DIY or professional floor sanding: comparing the costs

You can sand the floor yourself if it's a solid wood floor in a large, square room, and you have two full days and a trailer available. If the floor is engineered wood, laid in a herringbone pattern, or located in an apartment with neighbours, professional floor sanding will yield a significantly better result. Machine rental alone costs nearly DKK 2.000 for a weekend, while 45 m2 at a fixed price is approximately DKK 7.875.

• 175 kr/m2Including VAT and a standard finish, from 36 m2
• 24 hoursResponse with fixed price
• Workmanship guaranteeOn all work performed

Content in this guide

1. The short overview
2. When can you safely sand the floor yourself?
3. How much does it cost to rent a floor sander?
4. What does sanding 45 m2 cost: DIY or professional?
5. How do you sand the floor yourself, step by step?
6. Which mistakes cost the most when sanding yourself?
7. When should you give up on DIY?
8. What do you get with professional floor sanding?

The short overview

• At Loxam Danmark, a 200 mm floor sander costs DKK 564,43 per day, and a 130 mm edge sander costs DKK 423,99 per day, including VAT and risk surcharge (Loxam.dk, July 2026). A weekend with both machines amounts to approx. DKK 1.977, before sandpaper and treatment.
• The Flooring Industry under Dansk Industri states in Gulvfakta that engineered wood floors with a wear layer of 2 mm and below should not be sanded (Gulvfakta, 2009). If you measure incorrectly, the floor is ruined.
• Professional floor sanding and treatment costs 175 kr per m2 including VAT from 36 m2, including a standard finish. For 45 m2, this gives an illustrative total of 7.875 kr including VAT.
• Wood dust in Denmark is regulated as a carcinogenic work process. The Danish Working Environment Authority requires that dust be removed at the source - respiratory protection is a supplement, not the solution.
• Junckers states that a 22 mm solid wood floor can withstand 8-10 full sandings, while an engineered wood floor with a 3.6 mm wear layer can be sanded a maximum of three times. Each hard sanding uses up some of that allowance.

When can you safely sand the floor yourself?

DIY makes sense for solid pine and plank floors in large, empty rooms without herringbone patterns, stairs, or built-in cabinets. The floor must be thick enough to tolerate an error. Gulvfakta from the Flooring Industry under Dansk Industri recommends measuring first: for engineered wood floors, a core sample is taken, and for solid floors, the thickness of the tongue's upper lip is measured with a thin metal blade in the tongue and groove joint.

The shape of the room determines the workload more than the square metres. A large, square living room is the easy task: you can make long, uninterrupted passes with the belt sander and let the edge sander take the last few centimetres along the wall. A room with many nooks, thresholds, and radiator pipes, however, means that most of the work must be done with an edge sander at knee height, and that's precisely where DIY floors get visible marks.

If you're unsure how worn the floor actually is, the guide on when a wood floor needs sanding will help you assess it before you book a machine.

How much does it cost to rent a floor sander?

Expect to pay DKK 500-600 per day including VAT for the floor sander itself, and somewhat less for the edge sander. At Loxam Danmark, a 200 mm floor sander costs DKK 422 per day excluding VAT, equivalent to DKK 564,43 including VAT and a 7% risk surcharge on the gross price. The 130 mm edge sander costs DKK 317 excluding VAT, or DKK 423,99 including VAT and risk surcharge (Loxam.dk, July 2026). In comparison, GSV charges DKK 540 including VAT for a 200 mm wood floor sander, and DO-MA DKK 500 including VAT (July 2026).

You will need both machines. The belt sander only covers the middle surface, and the edge sander handles the rest. On top of that comes sandpaper in at least three grit sizes, billed based on consumption, plus lacquer or oil.

Logistics is the overlooked item. Loxam's floor sander weighs 45 kg and has a sanding width of 200 mm, while the edge sander weighs 7.5 kg. This means a trailer or van, and it means two people if the machine needs to go up stairs. Both machines are also only rented from Loxam's At Home branches, so check the pickup location before planning your weekend.

Finally, remember that the machine rental continues while you work. If the weekend turns into three days because the lacquer needs to dry, you pay for the third day as well, unless you haul the machines back yourself midway.

What does sanding 45 m2 cost: DIY or professional?

The machine rental for 45 m2 of parquet is approx. DKK 1.977 for a weekend, while the same task at a fixed price with us costs approx. DKK 7.875. The difference on paper is thus almost DKK 5.900 - but it shrinks when sandpaper, lacquer, and transport are added to the DIY column. The table below compares the two options item by item.

For larger areas, the professional price follows the square metres: 65 m2 costs approx. DKK 11.375 and 80 m2 approx. DKK 14.000 at DKK 175 per m2. If the floor is under 36 m2, fixed prices apply instead - from DKK 3.700 for 1-15 m2. Machine rental also increases because larger areas require more days. If you want to see the price for your own floor area, the figures are in the guide on what floor sanding costs per m2.

How do you sand the floor yourself, step by step?

The sequence is to assess the remaining wood, clear the room, sand the main area with a belt sander, work around the edges, then continue through progressively finer grits. Vacuum thoroughly before applying the agreed lacquer or oil finish. Skipping stages can leave marks in the finished surface.

1. Measure the wear layer. For engineered wood floors, a core sample is taken, and for solid floors, the thickness of the tongue's upper lip is measured with a thin metal blade in the tongue and groove joint (Gulvfakta, Gulvbranchen - DI, 2009).
2. Clear the room completely, set nails and screws below the surface, and cover doorways.
3. Rough sand with a belt sander in the direction of the floorboards. The machine must be in motion before the belt is lowered.
4. Do the edges and corners with an edge sander so that the transition to the middle surface is not visible.
5. Continue through progressively finer grits for intermediate and final sanding, without skipping stages.
6. Vacuum the floor, skirting boards and door frames thoroughly, then wipe as appropriate for the chosen finish.
7. Treat with lacquer or oil, and follow the manufacturer's drying times. These vary with the product, number of coats, and room temperature, so factor drying time into your plan before booking the machine.

Does the floor need to be sanded all the way down, or is a light sanding enough? The difference means a lot for both time and wood consumption, and it is described in the guide on light sanding, full sanding, or planing.

Which mistakes cost the most when sanding yourself?

The expensive mistakes almost always involve wood that is gone forever. Every floor has a limited number of sandings in it, and if you sand a hollow into the board, it cannot be sanded away again - only made larger. Junckers' guide to sanding wood floors puts numbers on how big the budget is.

• The machine is stationary. Leaving the sanding belt in contact with the floor while the machine is stationary can create a hollow within seconds. It becomes especially visible in light falling across the floor.
• Too coarse grit all the way. Scratches from coarse grit only appear when the lacquer is on, and then the entire surface has to be redone.
• Edges vs. middle surface. Edge sanders and belt sanders leave different surfaces. The transition becomes visible as a frame along the walls.
• Underestimated dust. Wood dust in Denmark is treated as carcinogenic when exposed in larger quantities over a longer period, and the limit value is 1 mg/m3 inhalable wood dust over an 8-hour workday (Træ.dk). The Danish Working Environment Authority's guide on carcinogenic substances and materials states that dust must primarily be removed at the source with process extraction; personal respiratory protection is a supplement. Gulvfakta is clear: "You must protect yourself with respiratory protection with filters and hearing protection. It is legally required."
• Incorrect treatment. Lacquer and oil require different pre-treatment and maintenance. The difference is covered in the guide on lacquering or oiling a wood floor.

When should you give up on DIY?

There are four situations where DIY rarely pays off. The most important is thin wear layers: The Flooring Industry under Dansk Industri states in Gulvfakta that engineered wood floors with a wear layer of 2 mm and below should not be sanded, and that the wear layer on engineered boards is at least 2.5 mm and in most cases 3-4 mm (Gulvfakta, 2009). One wrong move uses up a large part of the reserve.

The second is patterned floors. Herringbone and mosaic parquet have fibres that run in two directions, so you can't just sand with the grain. This requires diagonal sanding and routine, as described in the guide on sanding parquet floors.

The third is multi-story buildings. In apartment buildings like Isbjerget, Z-huset, and Nicolinehus on Aarhus Ø, 45 kg machines need to be taken up by elevator, dust must not escape into the hallway, and there is usually a time window from the association. The practical aspects are covered in the guide on floor sanding in an apartment.

The fourth is stairs and floors with cracks and holes. Both require manual work and filling, where machine rental won't help you.

What do you get with professional floor sanding?

You receive a fixed quotation before work begins and a workmanship guarantee on the result. Standard sanding with a standard finish costs 175 kr per m2 including VAT from 36 m2. A light refresh of a straightforward 45 m2 parquet floor may take one working day, but its scope and price are assessed separately. Planing, stair treads and thresholds also require separate quotations.

Durability is the other half of the equation. Junckers states that many wooden floors are re-sanded every 10-20 years. Gulvfakta writes about lacquered floors that they "can usually be used for a long time before you need to re-lacquer," and that in homes, it often lasts several years. Oiled floors, on the other hand, are maintained as needed: Gulvfakta indicates anything from daily to once every two years depending on wear, and Junckers recommends care oil 2-3 times a year. In return, an oiled floor can be spot-repaired without having to redo the entire surface. How to care for the floor afterward is in the guide on maintenance of a newly sanded wooden floor.

If you want a specific quote for your task, call us at 20 98 88 11 or contact us. You'll receive a reply within 24 hours and a fixed price before we put a machine on your floor - covered by our workmanship guarantee.