LESLIE: Anthony in Rhode Island, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
ANTHONY: I was just wondering about the proper way to measure hardwood flooring: from the outside or the middle in. I heard you guys mention something about that.
TOM: So are you thinking about replacing your flooring?
ANTHONY: Yes. I want to sand it, drum-sand it, edge-sand it, you know.
TOM: Measuring it is simply, obviously length times width. If you’re sanding it, you’re not replacing it; you don’t have to worry about accounting for any extra for cuts. But if you’re trying to calculate how many square footage you have to work with, then just measure it as length times width.
Now, you mentioned drum-sanding it. I would only drum-sand the hardwood floor if it really, really needed it. It’s a pretty drastic step. It takes off a lot of material. It really shortens the life of the floor.
ANTHONY: OK.
TOM: So, what I would rather see you do is use a machine called a U-Sand machine. It’s a disc sander. There’s four rotating disc sanding heads under sort of one hood and it has a vacuum attachment for it that’s actually easier to use than the drum sander. Takes up a lot less material but gets the floor kind of prepped to be refinished.
ANTHONY: And where can I grab one of those U-Sanders?
TOM: Yeah, you can rent them at home centers.
ANTHONY: Like Home Depot or no?
TOM: My Home Depot rents them; I bet you yours would, as well. You’re up in Rhode Island, correct?
ANTHONY: OK. Yeah.
TOM: Yeah. It’s just U-S-a-n-d. Look it up online. You’ll see exactly what I’m talking about and then perhaps you can find it in one of your local home centers.
ANTHONY: OK. I understand.
TOM: Anthony, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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