We are in week 6 of a total kitchen remodel (walls, ceiling and floors were removed including taking a wall out). The 1 1/4 inch oak floor was installed this week and was to be stained to match the dining room and hallway that it abuts. One coat of poly was applied. Well, the new floor stain color is a flat dark brown that doesn't have any of the pretty red tones that the existing floors have. The installer came out and said he would be back on Tuesday to put a coat of poly on it that is tinted yellow. He thinks this should fix the problem. All the cabinets are arriving Tuesday. Frankly I'm skeptical that the yellow poly is going to fix the problem and will end up wasting time. Do any of you have experience with this sort of thing? I'd appreciate your input? Should I demand they sand and restain if the floors don't match? I'm not expecting an exact match, cut we've had floors refinished in other parts of the house that are much closer in color to this job. What do you think?

According to the product brochure for Cabot Semi Solid stain it says "Do not use on decks." I would suggest contacting Cabot technical support for further advice. Marty

I'm also wondering if I can use a different brand such as Sherwin Williams DECKSCAPESÂ water-based semi-transparent over the Behr if I sand down the Behr a little. Or do I need to stick with a Behr product to fix this mess? I live in Colorado, so the lighter and less opaque the better, but not *this* light.

Actually, controlling the color of a stain is most easily done by wiping the stain on the wood with a soft cotton cloth or a strong paper towel(the blue kind) folded to be easily handled. That allows you to see immediately how mmuch color is being applied. Darker usually requires multiple coats, so the process does take longer than the flood and wipe off method. The upside is much better control.