What customers need to know about hardwood floor renovation

The floor sets the tone, says A.R.A. associate member Rentlink, a supplier of floor sanders. And it's true: beautiful floors - wood floors, especially - give residences, professional offices and business establishments a special distinction. Older buildings often have hardwood floors in need of renovation, and architects often specify hardwood for upscale new construction.
So floor care and renovation equipment is an important profit center at many rental stores, which can provide everything necessary for a professional-quality floor refinishing. Drum sanders remove paint, varnish and polyurethane from old floors and level and smooth both old and new flooring. Edgers sand areas that larger equipment can't reach. Orbital sanders are used for fine sanding. Sanding machines prepare floors for coating and application of polyurethane products.
Tank vacuums remove dust and fans can be rented to dry flooring before application of finish coats. Sandpaper for drum, disk and belt sanders, cleaning solvents, floor finishes, waxes, applicators and polishing pads are profitable sale items needed by every customer who rents floor renovation equipment.

Who rents floor care equipment?
There is a strong rental market at both professional and homeowner levels. Businesses, institutions and janitorial services own equipment for routine floor care, but many find it more practical to rent for stripping and sanding.
Flooring installation and refinishing specialists, contractors specializing in remodeling, home builders and commercial construction contractors are prospects for renting floor sanders. Small home repair and maintenance contractors almost always rent floor renovation equipment when they have a refinishing project.
Renting quality floor renovating equipment permits homeowners to refinish wood flooring themselves, so they can achieve results comparable to professional services at a substantial savings.

Operation
To best serve customers renting equipment for floor refinishing projects, rental store personnel need a thorough knowledge of floor renovation techniques and be able to communicate this information.
Homeowner customers need help beyond simply how to operate the equipment: they depend on counter personnel to help them understand how to do the job really well, so they can get the professional results they have in mind. Rental store staff members should ask questions about each customer's project in order to recommend the correct equipment.
Homeowner customers like getting everything they need for their flooring project at one stop. Most will readily accept suggestions of counter personnel about sandpapers, solvents, refinishing projects and other items. Few rentals offer a better opportunity for add-on sales. Attractive displays in highly visible store locations help promote these products.
Customers inexperienced in floor renovation need to know such basics as sanding with the grain and overlapping work areas as sanding progresses. They need to be coached to keep sanders moving, not stopping in one area and letting the machine dig in.
Pamphlets and videos are good, too. Keep them handy.
Floor sanding equipment is relatively easy to operate, but counter personnel must provide complete instructions on the brands and models they rent. Show customers how to change sandpaper belts and disks, how to remove and replace dust bags and how to change or clean filters on machines equipped with them.

Safety
Routine safety precautions for operating electrically powered equipment apply to floor sanders. · Plug equipment only into grounded outlets. · Keep the power cable out of water and away from wet surfaces. · Do not use extension cords with sanders - they're an additional obstacle to deal with, they tend to get in the way and can present a safety hazard, and they can affect the performance of the sander. · Unplug equipment while it is unattended, when changing sandpaper belts or disks and when emptying dust bags. · Do not allow onlookers or pets in the work area. · Children never should be allowed to play around or to operate floor sanders. · Advise customers to wear safety glasses and hearing protection. · During operation, users should make sure the work area is well ventilated. Even though modern sanders collect a large amount of the dust their work creates, fine particles still get in the air. · Fumes from cleaning solvents and finishes also can be unpleasant and even dangerous, so advise customers to wear dust masks (inexpensive, disposable dust masks are good sales items).

Maintenance on the job
Renters will need to replace sandpaper belts and disks, empty and replace dust bags and clean filters.
Comments from the industry
Clarke Industries, St. Louis, Dick Hammond: "Advise customers to follow warning and caution labels on equipment, to use grounded electrical outlets and wear eye, ear and respiratory protection."
Essex Silver-Line Corp., Dracut, Mass., Frank Barous: "Rental counter personnel who understand the floor refinishing process are able to offer suggestions to the renter. The sale of sandpaper and floor finishes, along with applicators and sundry items, make floor renovation equipment among the most rewarding and profitable rentals in the business."
Oreck Corp., New Orleans, Bruce Kiern: "Use cleaning solutions [per] label instructions. Never cover a floor with liquid chemical solutions."
Powr-Flite, Fort Worth, Texas, Gary Dozier, product manager, "Advise customers to make only the number of passes [required to get the] necessary surface. Never start a machine without the sanding block mounted on the drive. Always unplug when attaching the sanding block."
Rentlink, Plattsburgh, N.Y., Andrew Fishman: "Floor sander rentals can easily generate sales of consumables - abrasives and varnish, for example - equal to and even greater than the sander's rental income. How many other rental lines can equal this impressive result?"