I guess what I am asking here is what should I look for in a pro sander/finisher? And, what questions should I ask?

I am trying to prepare myself, I am in the process of installing a 350 sq/ft area of brazillian cherry shorts. There are different height boards so a drum sander will absolutely be needed and I am not comfortable operating one at all. I have a tremendous amount of time wrapped up in putting down this flooring, and I don't want to screw it up with the sander!

I did a small area of flooring in my foyer (4x8) and used the sander from Home Depot. It worked well, and I applied bona traffic. Very happy with the results there.

I got a quote from a local flooring guy to come in and sand my floor and apply a few coats of finish (I assume he meant poly) for about 700 bucks. This seems very reasonable, almost TOO reasonable. I want to have him come look at the job first, but I need to know what to ask him and need to know the "red flags" for someone who might do a poor quality job.

Thanks Everyone. This site is fantastic.

Evan

The DIY rental tools are not even close to the pro machines for one. Plus he may be able to do it faster and better. No telling on the price as they are all over the board across the country. Lots of variables there. Get 3 quotes.

Already on top of it. apparently the 700 is on the high end of the spectrum for this time of the year.

I fully expect him to get it done much faster than me.

Thanks!

I would look for a certificate of insurance and HIC license. After that ask what equipment he has. He should have :

-Pro level drum sander like a Hummel or perhaps a Galaxy or Clarke or Bona continuous belt machine.
-Pro level edger like Clarke (the most common and effective)
-All edgers and buffers should be connectible to a vacuum system

Any reliable pro will have these things at least . And you should ask him if he will leave your home in the same condition as when he arrives. There should be no dust or mess to clean up.

If you want to get really specific, ask him how he sands Brazilian cherry . I would normally start with 36 or 40 grit on my hummel sander and finish with 100 to 120 grit. I normally rough the edges with 50 grit and finish off with 100 to 120 grit. At the end, the floor gets buffed with a 120 grit screen underneath a disc style buffer.

As for pricing, I'm in Connecticut and normally start my pricing at $1.90 for sanding and three coats of oil based urethane.

Thanks Advanced.

I have a guy coming by today to do the sanding work, he is going to do the poly in the morning while I am at work. He pretty much said the exact same thing about the sanding grits, that was what he was planning on using.

Very helpful post! Your pricing is very similar to here.

Evan