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Please help me decide -- walnut or oak plank floors?

16 years ago

We are trying to decide between walnut plank floors (in 3, 5 and 7 inch planks) or 5 inch oak plank floors stained walnut. The house is early modern and in New England (if that helps) w/ lots of windows and light.

I love the look of the walnut's grain and color but am concerned that over time if we get tired of dark brown there won't be much we can do about it.

I don't like the white oak's grain as much as the walnut but with white oak if we decide to go lighter over time, we can (we're doing solid in either so will be able to sand and stain).

Was also thinking about doing Home Depot's slate in the entry foyer (saw someone's floor here and it was gorgeous) and/or the kitchen.

I just can't decide and would love to know what you folks think!

Thank you.

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Comments (3)

saskatchewan_girl
16 years ago
I think it depends on what you want.
There is a difference in wood softness/hardness, so that might matter to you for the area you will use it, high heels, children, walkers/wheelchairs etc.
About the dark stain........get what you like! Remember when ppl started to lift up carpets on older homes to reveal "outdated" hardwood LOL. Go with what you like and stain it what you want to. If you are worried about re-sale, mostlikely what ever you choose the potential buyers will likely change it anyway! To me it sounds like you want dark walnut : ) I personally really like the look.
My cousin did his entry, kitchen and stairs with slate and it is absolutely gorgeous!!! He trimmed it with wood and sunk the tile and it is so beautiful.
Here is a pic that is very similar to my cousins. I think it's unique too. His tiles are large ones though, and all trimmed with wood including around the edges in the kitchen and foyer.
{{gwi:1570220}}
Here is a link to a wood hardness site if you want some extra to consider.
Let us know what you decide: )

Here is a link that might be useful: wood hardness
snappyturtle
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi -- thank you -- you're right. So much of this process is about having confidence and just going with what you really like!

Thank you for the website and the beautiful picture -- the slate really would look nice in the entry.
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To get the water to HIT the nails, you MUST HAVE a breach in the polyurethane. And that breach must be EXACTLY over the nail head. And THEN you must have +++ moisture over time... How many face nailed hardwoods have survived 60+ years (having multiple sand/refinishes using urethane/polyurethane) that have NEVER had the nails 'rust'? OODLES! Hundreds of thousands of these floors have never had a problem with nails rusting. A POORLY cared for hardwood will always have issues. A properly cared for floor (face nailed or not) will continue to look beautiful AND be fully functional for longer than the life span of an average human being. My money's on the 'up-sell'. And the Loba 2K Supra AT is fairly water resistant. Yes, 100 gallons of water sitting on the floor will eventually breach the polyurethane....but at that point you will have bigger issues on your hands than rusty nails causing dark black marks in your floor.
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soonermagic
16 years ago
I have walnut floors, no stain, just a poly coat, in random widths. I chose them for the same reason that you are considering: the grain of the wood is so beautiful. When the floors were finally finished I was stunned by how stunning they are and by how much color variation there is. I can't imagine ever growing tired of these interesting floors. Some pics:

And these are my multi-colored slate floors in the laundry room:

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