I bought one of these and so far it has knocked out a little over 150 square feet of the 2300 square feet that I have to do. The one room that I have done, I would guess that I stripped off around 15 pounds of dirt, grime and finish off the floor. A few tips for those thinking about doing this. It is going to be very dusty if you do not have the guard. Though I did not buy one. It will be very hard on your back and it took me about 2 to 3 hours of work just in that one room. Yet it should save me a ton on sandpaper when I start sanding the floor and doing the gap fill. Few tips would be to check for staples, nails and anything else that might damage the tool. Yet I did hit some staples and a few nails here and there. If your wood floors have a small amount of cupping it will remove it provided that you take your time and move along the direction of the boards laid, Going the other direction will remove what ever you are trying to remove yet it just rides the dips rather than sand it down. Dust mask and googles are a much needed thing. Knee pads will also help. Another thing is when you come to a seam where one is lower than the other it takes time to grind it down to make is level. It will also jump and smack said board. If a board has a sliver loose it will rip it out as well. Over all I think it will save me hours and hours from having to change out sandpaper and not gumming them up with finish, glue, dirt and grime. Which in the end I should use far less paper and make sanding much faster. Since I own my own OBS 18 sander I am not worried about the time I will spend sanding, This tool might save someone days if they spend the time with it rather than wasting it on renting a sander for a week. They do make a commerical type unit, yet I have never used one of them. Had I know about this tool for a couple other floors I have done I bet they would have came out far better.
@Stagger Baroque I ended up buying a low speed buffer and the big diambrush disc 16 inch and it worked out well... i still have some floors to finish at a later date.... The 16 inch disc cost about 500 dollars and the buffer is what you can find local anywhere between 500 and 1500 for a low speed one.. It has to be low speed.
@Stagger Baroque Yeah its a stand up buffer... I would order a few of the discs... The more you have the better you will feel after doing a lot of work only to have it wear out... They can be used on a number of other things over the years as well...
@Stagger Baroque If you are stripping the deck, You do not need to power wash it. If you are stripping it down and it looks good then just stain it.. Sweep it good and blow it if you have a blower or shop vac.. then stain it a couple of times..
Thanks David. I was very happy with my Diamabrush attachment for that job. I never dreaded the work I had to do with the smaller disc (vs. the giant version) and it was super handy to to just pull out the grinder and scrape away on the floors if I saw a spot I missed.
Does the dust shroud keep the grinding head stable or do you have to keep it level to reduce gouging. I have been working on prepping my cedar shingle house for painting for the past year. The paint is 87 years old, it’s very thick, I got the diamabrush wood tool for this job, but I could not hold it flat and I accidentally gouged the wood. Do you have any tips?
I like it and will buy a couple to try. I watched their training video and it said go side to side/left right with slight rotation. Maybe that would remove it more evenly?
Great advice Irideon! I still have a small office area's floors to grind in our shop space (Instagram @costalprairiemercantile) and I'll use this left to right method.
ranmangolf That’s exactly what I used for 99% of the job. I made the video with a borrowed grinder. I promptly bought my own (Dewalt 13Amp) to do the floors.
I'm looking to strip paint off my deck, and the surface isn't entirely flat like the wood floors that you are working on. Would this tool be a viable option for this type of work?
Hi Michael, I'm sure it would strip the paint, but because of the uneven boards, it may want to level your deck by cutting into the wood and sheering off/splintering the boards. It really seems to be designed for flatter surfaces. I've seen it do wonders on old painted wood siding, but you're dealing with long, flat boards that have peeling paint.
Devin, I used ONE Diamabrush blade. One. The product is amazing. Yes, it would have been easier and quicker to use a full sized Diamabrush blade on a walk behind sander, but the tool rental + the cost of buying a full sized blade was more than I wanted to spend. I estimate that I saved ~$500 in fees.
The result is impressive . Would be more convincing if you could inform us about the amount of Diamabrushes you have consumed for the whole floor. Your grinder is very powerful and the vacuum very efficient. Regards from a builder , Helsinki ,Finland.
@loannis Thank you. I only used ONE Diamabrush wheel. I was able to prep the entire 900 sq.ft. for proper sanding with the one wheel. Knee pads were an early investment that helped!
I have a DeWalt grinder and Dewalt shroud and this thing sticks out at least 1/2" below the the bottom of the shroud. So to me this is going to throw material everywhere. It would be nice to know what shroud you are using.
Hi Bill. I bought the Diamabrush Dust Shield and the Grinder Wheel together. See 00:45sec into the video. I show a picture-in-picture image of the shroud. It fit my grinders well and came with an adjustable leatherette and velcro wrap that you can raise and lower on the outer edge of the shroud.
After further investigation it looks like you have to use the Diamabrush shroud. I already have a Dewalt and Makita shroud but they are useless with this tool.
@@christiancutler9988 Yea I figured that out. I have to grind a subfloor made of plywood. It looks like your floor was some kind of soft wood like pine, or was it actual hardwood?
I have the Diamabrush shroud and I am having the same problem you are Bill. I wonder if the Diamabrush itself is the problem. It looks like a cheap copy of what is in the videos but apparently came right from Diamabrush warehouse.
I think you'd do way far better with a conventional drum type floor sanding machine. I've removed years of paint layers with them they are fast as hell and easy to use and you are standing the whole time.
I believe the mastic is just a tar based adhesive used to adhere the asbestos tiles to the floor. My abatement company removed all of the asbestos tiles, scraping every last fiber from the floor and only leaving the hard adhesive behind.
You mentioned at czcams.com/video/6Qn_i64MkQ0/video.html. What is that bigger version ? I check their website they don't have bigger than 4.5 inches. Please advise. Infact what is the ideal setup. I am DYI guy planning for restoring my old deck that the previous owner literally ignored. It is just wood but it looks like I will have to go 3-4 mm deep.
@@christiancutler9988 Thanks for your reply. Very new to this tool. But Ok Home Handyman. Will, this (5inch/20Inch) will go deep like 3 mm 5 mm. As my deck thickness is 2 inches. Still think It has enough life in it. Surface has littern rotten & splinters and weather damage etc.
I have the concrete version, for removing glues and concrete dealers. It’s a 19” for my 20” buffer and it works well.. did 1000’ in 15 hours with heavy tile glue.. easy on the body.
Thanks for the video, bud. Getting ready to do our houses 71 yo floors and came looking for a video just like this. Cheers.
I bought one of these and so far it has knocked out a little over 150 square feet of the 2300 square feet that I have to do. The one room that I have done, I would guess that I stripped off around 15 pounds of dirt, grime and finish off the floor.
A few tips for those thinking about doing this. It is going to be very dusty if you do not have the guard. Though I did not buy one. It will be very hard on your back and it took me about 2 to 3 hours of work just in that one room. Yet it should save me a ton on sandpaper when I start sanding the floor and doing the gap fill.
Few tips would be to check for staples, nails and anything else that might damage the tool. Yet I did hit some staples and a few nails here and there. If your wood floors have a small amount of cupping it will remove it provided that you take your time and move along the direction of the boards laid, Going the other direction will remove what ever you are trying to remove yet it just rides the dips rather than sand it down.
Dust mask and googles are a much needed thing. Knee pads will also help.
Another thing is when you come to a seam where one is lower than the other it takes time to grind it down to make is level. It will also jump and smack said board. If a board has a sliver loose it will rip it out as well.
Over all I think it will save me hours and hours from having to change out sandpaper and not gumming them up with finish, glue, dirt and grime. Which in the end I should use far less paper and make sanding much faster. Since I own my own OBS 18 sander I am not worried about the time I will spend sanding, This tool might save someone days if they spend the time with it rather than wasting it on renting a sander for a week. They do make a commerical type unit, yet I have never used one of them. Had I know about this tool for a couple other floors I have done I bet they would have came out far better.
Thanks for the tips and info, much appreciate.
@Stagger Baroque I ended up buying a low speed buffer and the big diambrush disc 16 inch and it worked out well... i still have some floors to finish at a later date.... The 16 inch disc cost about 500 dollars and the buffer is what you can find local anywhere between 500 and 1500 for a low speed one.. It has to be low speed.
@Stagger Baroque Yeah its a stand up buffer... I would order a few of the discs... The more you have the better you will feel after doing a lot of work only to have it wear out... They can be used on a number of other things over the years as well...
@Stagger Baroque If you are stripping the deck, You do not need to power wash it. If you are stripping it down and it looks good then just stain it.. Sweep it good and blow it if you have a blower or shop vac.. then stain it a couple of times..
Thanks for the video, I might be using one of these for my old weathered painted deck
Thank you! I have been on the fence with my decision to buy one. I feel save to purchase the system, blade, and vacc adapter. GREAT Video.
Thanks David. I was very happy with my Diamabrush attachment for that job. I never dreaded the work I had to do with the smaller disc (vs. the giant version) and it was super handy to to just pull out the grinder and scrape away on the floors if I saw a spot I missed.
It looks great!
The thing works great, I am in the middle of removing years and years of crap from my deck right now. It can leave some serious swirl marks though.
Does the dust shroud keep the grinding head stable or do you have to keep it level to reduce gouging. I have been working on prepping my cedar shingle house for painting for the past year. The paint is 87 years old, it’s very thick, I got the diamabrush wood tool for this job, but I could not hold it flat and I accidentally gouged the wood. Do you have any tips?
For that large space I’d rent the big machine. How many grinders did u burn up ? That looks great for corners and steps. Thanks for a video
I like it and will buy a couple to try. I watched their training video and it said go side to side/left right with slight rotation. Maybe that would remove it more evenly?
Great advice Irideon! I still have a small office area's floors to grind in our shop space (Instagram @costalprairiemercantile) and I'll use this left to right method.
Thanks for the video! Was looking for an independent review. My knees hurts just watching it though.
Glad it was helpful! Knee pads were finally purchased! ;-)
@@christiancutler9988 definitely one of the best purchases I made when I was doing my deck!
Knee pads !
I'm impressed also but I'm impressed you could do that without knee protection. They'd have to use a cherry picker to get me up off that floor.
Rusram Needless to say, I promptly ran out and purchased knee pads!
@@christiancutler9988 hahaha I hope so! Enjoyed ur video.
Thanks for the review. What size and type grinder do you recommend for the diamabrush? I was thinking of the Dewalt 13 amp.
ranmangolf That’s exactly what I used for 99% of the job. I made the video with a borrowed grinder. I promptly bought my own (Dewalt 13Amp) to do the floors.
@@christiancutler9988 thanks for the information.
Approximately how long does a square foot take to strip/how long did it take for your project?
Thanks for the video! I’m in Lees Summit Mo. and have to do my decks this spring. how did the floor project end up?
The floors turned up great! Check out instagram.com/coastalprairiemercantile/ for images.
@@christiancutler9988 very nice! Lots of work went into that! How many disc did the floor end up taking you?
I'm looking to strip paint off my deck, and the surface isn't entirely flat like the wood floors that you are working on. Would this tool be a viable option for this type of work?
Hi Michael, I'm sure it would strip the paint, but because of the uneven boards, it may want to level your deck by cutting into the wood and sheering off/splintering the boards. It really seems to be designed for flatter surfaces. I've seen it do wonders on old painted wood siding, but you're dealing with long, flat boards that have peeling paint.
Did you go through multiple blades? I'm doing the outside of a house.
You should do a cost break down after the work is done
Devin, I used ONE Diamabrush blade. One. The product is amazing. Yes, it would have been easier and quicker to use a full sized Diamabrush blade on a walk behind sander, but the tool rental + the cost of buying a full sized blade was more than I wanted to spend. I estimate that I saved ~$500 in fees.
Why not use a drum sander?
The result is impressive . Would be more convincing if you could inform us about the amount of Diamabrushes you have consumed for the whole floor. Your grinder is very powerful and the vacuum very efficient. Regards from a builder , Helsinki ,Finland.
@loannis Thank you. I only used ONE Diamabrush wheel. I was able to prep the entire 900 sq.ft. for proper sanding with the one wheel. Knee pads were an early investment that helped!
You know the mastic contains asbestos, right? Not sure I'd recommend what your doing.
Nice.
how long did the blades remain sharp?
Thanks for the vid.
SAM DUCHARME Thanks for the question. After 900 sqft of work, it’s still in excellent shape!
I have a DeWalt grinder and Dewalt shroud and this thing sticks out at least 1/2" below the the bottom of the shroud. So to me this is going to throw material everywhere. It would be nice to know what shroud you are using.
Hi Bill. I bought the Diamabrush Dust Shield and the Grinder Wheel together. See 00:45sec into the video. I show a picture-in-picture image of the shroud. It fit my grinders well and came with an adjustable leatherette and velcro wrap that you can raise and lower on the outer edge of the shroud.
After further investigation it looks like you have to use the Diamabrush shroud. I already have a Dewalt and Makita shroud but they are useless with this tool.
@@christiancutler9988 Yea I figured that out. I have to grind a subfloor made of plywood. It looks like your floor was some kind of soft wood like pine, or was it actual hardwood?
I have the Diamabrush shroud and I am having the same problem you are Bill. I wonder if the Diamabrush itself is the problem. It looks like a cheap copy of what is in the videos but apparently came right from Diamabrush warehouse.
I think you'd do way far better with a conventional drum type floor sanding machine. I've removed years of paint layers with them they are fast as hell and easy to use and you are standing the whole time.
Is mastic asbestos
I believe the mastic is just a tar based adhesive used to adhere the asbestos tiles to the floor. My abatement company removed all of the asbestos tiles, scraping every last fiber from the floor and only leaving the hard adhesive behind.
You mentioned at czcams.com/video/6Qn_i64MkQ0/video.html. What is that bigger version ? I check their website they don't have bigger than 4.5 inches. Please advise. Infact what is the ideal setup. I am DYI guy planning for restoring my old deck that the previous owner literally ignored. It is just wood but it looks like I will have to go 3-4 mm deep.
There is a pro version (~20" diameter) of the disk that fits on a walk-behind floor sander.
@@christiancutler9988 Thanks for your reply. Very new to this tool. But Ok Home Handyman. Will, this (5inch/20Inch) will go deep like 3 mm 5 mm. As my deck thickness is 2 inches. Still think It has enough life in it. Surface has littern rotten & splinters and weather damage etc.
@@TheRajulurvashi I think you'll only shave off 1-2mm of wood at most. It should be ok for your deck!
my arms hurt looking at this
Swirl marks will have to be sanded out
Not fast enough for me. I’d get the one that they make for floor buffers or sanders.
I have the concrete version, for removing glues and concrete dealers. It’s a 19” for my 20” buffer and it works well.. did 1000’ in 15 hours with heavy tile glue.. easy on the body.
Get some knee pads brother
i SEE PAINT REMAINS IN CORNERS