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Help asap..How to get really deep dark brown hardwood floors?

12 years ago

Hi all! I have someone sanding my floors now and we found dark circles which are probably old urine stains. They are telling me they will hide well with dark stain, but I'm not sure how experienced these guys are. I want really dark floors anyway and I've done dark walnut before on another house and it's not dark enough. I'm afraid the ebony is not brownish at all. Has anyone ever mixed ebony and dark walnut stain and could I see pictures please? Also, any tips on water poppping? Thanks so much for anyone helping me!

Comments (11)

deesent1
Original Author
12 years ago
I thought I would also mention that my floors are oak...
I really really appreciate anyone's help. The guys are rushing me to make a decision.
weedyacres
12 years ago
I used Dark Walnut stain (2 coats) on oak for my stair treads and they're pretty darn dark. Sorry for the blurry pic; it's the only one I've got on my laptop.
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What you have in your pics is a factory finished floor. It is difficult to get that kind of consistent look when staining unfinished, especially if the unfinished has boards with mixed sawing characteristics. The face sawn material will take up and hold the least pigment and will be the yellow boards you are seeing. We can sometimes get a more even look by using a sand grit sequence to allow more pigment to be deposited on the floor and by doing what we call waterpopping; you may still get variations, but it will look as even as it's going to get. I don't do this...but some of my colleagues will first use an analine dye and then, when it is dry, will follow that up with a pigmented stain. Talk with your finisher.
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Marybeth1, Thanks for letting me know. I wonder if I can find an engineered version of Quartersawn White Oak floors with a Nutmeg stain? I really love the look a lot. I wish I did not have a concrete sub-floor. Do you have any close-up pictures? Your hardwood floors are so rich looking and beautiful. Only a few more weeks I hope until I must make a decision and get started on my floors.
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We did a natural maple floor, no stain, no pickling, nothing...just a clear Swedish finish. They look very similar to Donka's floors in the previous posting. We have a modern house, gutted the main area to create a large open floorplan, and used the maple in the kitchen/family/dining areas, plus the stairs down to the entry landing. I find the lighter color really hides the dust and dirt. You only see it when the sun is coming in at a steep angle, like late afternoon. We had a smooth coat Jack Russell that shed like crazy, and you couldn't see the hairs at all unless the light was just right. I love the ease of cleaning...I vacuum whenever necessary with the wide flat floor brush attachment, and use the Bona wood floor cleaner with microfiber mop once a month to get rid of any grease film from the kitchen. It's been about 3 years since the renovation and the floors still look fantastic. The only thing I've noticed is a big color difference where we have had area rugs. Maple will change considerably on exposure to light. And the light floors allowed us to use darker warmer colors throughout the house and on the walls.
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I had med-dark floors and what made them look dirty was the sheen! I believe chinchette. They were engineered wood and they were so smooth you could see footprints in sunlight with CLEAN feet right out of the bath not even wet. Drove me nuts. I've been wanting to go with real wood (handscraped with a little tonal variation to hide dings/scratches). I may consider engineered if I can get it in a matte finish, because the engineered held up beautifully in my previous kitchen, and I'm worried about a true hardwood in that area. It will be one or the other, I love wood floors. My friend had a darker almost espresso floor, now those you had to dust all the time to keep looking clean.
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_sophiewheeler
12 years ago
"Masking" urine stains is virtually impossible. The boards should be replaced. Or the next hot day your home may smell like a cat lady house.
GreenDesigns
12 years ago
Dark brown floors show dirt and dust way more than medium toned ones do. Be sure you are up for daily Swiffering if you choose a dark floor or you will come to hate it.

Plus, no matter what you do, you need to replace the urine soaked wood. There is no "disguising" that when summer humidity comes around.
deesent1
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you all for your responses. I've already gotten a coat of stain on before seeing them. So, you are saying that even with a coat of stain and 2 coats of poly, you will smell urine on hot days? Yikes, I sure hope not! It was hot during and after the sanding process and I never noticed a urine smell. The stains were several years old and I'm guessing they were pet urine since the previous owners had lots of pets.
glennsfc
12 years ago
Sometimes there can be lingering urine smells from compromised wood and sometimes not. The urine crystals can also compromise the finish in some cases. If you detect no lingering odor on the worst summer days and the finish remains intact for a year, then you probably won't have any of those problems with your floor.
sombreuil_mongrel
12 years ago
Here's a method for getting a very dark brown with wood dyes.
Base it on "dark brown mahogany" color dye. Add black dye until it is dark enough. Then if necessary add dark red dye drop by drop until it's warm enough.
Casey
brickeyee
12 years ago
If you do not mind really dark, even running to black, use 'liquid nightmare', AKA asphaltum.

Cut it with paint thinner, apply, allow to dry, ad than cover with a solvent based finish.

Make test pieces up.
deesent1
Original Author
12 years ago
You are all very kind to reply... thank you so much! Brickeyee... do you have a photo of floors done with liquid nightmare and where do you buy it?
brickeyee
12 years ago
Any place that sells general roofing supplies should have it.

No pics.

It is a 'cut and try' (or in this case dilute and finish).
lazy_gardens
12 years ago
deesent ... He's talking about using diluted roofing tar as the floor finish.

It's definitely dark, but not a good finish for floors.

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