Hi, I'm in the throes of building in the foothills of Wollongong. The house is on 2 levels with concrete slab on both levels. Most of the walls are double brick, using recycled commons we sourced out of Sydney. We're not big fans of polished concrete, so decided to go with recycled flooring. We've managed to get our hands on some brushbox that was pulled up from a school sports hall - effectively a basketball court. It had been laid about 40years ago and, although in good nick, has some buildup of (I'm guessing) whatever paints/polishes/varnishes they use on courts. I'm talking about on the flat side surfaces, just above the T&G area, where the liquid has slipped between boards.
So before re-laying the timber I want to clean off as much residue as possible to improve the joins. I've looked at a few abrasive disks from the hardware but the risk with them is biting too hard into the timber.
Has anyone got any ideas on tools I can buy or make that would help scrape of the residue without tearing into the fibre? The boards are narrow (~60mm) as you would expect on a sports floor and I've got 170sq mtr to clean, so you can work out how many kilometers I have to clean!
Much appreciated...
Cleaning up recycled brushbox flooring
(12 posts) (7 voices)-
Fenno
MemberPosted Tuesday 18 Nov 2014 @ 11:19:02 am from IP # -
angela
MemberHi Fenno
Wow, you have some work to do...
With sports floor they would have used the two pack poly and where the timber hadn’t been butted up nicely, or gaps appeared, then the varnish would have seeped down the sides. Hopefully you don’t have every board to do.Two options to consider is one, a paint stripper to soften the varnish and then a flat wide screwdriver/putty knife to wipe off the softened goo.
Alternatively, get yourself a small mouse sander and try with 60 or 80 grit paper and see how you go with that.
Good luck with it all.Posted Tuesday 2 Dec 2014 @ 11:23:06 pm from IP # -
Chip
MemberWe did a similar job last year. Tried a few scrapers but best by far was a Uni-pro Genius 50mm tungsten tipped scraper from paint dept in Bunnings. About $20. We clamped each board on edge on saw horses then dressed with scraper pulling with the grain. Dressed edges of the board and edges of the tongue. Used a short offcut to then slide along tongue side and also groove side to check for bumps. Narrow chisel cleaned groove if needed. Try to avoid chemicals as they can inhibit adhesion of final finishes. Small imperfections, stains, bumps etc were not noticeable when it was all finished and laid. Thanks to advice from a friend "You are building a house, not a piano!"
Posted Wednesday 3 Dec 2014 @ 2:07:34 am from IP # -
Chip
MemberAgree partly with comment on thermal mass. In Wollongong the winters are not too severe but at our house near Canberra we will not have timber on slab in northern half of house which gets direct sunlight. In southern rooms, timber is softer than concrete to look at, to walk on and it is slower to conduct heat away from air and from bare feet. Thermal mass which isn't heated for free is a drag.
Posted Wednesday 3 Dec 2014 @ 9:44:22 am from IP # -
Fenno
MemberThanks everyone. Greg C & Chip, we recognised the tradeoff with thermal mass but, given the temperate climate here in the Gong and the fact we are using internal brickwork as mass, just couldn't go past the look and feel of the timber. The brickwork will cop some winter sun because no point having the mass without trying to heat it for free - totally agree with your sentiment Chip.
Angela, I'd prefer to try and get a result without the stripper so am going to head off to Bunnings tomorrow to check out the scraper Chip mentions. Chip also has a very wise friend. My ego also says there is no point in having a floor that is so immaculate that you forget it has a history
I'm happy for a floor that tells a story. It's why we like our bricks so much, as well. The imperfections are what make them special...
Posted Wednesday 3 Dec 2014 @ 11:24:43 am from IP # -
Fenno
MemberThanks Greg, the scaper it is. I went & bought the Uni-pro today. Trying it out on an off-cut, it was impressive. I'll try it out this weekend & if it looks good, go & buy some spare blades. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks everyone for your feedback, it's really appreciated.Posted Friday 5 Dec 2014 @ 11:16:41 am from IP # -
Chip
MemberThicknesser would only do the face of the boards rather than the edges? If you put two boards together - tongue in groove, you may find that the groove is deeper than the tongue so no need to dress outer edge of tongue or base of groove as they don't touch. We didn't remove any of the finish on the face of the boards individually - waited until they were fixed in place then floor sander removed all that. Make sure all nails are found and removed.
Posted Saturday 6 Dec 2014 @ 5:16:28 am from IP # -
thicknesser wont help. as you said it is the tongues and grooves. scraping off residue is your best bet .I have done it ,its time consuming but worth it.
Posted Saturday 6 Dec 2014 @ 9:57:13 am from IP #
It's a good thing I've got time off over Christmas...