can anyone say "asbestos" and "lead"

Been watching various DIY shows on, well, DIY. I watched in horror as this one woman sanded the heck out of 100+ year old floors with old paint and glue on them. First, given the age of the house those loor boards sanded were likely the only flooring on the floor joists - not a good idea to sand much, if at all imho, because the floor is being thinned. If there is a sub-flooring underneath, as is done now, then thinning the floor boards only carries the concern of weakening the tongue and groove construction of the floor boards - not weakening the floor itself. Second, can anyone say "asbestos" and "lead"??? Without having the paint and glue professionally tested how did the crew know that there wasn't any harmful substances on that floor? I'm not THAT skittish about it personally, but professionally I will not sand such a floor. Too much EPA crap to worry about. Sure everything turned out okay and to my knowledge no one in the crew ended up in the hospital, but I think it was just irresponsible to show such recklessness in a nationally syndicated television show.

Do Not Sand Painted Floors!

Well, I've been remiss in keeping up with this blog like I had intended. At any rate, here's a thought to those of you whom refinish floors or are considering refinishing your own hardwood floors. Do not sand a painted floor! I've had a few requests over the past couple years to do an estimate on a floor that has been painted. I even ask if the floor is painted before I go do the estimate - especially if it seems like it's an old house that is or will become a rental. The customer/prospect might say that there's a little paint on the floor from over-spray. Okay, I can handle that I guess. I get to the house and the floors don't just have a little over spray from painting the walls. The boards are actually painted and no one knows how old the paint is, but the house is 50+ years old. Can anyone reading this say "lead abatement"? That's a big can of worms and I'm not going there. I advise them to "Cover it up with another floor and leave it alone." No sense in making life exponentially more difficult on themselves for the sake of saving a few bucks. Ray Ladouceur www.dogwoodtales.com Every project is a story unto itself - and then some. www.floorrefinishingcincinnati.com