Hi people and thank you in advance. Long story short...

Bought my home two years ago. The entire downstairs, every room, is continuous original oak flooring. 90% of it was refinished to natural (no stain just poly) a few years before I bought the house and looks great. However there's small and very tight 50-60 s/f powder room which was left un-refinished (I was told the owner was going to install tile in there and never got around to it), and in comparison to the rest of the downstairs is a very dark stained finish, just does not work. Before I end up tiling it, I'd like to try refinishing it to match or somewhat match the rest of the floor. Even if it's not a perfect match, it will look and flow much better than it does now.

Here's the problem...

The powder room is quasi-L-shaped with a really unique old built-in sold-wood vanity that's staying put. Outside of maybe a 15 s/f area when you first walk in, a drum sander is useless because it will not fit into the tight spaces between the vanity, a towel closet and toilet area. It's a very funky set-up, but original to the very old house. So anyway, I'm not going to waste $100 renting the drum sander for 15 s/f.

My question: What do I use to remove the old finish and stain?, a hand belt sander? a palm sander? orbital sander? Chemicals? What do you pros do when you have significant area where the drum sander wont fit?

Thank you!
Danny

most of the time , we use an edger to do areas that a drum sander can't reach.It is also possible to use a multidisc sander / buffer if you have one available.

I’ve got a similar question as I will be refinishing the entire first floor of my place. Will be renting a drum sander and an edger for the day.

I have a couple areas that are about 6 ft x 6 ft. I’ve never used a drum sander but I intend to practice in some inconspicuous areas. What’s the smallest run you would make with a drum sander? If the area is only 6 ft and I do half the length in one direction and the other half in the other direction I would use it for only 3 ft at a time.

Is that enough space for a drum sander or at what point do you give up and use the edger for everything? If I had all tools at my disposal I might use a U sander for that area but that would mean renting a third machine.

I'd suggest using an edger.. First, sand with 50 grit, then again with 100 grit. The 100 grit will get out the sanding marks that are left from the 50 grit. It's probably a good idea to then palm sand the entire area when to make sure you get out all of the sanding marks. I'd use a 60 grit on the palm sander. I know it sounds backwards to go to a rougher grit, but 60 on a palm sander gets out the sanding marks from 50 and or 100 and it will not leave marks.. Hope this helps.