Wood – sand bamboo floors

(Bona fides: I sanded my house and a friends' about 10 years ago, and two rooms in my new house last year. I then went with a pro for the rest of the house — it's crappy work and not something I wanted to do again.)

Drum sanders are the fastest but also take a deft hand and careful attention — they can dig a groove in the floor pretty quickly, especially where you drop and pick them up on each run.

An orbital or vibrating sander is a lot easier for novices to handle, I would recommend these if your floors have already been sanded several times.

If you take on this job yourself, you should be aware of a few things:

• Sanding floors takes a lot of time to do properly. 1500 sq. ft. will probably take a week. There's the initial prep (removing molding, furniture, nails, and cleaning), three passes with different grades of sand paper, staining/sealing, screening that finish, then polyurethane three times, screening between each one. And lots of waiting time between applications of stain and poly. You'll also need hand sanders (a small drum sander works best) to get around the edges of the room, the floor sanders don't go all the way to the wall. Then you have to replace the molding.
• This is dirty work. Even the sanders with nice vacuum bags are going to leave dust all over the place and you should wear a mask. And hearing protection, depending on the type.
• Rental sanders vary in quality. Some rental shops take care of their equipment, but many do not. Best case, this can result in trips back when the sander is DOA. Worst case, the sander may sand unevenly and create grooves or circular patterns in the floor. Keep a close eye on them.
• If the floors haven't been sanded in a number of years, the older varnishes (and the wax buildup on top of them) is very hard to get off the floor and you'll burn through a lot of sandpaper (it gums up the paper and you have to replace frequently).
• Most rental places will let you return unused sandpaper for a full refund. Take advantage of this and buy 2–3× what you think you'll need, because those same rental shops probably aren't open on Saturday night or Sunday morning when you run out.

Wall to wall carpeting is usually attached to the floor using carpet tack strips around the perimeter like these

The raised tack points grip the edges of the carpet.

Once you pull up the carpet, there is probably a padding that is just laid on the floor without adhesive. If it is rubber backed, the rubber bottom surface sometimes sticks to the floor underneath. Rubber residue can usually be scraped of with a plastic putty knife without damaging the surface of the wood underneath.

The tack strip can be pried up and there will be a few nail holes per strip that can be easily filled.

The real issue will be the condition of the finish on the floor once you get to it. If there is glue on the surface, this may be difficult to remove without serious sanding. Often the finish is fine and a cleaning is all that is needed.

If the finish is slightly worn or lightly scratched, a light sanding followed by a coat or two of polyurethane should restore it. Professional finishers have a light abrading process using large buffing machines that can do this easily and quickly. However it can be done with an orbital sander and lots of time and elbow grease. Very thorough vacuuming and wiping of all dust is essential for a good finish.

If the finish is badly worn or deeply scratched, a serious sanding and refinishing is called for. Again, it can be done by the DIYer, but this is a big job, sanding with power hand tools is very tedious and the professional sanding machines are difficult to use for the novice.