You’ve booked your floor sand. Now what? Most Brisbane homeowners haven’t been through this before and don’t know what to expect — what to move out, where to sleep, what NOT to do, how long until furniture goes back. This is the practical Brisbane home survival guide from our Brisbane floor sanding team. Get a free written quote from Brisbane’s third-generation specialists if you haven’t booked yet.
Before sanding day — what to prepare
One week out:
- Move all furniture out of work rooms — including rugs, plants, and pet items. We can help with heavy items if booked in advance.
- Empty wardrobes if their floors are in scope — heavy furniture can stay if it’s not blocking sanding zones, but contents need to come out.
- Plan accommodation if needed — full-house sands typically require 3 days out of the home plus furniture-back day.
- Arrange pet boarding or relatives — dust, noise, and wet finish are bad combinations for pets.
- Confirm power and water access — we run from your power; circuits need to handle commercial equipment.
- Cover sensitive items in adjacent rooms — books, electronics, fabrics. Dust will travel slightly even with our extraction.
Day 1 (sanding day) — what to expect
- Crew arrives 7:30-8am typically (later for body corp restricted hours)
- Equipment setup takes 30-45 minutes — protective film, dust extraction, power leads
- Coarse sanding takes most of the day for a 100-150m² home
- Fine sanding and edge work completes day 1
- Noise level is significant — comparable to running a vacuum cleaner constantly
- Dust in work zones is heavy; dust escaping to other rooms is minimal with proper extraction
You CAN be home during day 1 but most homeowners prefer to be out. The noise is constant and you can’t use the work rooms.
Day 2 — primer and first coat
- Final tack-vacuum and surface preparation
- Primer applied early morning
- Primer cure typically 2-4 hours
- First polyurethane coat applied mid-afternoon
- Crew finishes around 3-5pm
- You can return that evening but stay off the floor — no walking on it for 12-24 hours
Day 3 — final coat
- Light sanding between coats early morning
- Final polyurethane coat applied mid-morning
- Crew packs up early afternoon
- No foot traffic for 24 hours minimum after final coat
- Sock-feet only for 48 hours after that
The 30-day no-no list
What NOT to do in the first month after your floor is finished:
- No shoes — sock-feet or bare feet only for the first 5 days
- No water cleaning for 14 days — dry sweep only
- No rugs back for 14 days — and never rugs with latex backing on uncured finish
- No heavy furniture sliding — lift and place, always
- No vinegar in any cleaning water — eats finish over time
- No steam mops, ever — pushes moisture into board joins
- No wax-based polishes — builds residue that won’t come off
- Pets: ideally off entirely for the first 7 days; nails trimmed short before re-entry
Full ongoing maintenance is in our timber floor care guide.
Furniture-back timeline
| Item | Wait time after final coat |
|---|---|
| Sock-feet walking | 24 hours |
| Light foot traffic (shoes off) | 2 days |
| Light furniture (lifted, placed, felt pads) | 5 days |
| Heavy furniture (lift and place) | 7 days |
| Rugs without latex backing | 14 days |
| Rugs with latex backing | 30 days minimum |
| Roller furniture (office chairs) | 14 days, with chair mat |
| Treadmills, gym equipment | 30 days, on mat |
What to do during the work — where to sleep, eat, work
If you’re staying home through the work:
- Sleep in a room outside the work zone — we cordon off our area, your bedrooms in other parts of the house are fine
- Set up a temporary kitchen if your main kitchen has timber floors — microwave + electric kettle + portable stovetop in a tiled bathroom or laundry works for 3 days
- Work from a quiet corner — bedroom or backyard if weather allows. Sanding noise makes calls difficult; ducting outside Bluetooth doesn’t help
- Brisbane summer: AC can run but not in the work room (vents pull dust into the ducts)
Pets during floor sanding
- Dogs: arrange boarding, day-care, or stay with a relative. Sand-day stress + post-cure finish risks aren’t worth the alternative.
- Cats: indoor cats need to be in a closed-off room well away from the work. Don’t let cats walk on uncured finish.
- Birds: remove the cage from anywhere near the work zone — sander dust and bird respiratory systems don’t mix.
- Fish tanks: stay (the water filters dust well) but cover the air intake on any external filter.
Brisbane-specific seasonal considerations
- Storm season (Oct-Mar): avoid scheduling sanding the week of forecast storms — water on uncured finish ruins it. Read our storm season guide.
- Summer humidity: finish cure takes slightly longer in high humidity. Add 1-2 days to the furniture-back timeline.
- Winter: our preferred sanding season — dry, mild, fast cure.
- School holidays: popular booking time. Book 4-6 weeks ahead during school holiday peaks.
Frequently asked questions
Can I be home during floor sanding?
Yes, but most homeowners prefer not to be. Noise is constant, work rooms are unusable, and dust escapes slightly even with our extraction. Day 1 is loudest; days 2-3 are quieter (primer and finish application).
What happens if it rains during my floor sanding?
Inside-the-house work isn’t affected. But if water comes through doors or windows we cordon the area off until dry. Schedule storm-season jobs with a 1-2 day buffer for forecast bad weather.
Can my kids run around the house while you’re working?
In rooms not being worked on, yes. Through work zones, no — both for safety and to avoid bringing dust through. We set up a clear barrier; we trust kids to respect it.
What if I have an emergency and need to access a room being sanded?
Just ask the crew — we pause for genuine emergencies. We can’t pause the polyurethane application mid-coat, but for everything else, 5-minute breaks are fine.
How will my house smell during sanding?
Water-based polyurethane: mild smell for 24-48 hours. Solvent-based: stronger smell for 5-7 days. We recommend water-based for Brisbane homes precisely for this reason.
About the author: Max Francis is a third-generation timber flooring specialist with 25+ years’ experience, ATFA Member #98 and QBCC Licence #64691. He founded Quality Floors by Max Francis in 2000 and works with his son Kyle to restore Brisbane’s timber floors using the latest dust-controlled sanding equipment. Read more about our team and credentials.