A few obvious things: Yes, I make mistakes once in a while. Everyone does, especially if you try new things. Sanding an entire floor with this type of sander would take a while - roughly 3 hours for a 100 square foot room - but that's not a whole lot more than one of those big pad sanders that you can rent. Consider the time it takes to go get that sander and bring it back after you are finished. Also, I'm not going to do this, it was just a test. Even with the old finish sanded off, I still don't really like how it looks after the poly is brushed on - too raw looking, maybe. Stay tuned to see what I will do to fix these floors and give me the results I'm looking for. Here are some ways that you can help support the work I do in making these videos: Plans for sale: ibuildit.ca/plans/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=865843&ty=h #ibuildit #plywoodflooring #homeimprovement Website: ibuildit.ca/ Facebook: facebook.com/I-Build-It-258048014240900/ Instagram: instagram.com/i_build_it.ca/ Google+: plus.google.com/u/0/b
This is a valuable addition to my woodwork collection ru-vid.comUgkxkNYRBJuiJ6EwD-tQSAlxg0eFKsnR2cgz I still will rate this woodwork plan as the best in my reference library. It always seems to stand out from the rest whenever you go through the library. This is a masterpiece.
Good to know!!! I love your videos... Kudos to the Film Editor... Great job too. Your videos are easy to listen to (no annoying background music) while your talking. You explain everything in detail, and the video/film/editing is superb.
@@IBuildItHome One good thing with the "New" sanded part with just the clear water based poly (which I love). It looks so clean, and with time the grain will show through even more... I love it... You did a Beautiful job.... and the 'grout' line look so good too.
I like it and I like the darker joint lines. I am amazed that you were able to avoid burning through the top layer of veneer - I have not been impressed with plywood I have been buying from the big box stores - you have to be so careful when sanding. And your brother is right - I can't believe how different it looked when you put the baseboard in. Thanks for the follow-up.
The veneer on this plywood is a bit more than 1/16" thick, so it would take a lot of sanding to get through. Only thing is you won't get the deeper dings and scratches out.
I would've made sure the plywood grain patterning on the pieces next to each other didn't line up, so it wasn't so obvious that it's plywood. That's me, though, I guess. Still, good to know that it's able to be refinished. 👍🏼
Man, I remember watching the videos of you installing this floor. I think it'd look great with a distressed grey stained look and some poly to seal it.
I like this. FWIW, I'm about to redo my upstairs floor, which is pine tongue and groove with birch plywood patches. My plan is to use W.D. Lockwood aniline dye. Reputedly, dyes do a a better job of not blotching on plywood, and they also stain cross-species a lot more uniformly. (Then I'll spray on BullsEye Sealcoat, followed by water-based poly.)
I liked the dark stain along the joins I think it helps accentuate the planks as apposed to a solid floor colour. Looking forward to more house videos.
Rent a square buffer, it's basically a larger version ro sander. It won't destroy the floor, i've sanded many floors.. or you can make a jig where you attach 4 small cheap ro sanders to a board and just sweep around the floor with it until it's sanded..
Maybe a tad darker?(warmer), I like the contrast with the dark 'grout' lines tho, be interesting to see what the effect would look like over a large area 👍
People that don't make mistakes, never learn anything. ;) Actually, it looks pretty good to me. I was wondering, how has the durability been with these plywood floors?
I love that look too. Unfortunately, on a floor, everything is going to stain it and it will look ugly pretty quickly, especially if you're using a light colored wood....
@@IBuildItHome I had to redecorate a house that a tenant got evicted from as she turned it into a brothel. The walls in on room where papered just like that. She must of liked the stories.
Great idea. I like the light color. I have a floor that I stripped the old carpet from. I think I might consider just covering it with some thin plywood veneer and doing this.
Hi John, thanks for the video. I was inspired by you and others to do similar floors, using diluted white paint then poly for finish. I write to tell anyone thinking of doing this to use either ac or bc plywood. The finish layer is, as you say, at least 1/16 and capable of at least 1 refinish. While the oak or maple veneer plywood is tempting aestheticly, the veneer is very thin and you not only would burn through it with an attempted refinish, you would also not be able to effectively bevel the edges.
Stick with petroleum based finishes for anything you walk on. The pencil hardness is greater than water based finishes. Decks, wood or cement floors, garage floors - they all require a high quality petroleum based finish.
It was the solvent based products that I had the problem with. As I said in the video, the products changed from the previous times I used them, giving me shit results. The change was in the solvent they used to thin the resin - to get around VOC regs, they had to stop using mineral spirits. The new formula dries way too fast and it was impossible to maintain a wet edge.
@@IBuildItHome - I had to go back and watch the install vid to see what you'd used. I've never worked with Varathane, but I have had a really, really bad experience with Polyshades. I finished a huge conference table with the Polyshades, something provided by the customer. One thing I know for sure is that it is always a mistake to use something a customer gives you that you have no experience with. As you describe, I couldn't keep a wet edge and my project was blotchy. The whole table was sanded down to the original finish with several bare wood spots. I did exactly what you did, mix the Polyshades, but I mixed mine with another Minwax poly. Round 2 began badly because it still wouldn't allow me to keep a wet edge. As I recall, I had to add about 25% mineral spirits to the Polyshade/Minwax mix and it still was drying too fast, but it became workable if I applied it really fast. The added mineral spirits messed with the cure time and working to fast caused small bubbles to form. It took 3 days to become dry to the touch, with several areas that had blushed. I sanded out the small bubbles, thinned down the mix even more and applied another coat, developing the perfect angle to tip it off to eliminate most of the bubbles. After 2 more days it just wouldn't cure, but I'm here in SW Florida where the humidity is brutal. In the end, what saved me was 2 coats of satin marine grade Spar Varnish/Urethane with steel wool between coats and then a coat of Johnson's Paste wax, and another 7 days to fully cure. Thinking about Polyshades still makes me mad. I was unhappy with the results but the owners were ecstatic. I've seen the table several times since then and I can say it looks presentable in my eyes, great to them, but boy what a nightmare process. I'll never, ever use Polyshades again.
I've never used Polyshades straight from the can, and had exceptional results before they changed the thinner to something that smells much more toxic, but isn't on the VOC ban list. Before this ban went in place, the Varathane Professional urethane flowed exceptionally well and there was no problem keeping a wet edge on a floor using a 3" brush. The crap they are selling these days makes that impossible to do, so I won't even buy it. As for toughness, waterbased isn't bad. Not as tough as the solvent based stuff, but pretty close, and not having to breath the fumes easily makes up for the difference, in my opinion.
Hi, John, do you think the sanding mesh/net for orbital sander would work better on the floor? I used it when refinishing some stairs and it worked really well.
Interesting that in the end you decided against the new look, too. I would be curious to know what you next plan is regarding the floor, now that 5 months have passed.
I like it......I really liked the tone of the original, but the blotches on the edge did distract from the large amount of work you did. Shame they change formulas and not make it known prominently
I've had the exact same nightmare this side of the pond. The EU is forever tightening regulations on high VOC products (which flowed and dried slowly allowing time for application) so we're stuck with godawful water based stuff (which dries on the brush leaving that typical patchy over painted look). I hate government.
That looks pretty good, actually. I also wonder if a light-toned Danish oil or even just straight tung oil or boiled linseed oil would work. Rustoleum doesn't recommend the WATCO Danish oil for floors, but since it's hard-wearing and doesn't create a slick finish, I'm not entirely sure why not.
I have done mine a few times over the years and I just hire a floor sander, much larger disks and takes no time at all....and in terms of what my time is worth , still cheaper
Hard to believe it's been two years since you put that floor in. Glad to read that you're not going to stick with that, as the poly still leave it it with an unfinished appearance (as far as I can see in the vid, anyway. No doubt it looks different in person). I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
