Best tool for floor leveling - material removal

[alisadunk]

I need to sand couple of high spots on the wooden subfloor in my house. Which tool , sander, would u recommend for the job.

 

[DB10]

All depends on what tools you have at your disposal. If you want to do it quickly I would say a Belt Sander, failing that Rotex, if its just a small job then maybe a multi tool with a scraper.

 

[Kev]

Pics?

It's hard to make a judgement .. and how high is "high"?

 

[Holmz]

Belt sanders also work well.

 

[chrisrosenb]

It all depends on the reason you are asking. As was said above, a belt sander will work, but will be dusty.
If you are asking because you are wanting a reason to buy a new Festool, then a Rotex 150 with coarse paper & hooked to a dust extractor will also work well & be mostly dust free.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I've done this a few times with the Festool Ras 115.  Unless you only have a fairly small amount to remove I would not recommend a Rotex.  Other options that you may already have, a belt sander with a very coarse belt or a grinder with flap disc. 

 

[Sparktrician]

I'd suggest that if the area to be reduced is more than a couple of square feet, a good pro-level floor sander might be the better approach.  These are rentable by the day. 

 

[Tayler_mann]

I know that the question is what sander should I use, however, depending on the nature of the spot I would try and figure out why is there a high spot on your sub floor. Maybe there is another issue that sanding the floor down is just a bandaid on a bone sticking through the skin. To me high and low spots 90% of the time is a structural issue. Something like rafters sagging wood posts cracking and rotting, or metal supports rusting. That is just to name a very few of what problems there could be. I would take the time to investigate further into why those spots have arose.

Now if it is just a matter of your sub floor warping if it is 2 x blanks or seams of ply I would use a Rotex to keep it cheap if you own one or rent a floor sander of some kind if you don't to speed the process. Like I said though there could be more issues than you think so I would investigate thoroughly before deciding sanding is the correct choice. Maybe your high spots are high because things have sagged elsewhere too consider all options.

 

[alisadunk]

Thanks for the replies. I have about 3-4 sq feet to sand and the reason for high spot is a slight level between the floor beams which caused a slightly angled floor board. I was going to sand a bit and the use door skins to prop up the other side.

 

[Walk On Wood]

I'm a floor guy, I sand high spots in subfloors all the time. My choices of sander to use would be:

1st choice: Clarke edger w/ 16g or 36g
2nd: Ras115 w/ 24g
3rd: Rotex 150 w/ lowest grit you can get

 

[Holmz]

I think Planes/planers are also used to flatten stuff.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I think Planes/planers are also used to flatten stuff.

That will work great unit you hit the first nail.

 

[alisadunk]

Thanks Walk on Wood, I was thinking about Floor Edger, local HomeDepot has one so I will try that first.

On the slightly unrelated subject, is Ras 115 ($320) really worth the money over $99 Makita grinder?

 

[Brice Burrell]

Thanks Walk on Wood, I was thinking about Floor Edger, local HomeDepot has one so I will try that first.

On the slightly unrelated subject, is Ras 115 ($320) really worth the money over $99 Makita grinder?

That's a good question.  The advantage of a grinder is that it is a very versatile tool.  The downside is the basic grinder has no dust collection and there are few tools that can spew out dust like a grinder.  That's where the Ras shines, its dust collection, although it lacks the overall versatility of the grinder. 

 

[Holmz]

I think Planes/planers are also used to flatten stuff.

That will work great unit you hit the first nail.

Sandpaper does not like nails either.

Those cheap blue coloured 'made in CE' planes generate less dust than a grinder.

 

[Handyman Mike]

You can get dust shrouds for angle grinders, for both horizontal grinding and cutting functions. I don't know which ones are best, so I'd read the reviews.

 

[Sparktrician]

You can get dust shrouds for angle grinders, for both horizontal grinding and cutting functions. I don't know which ones are best, so I'd read the reviews.

Very true.  I question the wisdom of using an angle grinder for the purpose due to the small size and aggressiveness of the abrasive, and the relative inability to keep them consistently level.  I still think that depending on the area to be leveled, a Clark floor sander is the best tool for the job.  YMMV...

 

[Brice Burrell]

You can get dust shrouds for angle grinders, for both horizontal grinding and cutting functions. I don't know which ones are best, so I'd read the reviews.

Seems the price of the grinders with dust shrouds are pricey, and add on shrouds seem even more pricey. 

I'd love to see the Festool grinder make it N. America.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Very true.  I question the wisdom of using an angle grinder for the purpose due to the small size and aggressiveness of the abrasive, and the relative inability to keep them consistently level.  I still think that depending on the area to be leveled, a Clark floor sander is the best tool for the job.  YMMV...

In this case you are probably right about the floor sander/edger.

 

[Cheese]

I still think that depending on the area to be leveled, a Clark floor sander is the best tool for the job.  YMMV...

Another vote for...the Clarke would be my number 1 option and a 4" belt sander would be my next option...why...because I already own the belt sander. I've performed this type of leveling alot with 3/4" ply sub-floor under 3/4" hardwood strip floors. The 4" belt sander has a belt length of about 11" so if you go at it slowly and check it with a straight-edge constantly, it's amazing how flat a surface you can maintain. It's all technique...if you're a bit lazier I'd opt for the Clarke, it's almost too easy.