I live on long island, and to me your price sounds very good. Do you know if they service Eastern Long Island too? Thanks,

I just had a rift and quarter sawn mix floor installed. There's a lot of rift pieces that I thought were quarter and vice versa. My builder could tell better than me which was which and could show me the angle of the grain on the end to show for sure. Oak is tricky, I think. I have several logs I need to have milled (don't worry, I hugged them before they came down). I've asked several mills about quarter sawing them and they say you don't know if the wood will have rays until you start sawing.

If you want to achieve a light floor and avoid ambering you're correct to look toward Bona Traffic HD. Bona makes an assortment of compatible sealers that provide a range of color options from slightly white to somewhat amber. I recommend looking at Bona ClassicSeal as a starting point. A coat of sealer and two coats of Traffic applied at the recommended rate is sufficient for wear. When the floor gets worn, scuffed and dingy you should recoat. This is the case whether you have two wear coats or twenty (assuming you're attentive to the appearance of your floor). Water popping is mostly used before applying a stain, which you're not doing. Some people water pop then do a light sanding before applying a waterborne finish but I think that's unnecessary. Satin is nice in the Traffic HD but some people like Matte. I'm not a huge fan but it's a personal preference. Bona Traffic, like all floor finishes, is somewhat flexible. If/when your floor expands then shrinks it will not (and should not) bridge over any gaps that develop. With rift/quarter sawn wood and effective humidity control you should not see huge amounts of movement. It's very important to make sure the subfloor and wood flooring are close in moisture level before installation starts and humidity should be controlled well before the finish flooring is brought in the house. I've seen others recommend Loba Invisible to achieve the look I think you're going for but I have never used it. If you search Loba Invisible at the top of the page you should get a bunch of posts asking a similar question and a myriad of suggestions.

Those rays (the diagonal blobs of lighter colour) are precisely why I do NOT like rift sawn. The r&q sawn is a requirement for wide plank products. It leaves the wood more stable throughout the heating/cooling seasons. If you are unsure about these rays, then you might want to rethink some things: 1. Width...do you need anything more than 4" wide? 2. Colour - the smoking or white washing is HIGHLIGHTING the issue - is it a necessity to have this colour or just a personal 'want'? 3. The FINISH...you mention coconut oil causing discolouration. This is a perfect example of what you can expect with a hardwax oil finish. And it is the perfect illustration of what is most likely going to happen with a lower-grade urethane/polyurethane finish on a floor of that colouring 4. It brings us back to the colour. Hmmm. Lots of things to think about. My advice has always been, "If you see it in the sample you can be guaranteed to see it in the floor. If the sample disturbs you then you should not purchase the floor."