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Remodeling Flooring Design Dilemma

3" rift sawn select white oak floor installation.

4 years ago

My contractor says he cannot get 31/4" to 4" widths in rift sawn select white oak flooring. He can only get 3" wide. He says anything above 3 1/4" would have to be glued anyway because our living/dining room and kitchen are all over a 3 foot high cement crawl-space. I have a hard time picturing things but 3" may look not so great? Is it worthwhile asking for a quote for larger than 4" and having it glued? Any pictures that you have would so be appreciated. I plan on a medium brown stain with polyurethane finish. Is there alot of color tone variation between the wood planks when there is a brown stain such as medium walnut stain? Thanks so much for advice and/or pictures!

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PRO

Beth H. :

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

Johnson,,Did you bother to read her question? I know its not rift sawn.

I have a hard time picturing things but 3" may look not so great?

I merely posted the pics for her so she could see the diff between 3", 3 1/4 and 4.

however, there are plenty of rift sawn oak in those other sizes, as I mentioned.

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Comments (9)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
4 years ago
3" will be fine.
Mary Dragowski thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC
PRO
Beth H. :
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
look at older homes, they were done w/2" and 3" .

this is 3 and 1/4. (so your 3" will be 1/4" narrower)

3 1/4"

seems to be very common size. I don't know where he's getting his material, but you may want to look elsewhere.

Baird Brothers, 4 1/4" White Oak select.

He can't get them? man, just look online. those sizes are available all over the place.
Mary Dragowski thanked Beth H. :
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Linelle: your description perfectly captures the difference between my sample and what I'm looking for! My sample is flat and lifeless. What I want is for the wood to look rich and alive. The example I chose may be red oak. I know white oak can be just as lively as red oak though. There are plenty of QS white oak photos that look rich and full of figure. It's the rift white oak that I cannot find good photos of! ILoveRed: I have seen the photo of the tall cabinets in the first kitchen and it is gorgeous! It doesn't show the detail of the wood as clearly as I need but I'll add it to my photos. The second kitchen you found has some really good photos. Thanks so much for finding that for me! omelet: I'm not an expert either but I agree with you - the cut determines the figure of the wood more than the finish. But take a look at the figure on the unstained backside of my sample door: Unstained, it has a lot of wonderful richness and unexpected fleck in too. If they didn't leave the backside unstained I would have never known that RS white oak could look so lively and have such lovely figure. In one of my other threads, we seem to have figured out that they used a mix of woods and cuts on this sample door. The side rails look like RS white oak, top and bottom rails QS white oak and center panel is plain sawn red oak. That's a fantastic suggestion to post on the flooring forum! Off I go...
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You can see the color and grain difference along with finish more easily by looking at flooring sites. The color is not yellow. More pale with light browns without as pronounced open grain. Can be cerused. Rift or quartersawn is not necessary to avoid the open grain. You could still use it for the visual effect. https://floorzz.com/products/fabrica-french-oak-plank-bastille https://www.homedepot.com/p/Malibu-Wide-Plank-French-Oak-La-Playa-1-2-in-Thick-x-7-1-2-in-Wide-x-Varying-Length-Engineered-Hardwood-Flooring-23-32-sq-ft-case-HDMRTG265EF/308037923 https://www.calibamboo.com/product-sauvignon-engineered-oak-light-brown-wood-floors-7601002101.html Possible source for lumber. https://www.woodco.com/products/select-french-white-oak-lumber/
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I think it looks awesome! It might not be exactly what you thought, but I think it may be a happy mistake. I gives a little contrast to the floor and a nice back drop for the island. I do agree with Anna - change that trim around the base of the island. That light color will look a mess in a very short time. Assuming you are trying to cover a gap, see if you can get a scribe molding or shoe molding. This looks like a quarter round. . Enjoy!
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I chose ”medium walnut” on my rift sawn white oak cabinets to work well with my existing oak floors. it is a warmer brown without looking orange/yellow. I wanted lighter but everything looked pinkish with my floors and the natural light being from the north. kitchen is not complete yet but liking it so far.
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PRO
Johnson Flooring Co Inc
4 years ago
Beth, that's NOT rift sawn wood.

The way I see it 3", 3-1/4 and 4" wide planks are all background floors. The wider you go, the more presence a floor has but the difference between 3" and 4" isn't significant to me. I would be fine with the 3".
Mary Dragowski thanked Johnson Flooring Co Inc
PRO
Johnson Flooring Co Inc
4 years ago
I was responding to "He can't get them? man, just look online. those sizes are available all over the place."

One cannot find all rift sawn online all over the place.

I stand by my statement.
Mary Dragowski thanked Johnson Flooring Co Inc
PRO
Old World Timber
4 years ago
3" widths will look just fine. In flooring, certainly wider width end up giving more warmth and greater presence on the floors, but plenty of gorgeous homes have 3" and 4" width boards. There are plenty of flooring options out there for every width imaginable.
Mary Dragowski thanked Old World Timber
suzyq53
4 years ago
I don't understand why you want rift sawn or select if you're going to stain it anyway. And glued floors are more stable if done correctly. Why don't you just find a prefinished engineered wide plank and glue it down?
Mary Dragowski thanked suzyq53
Holly Stockley
4 years ago
My mill guy recently mentioned that he's having a harder time getting white oak, lately. It's increasing in price AND the lead time is at least 8 weeks. That may be regional, I don't know.
Mary Dragowski thanked Holly Stockley
PRO
Oak & Broad
4 years ago
Here is a diagram of our Rift Sawn floors. Hopefully it will bring come clarity to the discussion. Our Rift Sawn White Oak is still easy enough to supply. Black Walnut on the other hand does have a longer wait time. joel@oakandbroad.com
Educational Plank Flooring Examples · More Info

.
Mary Dragowski thanked Oak & Broad

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