you have to be careful to avoid cross-grain scratching.

Another problem with sanding parquet flooring is that sanding against the grain can tear out or wear down the timber fibres more quickly than sanding with the grain. This can lead to disastrous results.

Sanding parquet flooring is definitely not a DIY project. Leave the job to professionals who know the tricks to successful sanding of parquet floors. Sanding and polishing parquet flooring costs about $35m2. This is more than it costs to sand and polish a solid timber floor, but you won’t regret the cost when you see the results.

#hiptip sanding parquet flooring is definitely not a DIY project so always leave this job to the professionals

Sanding natural stone and polished concrete

Natural stone and polished concrete flooring can become worn and scratched over time. They can be restored, but sanding and polishing these surfaces is not a DIY project for a variety of reasons:

• Polished concrete requires special equipment and expertise.
• Natural stone is brittle and can crack when sanded.
• Natural stone, granite and marble vary in density.

You need to know what you're working with before you attempt to sand natural stone, granite or marble. To the untrained eye, they all appear to be very dense and hard, but they are all different. While you may get away with sanding and polishing single tiles, it's very easy to make mistakes on a floor. Leave polished concrete, natural stone, granite and marble flooring to the experts.