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Flooring Design Dilemma Before & After

Staining a portion of flooring to math excisting flooring

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

We are in the process of updating our home and recently removed a large built in tv cabinet in our living room. Unfortunately, as it turns out the floor stain appears to have been done after the built in was put in place. So, now, we have an area of unstained hardwood. We would prefer to try and patch this area in lieu of refinishing all our hardwoods as we have 3 young children and it would be hard to basically move out for several days. We are realistic and realize an exact match is impossible but would like something semi aesthetically pleasing and budget consious as a temporizing measure for the next couple of years until we redo the entire flooring. Any suggestions? Can we DIY this? Pics attached.

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Comments (4)

samondragon
5 years ago
You already answered your own question..."budget conscious" & "temporary" meaning the solution is to buy a wood stain and stain that portion left undone AND it's a very easy DIY project. It looks like oak wood from the photo you included. You will need to determine the stain color and top coat finish on the already finished portion. Either eye ball the color & take a chance or get pieces of oak & experiment with a few stains. You will also need to determine if the top sealing coat is a gloss or satin finish & purchase that accordingly. You'll also need the usual tools...the correct brushes, sand paper, etc. Ask for assistance at a paint or big box store. Better yet, look up videos on how to stain for step by step instructions. You are correct in that it will be nearly impossible to completely match even if you have the correct color but you can make it look very close. Preparation, neatness and attention to detail is half the battle.
ec_md thanked samondragon
SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
To me this looks like an oil based polyurethane over top of wood. The "orange" is from the oil based polyurethane. We call it "ambering". I bet dollars to doughnuts you can get an OK match simply with a quart of Minwax finish. To test my theory, it will cost you $15 and a little bit of time.

I would test a 1ft x 1ft area. Coat that area with 1 coat and wait over night. If you are (roughly) 1/2 to the desired colour, you know you are on the right track. Another two coats and you will have a very close match.
ec_md thanked SJ McCarthy
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Yeah testing is good - I happen to be going thru much the same process at the moment - think I'll use a closet for my test area. What wall color are you going to have in there? You should test stains in relation to the new wall colors. One more thought about color relationships - fir shellacked in amber, garnet, mahogany, etc. was used a lot for woodwork and floors during early 1900s, a time of very deep, rich, saturated wall colors. I think the reason why fir/vintage pine gets a bad rap is that in more recent times people try to pair it with whites and wimpy light colors that cant hold its own against the strong red/gold tones of the wood. I just put up a test patch of a deep mossy green on the wall next to my fir trim and yowza--there is this synergistic effect between the deep green and te wood that I can't explain. Simply stunning. My philosophy has always been try to redefine the problem as a non-problem, where ever possible - and in this case its easiest to let the wood be what it is! But color is intensely personal thing - so do what you gotta do (if it was something like oak, maple, chestnut, etc. I'd probably put up more of a fight against staining it .)
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Thanks, brickeyee. There are other factors, which is why I'd like to know if there was a preference from a plumbing perspective. The ceiling is popcorn in an open floor plan, not conducive to spot repair. It might be better to cover the whole ceiling with 1/4" to get rid of the popcorn, rather than just a repair. Then I could put in can lights at the same time ... another plus, but also another expense. I've done drywall ceilings myself before, but that was 15 years ago. Hiring someone would be necessary this time cause I'm so old. The ceiling isn't damaged right now, just stained a little, so priming and painting would probably fix it. It's about 700 sq. ft. I have no idea what it would cost to have it covered with 1/4" and mudded, but that would probably be the way to go. The bathroom floor is original sheet vinyl, in need of replacement. Plus, the geniuses who put it in used nails rather than screws to attach the plywood subfloor. The nail heads have poked through in a couple of places. If I pulled up the floor, I could replace the nails with screws, and put down new vinyl or tile. I did my kitchen with TrafficMaster Allure a few years ago and love it. No problems, and it still looks like new several years later. It's about 100 sq. ft. I could fix the floor of the bath myself. That makes three checks in the floor column. It's a tossup as to which would be the better upgrade. Both are on the "eventually" list.
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acm
5 years ago
Agree that it looks mostly like a natural coat, not really a separate stain. Just need to seal it.
ec_md thanked acm
Susie .
5 years ago
I would bet SJ McCarthy is right. Looks like plain poly to me. Sometimes if you rub it with mineral spirits it will look similar to how it will look sealed.
ec_md thanked Susie .

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