Ten yrs ago when we built our home we chose Minwax Special Walnut and got Early American. We liked it so it all turned out ok.

with that being said....your floor does look different than the sample you chose to my eye.

What Desiree said. If you don't do _all_ of the finishing steps on your sample you really don't know what you will end up with. This includes sanding.

Thanks for the replies.. The sample that was chose was labeled "Early American".. We chose it because it had that "chocolate" brown color and yes, we based it off of the sample color as we assumed that the sample color would be close to the end result.. I am going to assume that the sample was only one coat.. But if it's a matter that the color changes with more coats, then why would they not say that.. What is the point of putting a one coat sample if the color will change that drastically and why would you not inform the client of this..

I am not sure what we are going to do at this point.. I mean the floors look nice, but are definitely not the same color that we chose or at least anticipated we were getting.. We notified the builder and he said he will be responding to look at how the floors came out.. I also sent him the various photographs we took of the original sample.. I guess we will see what happens with the blame game and who will be taking responsibility for this.. And now the big question will be to see what we do from this point forward.. Do we live with the color or do we demand the builder/floor company sand the floors down and do it over..

I looked up 'Minwax Early American on oak floor', and here is an example that looks red like yours - HERE.

HERE is another that has a red look.

This is the Minwax color chart,

And to show how different a stain can look from the chart, here is Special Walnut -

This is an article about tinting poly for floors, which may help you -

http://www.hardwoodflooringtalk.com/forum/can-alter-the-color-floors-tinting-the-poly-t9997.html

I think your floors are lovely, but if they're not the color for which you bargained, someone needs to either fix them ... or pay.

The first question is, how much do you care? Is this a make-or-break thing that will upset you as long as you live in this house, or is it more like, "Well, it was my third choice, but I can live with it?"

My3Dogs - Thanks for the input.. The problem that I have is that the stain was applied to OUR floor.. So we did not look at a sample on someone elses floor that may have had a different type of wood or a sample shown on a chart online.. The sample was put directly on our floor.. I could almost understand if we had shown a picture from online and got a different color in the end due to our type/species of wood.. But the issue that we are having is that the sample was put directly on our floor.. So if they used the same stain the color should have been consistent OR at the very least similar.. We even let the sample sit for days to make sure it dried and we loved the way it looked.. So the way we look at it is that IF the stain they used is the same as the one we picked then we should have been properly informed that the color would be different.. Or even a warning that it "may" change.. We got none of that.. The way it was explained is that the sample we picked would be the exact color of our floor.. I mean this is a professional flooring crew.. They should know that if they put one coat samples they will be different then the end result..

Again, we will have to see what the builder is going to do about it.. Its going to be a pain in the behind because at this point we lost a week of inside work due to waiting on the hardwood to finish.. So we will end up losing another week if they redo the floors..

MrsPete - I agree that the floors look nice by themselves.. But in the end its not the color we were looking for to give the effect/flow of the house we wanted.. We were looking to go similar to the cabinets.. Its hard to tell being 15 feet away and having to peek your head around a corner, but we are concerned with how the cabinets will clash with this color wood.. Looking at the pictures that I took its not "horrible" but does not have the effect/flow we were going for.. The sample color was pefect..

I'm sorry you didn't get what you thought you were getting, the color, in my experience, always changes, sometimes dramatically, when the finish coat goes on. (My first floor, painfully reclaimed maple from an old VFW hall, turned pumpkin orange when I applied finish to the beautiful cherry color I'd stained it-- I sanded it off and started over again, having bought some valuable education). Your flooring guy needs to take the blame on this one, as it not possible to judge the final color from the samples he made for you.

He may be able to change the tone by topcoating with a brown tinted finish, but this will take some experimentation and the care that went into preparing the samples for you does not necessarily bode well. Might they have used the wrong stain? It could be the redder one next to the one you chose.

with dark walnut would cool down the red.

You said you took the pics in the afternoon? Afternoon light is warmer than morning light and can turn a color redder. See what they look like in the morning light before deciding.

Take a photo of the same area the samples were done on at the same time of day in the same conditions (meaning sunny day or overcast day).

I'm sorry that you didn't get what you bargained for! FWIW, I really think it's lovely.

We recently installed #2 red oak common flooring in our kitchen and chose Early American stain based on our flooring guy's samples, but we WANTED a warmer brown floor. Honestly the sample you have outlined in your post above reads pretty red to me on my monitor so I'm not too surprised it turned out warm. I googled a TON of pictures of Early American floors before I committed because the sample looked SO different on my floors than it did on the sample card.

These are the samples on our floors. The top is Early American, the middle is Special Walnut and the bottom is Dark Walnut

I can't compare from these photos. The sample photo appears to be under artificial lighting, very different from lighting on the pics of your partially finished floors.

I like your floors, but if you wanted -- and chose -- less red, this isn't it.

Let this be a lesson: KEEP the sample you choose for later comparison with work in progress.

Chisue - the sample is under direct sunlight.. It was just taken from a different angle.. I am trying to recall what time of day we took the picture of the sample but I believe it was in the afternoon..

fyi: I think the floors look beautiful. I wouldn't sweat the floors and in fact would use them as a bargaining chip for that awful railing.

It's wood -- a natural product -- and you can't expect it to perfectly match a small sample. In addition, the photo you provided of the various options is under bright light without a poly finish on top, so I am not surprised that the floors look different than you expected.

Having said that, your floors are beautiful and I prefer the appearance to what you expected (but I accept they are your floors, not mine). If they looked bad, then I would agree that you should consider going through all the hassle of re-sanding and refinishing, but, if it were me, I'd keep them. If the contractor used the stain you selected, I don't think he will be receptive to eating the cost of re-doing them.

Finally, what you see is what you are going to get: floor colors do not "settle" in.

Kudzu9 - I understand that wood is a natural product and there could be a slight variation.. But if the variation is going to be that much then what is the point of laying stain down to see what it will look like if the finished product will have a totally different color? I agree that it may be because they didn't lay poly on top, but again, why would they show me samples if they know it will change to a different color once they add the poly.. They are the professionals, so I would expect them to show me samples of what the floor will look like finished.. The builder and I both looked at the floors today, but he is clueless as he was not there to look at the stain samples.. His contractor left the samples on floor and wrote the names on top.. I am sending the pictures of the samples to the builder so he can look at the difference and see what he says.. We really dont want to go through the hassle of sanding and staining again and losing another week.. But I find this to be such a headache that you pick one color and get a totally different color..

I hear what you are saying, and I am not suggesting that it always happens that there should be that significant a difference. I think what happened was a result of all these factors:

-original samples viewed only in brighter light

-sample stains may have been wiped off too quickly (or final stain left on longer)

-no clear poly on samples (which would have made the sample tones a bit darker and deeper)

I'd also be interested to see a photo taken of the final result on the same patch of floor where the samples were put down and under the same lighting conditions. It would also be interesting to see the color chart that the manufacturer provides for whatever stain color you chose and compare.

Lastly, is there any chance of a sample mixup, where either the samples on the floor got misidentified, or that the installers accidentally used a stain similar to what you picked, but not that exact one?

It's going to be just about impossible to get a perfect match between the cabinets and a standard color. Even if you had the same Minwax stain on both cabinets and floors, they might not look the same, because light hits a vertical surface and reflects one way, but it reacts differently on a horizontal surface. The sheen levels are another factor. And the floor poly does not look the same as the catalyzed varnish on the cabinets-- different chemistry.

If you want a pretty good match, the floor guy will have to take off a cabinet door, put it on the floor, so the reflected light is similar, and then make up a sample using a custom mix. Then poly the sample and let it age. That custom mix will have to be carefully documented, so you will have something to start with if you need a repair down the road. It's a lot of work, and most "floor mechanics" don't have the skills anymore.

And here's the rub. Even if you started out with perfectly matching cabinets and floors, sunlight will "amber out" the surfaces differently. The cabinets and floors didn't all come from the same tree, either, so there can be lots of variations. And if the cabinets are cherry, just for example, they will tend to darken over time no matter what.

The chemistry of paint and stain is extremely technical, tricky, and a bit if a crap shoot. A lot of it is beyond my pay grade, but you can check out the paint forum if you like. IIWY I would aim for a decent color harmony between cabinets and floor, not an exact match, using a standard stain, and call it good.

You make complete sense and are being quite reasonable in expecting there could be a slight difference, just not this much difference. Otherwise, what is the point of going through the whole sample process if it is not either completed enough to show the real color or if it is that inaccurate. That aside, I don't see any legitimate reason there should be that much difference being that they showed you samples of the stains on your floor - unless the wrong stain was used.

Those floors are very red. They seem to match one of the 'red' colors on the color chart.

I agree it looks like they only put one coat of stain down as a sample. They are quite transparent looking. What is the color of the stain sample to the right of the one you selected? That's the only one of the four that seems to have red in it. Maybe a few coats of that one would have the deeper red/orange tones. I'm wondering if they got them mixed up and used #3 instead.

What a shame. I hope you get it straightened out to your satisfaction! While it might be a pretty floor, it's not what you selected. If it isn't in line with your color schemes or personal taste, you shouldn't have to settle for the wrong color. It is very important overall!

Kudzu9 - The samples were viewed in various lighting conditions.. They were viewed with natural light and then again at night with artificial light.. The color was the same during both times we viewed.. I was working in the house all week that the sample was down and the color looked pretty much the same throughout.. The only things that I think could have made the color change so drastically is that the poly effected the final outcome or they used the wrong stain.. We were actually contemplating that perhaps they used the stain that is directly to the right of the one we chose.. In my opinion that stain actually looks like a closer match.. And if you look at ScoutFinch's post his photograph of the EarlyAmerican sample it looks more like the stain next to the one we chose.. I am thinking that the installer laid out the samples and probably wrote the name afterwards.. We have a patch of hardwood that was hidden and untouched under a doorway separation between mudroom and garage.. We are contemplating having the builder bring the stains that were laid out as samples and putting on this section and seeing what the colors look like compared to our floors.. We would also be able to see if in fact the Early American color matches the color in our photograph of the samples.. Once we know if it was just the poly or if they used the wrong stain completely we can decide on how to move forward..

In my experience, the clear poly is not the biggest factor. Based on what you say, I'm leaning toward wrong stain. I think your plan to retry the stains is a good one and will give you lots of leverage if a mistake was made and you want to have the floors re-done. I hope you can either get this resolved to your satisfaction, or can learn to live with this unexpected -- but lovely -- result. Please update here on further developments.

I'm just curious about that white door in the kitchen area. What does that lead to. Oh, and I think the floor is beautiful, but sorry it is not what you expected. I would be frustrated too!

MommaBear - The door goes into our pantry.. We were 50/50 on keeping the door as we originally were going to do a split door (2x 1'6" doors).. After debating it we ended up deciding to go with the single door.. Personally I thought the smaller double doors would have been better since you could stand in front of it and open without having to shift to the side.. It didn't help my argument that the builder installed the single door anyway without asking.. Especially since, once again, the plans showed the double doors..He felt that it should have been a single door to have the most access to the pantry..

Your builder...what a guy! LOL (It's much easier to hang a single door!)

I'd prefer a swinging door or pair of 'swingers' that you could push through with shoulder or forearms without using a handle.

I agree with rwiegand--it looks to me that they chose the third sample from left vs. the second.

As far as requesting a correction vs. a credit--I'd look at how well the stain goes with your other finishes (on my monitor, at least, it looks like your kitchen tile and stain don't go so well together). If there's a clash or you just really don't like it, I'd request a correction.

On a side note--this thread has been really helpful to me. I had to pick stains for cabinetry and flooring in our office project last week and this helped confirm my choices.

What was the outcome of the stain issue?