Hi Everyone.
I've been looking at this group for a while- good info!

A little introduction about me- I am in the final stages of the renovation of a 1923 bungalow home. It has good bones but the previous owner decided to make it into a 1970's shag paradise with avocado bathroom fixtures. YUCK!

After a big dumpster and lots of joint compound I have finally restored the 1920's look to the home. Its cozy and once again functional.

My last big project is the install of Southern Yellow Pine flooring in the upstairs master bedroom. It is 12 x 16 foot.

This room, formerly know as the "Cat Pee Room" has been totally gutted back to the studs and floor joists. New engineered subfloor has been added along with sistered joists below it to take the load a bit better. I also insulated and added some skylights in the space over the knee wall for more light! My wife loves these!

I have installed SYP in full 12 foot lengths over an asphalt papered sub with T nailer. All in all it went very well with only about a 1 inch diagonal difference in the end on the install. The walls are not parallel so the room isn't either. The gap will be hidden by the cove and half round moldings.

Now I need to sand and finish. This I have never done before on a floor. Furniture ...no problem. Flooring? No practice so far on this task. I need some advice with what to use sander-wise and grit selection. I have two or three options for sanding from what I have read: Rent a drum sander, rent a large 18x 18 pad sander, or use a small 6" disc sander. The flooring is relatively level and unfinished. It has no gaps or squeaks.

Finishing: Could someone walk me through the steps? It is lighter than the other SYP upstairs and I was hoping to find an amber toned poly to match them closely. I can assume its sanding sealer, then light sand and vac with 3 poly coats on top? I was also thinking of possibly an amber varnish and then poly?

Thanks for the great group and advice.
Greg

A drum or belt sander will get the floor flat as well as smooth in the least amount of time. Some pine will gum up paper depending on how resinous the wood is. If you rent a sander get plenty of paper, if you can return extra for credit. The square buff will make the surface smooth, but not always flat. I like the idea of a colored sealer to have the look of a 20's color. A very small addition of a red dye or pigment to a walnut color applied using a thin coat will help with the old varnish look. Finishing with 2 more coats of two part water-based or regular poly will protect the surface from wear. Regular poly will amber depending on how many coats to get a more yellow color.

Thanks for the great advice! I went with a pad sander and it did a very good job of sanding the floor flat. There are some small ripples but it will match the slight cupping of the old 1920s floor.

Next I am on to finishing the floor. The old floor as I mentioned is SYP also and has an almost orange tint to it. I suspect it is age combined with many coats of polyurethane. I went out and bought some Minwax Semi Gloss oil based floor poly as well as a lambswool applicator. I also bought some Zinsser amber shellac as a sanding sealer. It has the tint I will need to match the old floor and will seal the grain. I'm not sure if it is the dewaxed variety but will check before I apply. I have read that wax in shellac may promode adhesion issues with poly- will it also have issues with oil based poly too?

Looking for advice before I proceed.

Many thanks for the group!
Greg

Instead of amber shellac, which may have wax in it why don't you try colored poly. Poly shades will seal the floor and you could follow with regular poly. You ought to be able to apply a coat to get the right color. You can apply thick or thin. A thin coat will be a light brown, I wouldn't add paint thinner, just a thin coat. The color of the wood will still be there.