Hi, Trying to restore a 5finger parquet flooring. Lots were missing so purchased some from eBay which are a great match but they are 10mm deep and the current floor is 8mm (annoyingly it was sold as being 8mm.....). I haven't got a huge amount of the tiles but wondered if anyone had any advice on getting the thickness down other than trying to sand them down once fitted!
Hand-plane most of it off when fitted - that will hold them steady! Then a flooring edge orbital sander to blend them in - you can hire them for next to now't. Failing that you take them to a joiner's shop first and ask them to pass them through a 'thicknesser'. Take one of your 8mm tiles too, and they use that to set the machine.
That could be way to go with planing them. Only problem is most of them are for the edges to the wall which might be tricky
An edge orbital sander (used for sanding wood floors) would sort you out, then. To be honest, for 2mm I doubt they'd require any planing beforehand - chust use a coarse grit to start with, and finish with fine.
I was thinking that but wasn't sure if I might end up not getting them completely flat but I don't think I have a choice. Thanks for you help.
Since you say a lot of the are at the edge of the room then there is a risk of not getting them entirely flat using an orbital, however you probably wouldn't notice. Depends how many you've got to do and what tools you have available. If you've already got a decent hand plane you can set up a jig to thickness them down with that, or a router even. If you know of a local joinery then as DA suggests, ask there if they'll run it through their thicknesser, this would certainly be the easiest option for yourself, depends on the shop as to if they'll want to do it and how much they'd charge but certainly if it were me I'd be happy to run them through for a couple of drinks providing it's not a few hundred that need doing! Alternatively if you want to splash some cash and get yourself a new tool and use this as an excuse you can pick up a bench top thicknesser and do them yourself with that.
Was wondering if you would be better planning /sanding from the underneath of the blocks Guess you've purchased reclaimed blocks, complete with the odd knock and wear marks, which should blend in with the existing floor If you take 2mm off the tops it may make them look a bit too perfect and new Never used these myself but just a thought (although the bitumen adhesive layer may be a problem or mess up the thicknesser)
Second that. On a bench with a 6mm stop, plane 2mm off the bottoms. If wall-side ones need cutting to width, cut them first(easier planing). Mr. HandyAndy - Really