Smoothing down a wooden floor is the sanding needed after the floor has been installed. It can also be carried out once the floor has been in use for a few years. This process was once carried out using special cutting tools. The frequency of the sanding depends on the thickness and quality of the wood.

First, the tools and material
In order to smooth down a wooden floor, the following tools and materials are required: electric sanding tool or drum-based sander if the floor space is extensive (these can be hired), rounded sanding machine for corners or difficult areas, fine, medium and rough sandpaper, vacuum cleaner, brushes and varnish.

Preparing the floor
Before starting, you must check that the floor is flat. To do this, you must:
� Check to see that no repairs are required.
� Fill in the gaps between the boards with putty or with wooden fillets if large
� Tap in the heads of old nails that have slipped out so as not to damage the sander and ensure that the boards are kept in place.
� Bang in new nails were necessary and disguise the hole with putty.
� Replace any boards that are very deteriorated.

Down to work
Once the floor is flat and we have all the tools to hand, the sanding process is as follows:
� With the sander on the coarsest setting, pass over the joints between the planks (or boards if you have parquet) in a diagonal fashion.
� Vacuum the area well and ensure that the floor is completely level after the sanding. If necessary, make another diagonal pass in the opposite direction.
� Then pass over once more in the direction of the joints with the sander on the medium setting. Ensure that you do not leave any marks by overlapping the previous passes by a few centimetres.
� The final pass is with the sander on the fine setting and in the same direction.
� Finally, use a rounded sander for the corners or the areas next to the skirting board. Make sure you use the same settings as the drum sander. Check that the floor is level all round.

Finally, the varnish
When the floor has been sanded and cleaned, we can start the varnishing process.
� Use a large, wide brush.
� Extend the varnish in a uniform manner from the end of the room to the exit door.
� When dry, leave for 24 hours. Then polish the floor once more with fine sandpaper and varnish twice more, leaving to dry between coats.