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Red birch floor - what trim to use?

8 years ago

Hi everyone -- I'm new here but have read through many Gardenweb threads in the past. We are building a house soon and are starting to make decisions about finishes. We are 99% sure we will have select red birch floors throughout the house (except bathrooms, mudroom and laundry). Probably 2 1/4" planks. Our installer will use an oil-modified sealer and 2 coats of Bona Traffic commercial grade water-based finish.
My question (and let me know if this is the wrong forum): Does anyone have any examples of red birch floor with stained wood baseboard? We would like stained wood (going for a slight craftsman style), but I haven't seen many pictures to determine what color stain would be best. We would probably use stain-grade poplar for the trim (our windows will be pine, so we can stain those as well).

Featured Answer

sambah006

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Red birch floors will be gorgeous.

One possibility is using red birch for the baseboard trim finished the same as the flooring.

I don't think stained poplar will harmonize with birch. I've always been under the impression poplar was generally painted.

If VG Fir is available in your area, it is beautiful next to birch and would be great for the window casings and other mouldings

I can get it pretty easily, but getting red birch is next to impossible in my neck of the woods.

Red birch really likes an oil based finish to bring its color out (as well as VG Fir) and neither of them need to be stained to look good. Hopefully the sealer will be enough under the two coats of water base.

Edited to add: I'd install vinyl windows before pine. Pine is quite possibly the worst material to make windows out of, just slightly better than balsa wood. I don't know why window manufacturers knowingly use a wood that is highly prone to rot for use as a window material.

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Comments (6)

User
8 years ago
Poplar I buy locally ranges on color from a light golden brown to a darker greenish gray. If yours is similar I don't think it's going to stain well to harmonize with Red Birch. Can you get Pine that matches the window frames?
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sarahkc9
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for the input. I'm not sure how much more the Fir would be compared to the poplar. We have friends who had stained poplar with a rustic maple floor and cherry cabinets. The stain they used seems like it would blend well, but I guess we'll just have to keep experimenting with different stains until we see what we like!

As far as the windows go, our builder has been installing them for years and hasn't had any problems with them (nor have the homeowners). They are aluminum clad on the outside. Our builder generally avoids vinyl windows.
sambah006
8 years ago
Depending on the size and profile, VG Fir can get expensive fast. But I think that is true of just about all stain grade woods.

Simple stock is fairly inexpensive. To my eye, the wood has such a glow and color to it once an oil based clear coat is applied, it looks pretty classy with just a simple round-over edge applied.
Julia
4 years ago
We are currently remodeling our house and ordered 2.25" Yellow Birch Flooring. I have been looking into baseboard trim as I would like to stay away from painted. What did you end up using for your trim?
sarahkc9
Original Author
4 years ago
Actually, we ended up putting down Amendoim instead of red birch. Similar color though. We did poplar trim with a medium stain, and it all turned out great!

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