new hardwood floor matching old existing one

HU-676200374

4 years ago

I am closing an house soon and is considering to replace existing carpet to hardwood. Due to the time we have in current residence, we will need to move into the place within a few weeks of closing. One dilemma I have is the transition from carpet to existing hardwood floor between the dining room and kitchen. The existing hardwood floor is oak (red oak?) at 2 1/4" strip in the kitchen area/dinette (refinished in 2003 but in good shape, original with the house for 35 years), and I want to change the carpet in the dinning room to the same oak. I know there was discussion in the past and I know it wouldn't be 100% matched if I just install prefinished hardwood (even 2 1/4" strip with similar stain and same oak species), but wondering how good of a job it can be done (selection of new floors, design ideas etc) if I want to go this route. I know another approach is to install unfinished floor and maybe "weave" in between the old ones followed by on-site finish/refinish, but for personal reasons I probably won't do that. I would be grateful to hear any idea/suggestion you may have (is it OK to just pick one floor that is similar enough since there is a "door frame" between kitchen and dinning room). Please see pictures below showing the transition between kitchen and dinning room.

A less critical issue (?) is that its living room and family room which also have carpet. Since they are sunken room (one step down from neighboring area) I am thinking that the difference wouldn't be noticeable as long as I use similar strip width and same species/same stain, but would love to hear any thought as well.

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Comments (4)

SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
You have red oak coated with an oil based finish. It doesn't look like it has any stain on it. That makes it easy to match with sand/finish products (simply use an oil based finish).

Of course I HATE oil based finishes. They stink to high heaven and take an age to cure. The off-gassing is quite long.

For that reason I like to work with high-end water based finishes that are super tough and cure in 5 days with VERY LITTLE ODOUR/OFF-GASSING once the curing has finished.

If you add factory finished, make sure you have the right cut, width, species and colour. I would work with a solid hardwood. You have natural breaks (doorways or breezeways) where you can make the change. This will help you. Even a factory finished solid red oak floor can be refinished like the floors you already have. It makes it easier in the future to get them all the same colour/finish.
HU-676200374 thanked SJ McCarthy
HU-676200374
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks SJ McCarthy! Given what you said about the original floor (oil based finish - I think they are Swedish finish from what I one time heard from the listing agent - and no stain), what would be a good selection for factory pre-finished floor? The purpose is to lay down the new floor for now in the carpeted area and make sure they don't look too different or visually unacceptable. You also mentioned that the natural break (doorways and breezeways) will help my change, which I assume it means the natural breaks will make the mismatch between floor area less obvious.

I think they are plainsawn from the pattern, red oak, so going for something like a natural red oak from say Bruce with same strip width would be OK? Or what color would be best to match the Swedish stain? I take what you said "Even a factory finished solid red oak floor can be refinished like the floors you already have. It makes it easier in the future to get them all the same colour/finish." as that I can refinish everything in the future (e.g. 15 years down the road) to get them all aligned in finish and color if I want to.

I am also planning to install the hardwood floor in second floor. Since they are at different floors, do I better off use the same species/stain/finish of wood for second floor? If so, can I go with a wider plank (say 3 1/4" or 5")?
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based off that picture, couple of things. 1st. not oak. it looks more like Brazilian cherry. Second thats a prefinished floor. quite possibly solid 3/4 but could be engineered too. no way to really tell based off that pic. that threshold at the carpet is known as a header. in order to keep the flow of the floor when adding new wood would be to feather it in as glennsfc said. it can be done. but does cost more to do. you could leave the header and then just add flooring into that room without feathing it and would save you some, but lose the flow/continuity of the floor. Finding the same product might be hard, you could probably find the same milling size/species of floor, but the color may be hard to match perfectly. So the option would be to add raw unfinished flooring, and the refinish everything. that would help get a consistant color, could even stain it lightly to help out. All this being said, should be done by a good professional, lots of things that require a lot of skill to be done properly.
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You have site finished hardwood. That's the easiest hardwood to match. Simply install the SAME SPECIES (same width of plank, same "cut", same grade) and have the same wood flooring professionals come out and mix your colour to match what they did previously. If you don't want the same colour, then choose another colour for the new part. But the most important thing is to match the WOOD! That way, in the future you can have all the same colour if you want it. There is nothing more frustrating that trying to get two different species to look "the same" when adding a stain. Many have tried...and all have cried because of the failures. Personally I would have had the wood installed at the same time you had your hardwood floors refinished. That would have made every thing the easiest/cheapest. There would have been no concerns about colour matching.
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Laying the new floor in the same direction as the old floor is not the normal way to go about this. In the building industry, it is more common to see layers that are staggered or "bricked". In other words if layer #1 is laid in a North-South direction, then layer #2 (the top layer) is laid perpendicular to it in an East-West presentation. If you want to run the new flooring in the same direction as the old, you will want to use some underlayment (plywood) over top of the old floor so that you can maintain the "staggered" or "bricked" layering system. That is one way to maintain the North-South presentation. Please work with hardwood flooring professionals who have some experience renovating these old gems. They will have seen what worked....and what didn't. Their experience will be invaluable on a project like yours.
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Those "gaps" are mild. They are normal. They are expected. They tell the story that they are original. They are meant to be there. The new floors will eventually do that too...which means they will match (eventually). It might take a decade...but it will happen. And don't forget that once everything is sanded down, you will be VERY surprised at how those "gaps" seem to go away (visually). Why, you ask? Because some of that is dirt. Once the floor has been sanded down (1-2mm of wood is taken off with the sanding), the dark material between the planks gets shaved off as well. And voila...they look cleaner (because they are). Relax about the absolutely normal spacing between planks. Unless you have museum quality climate control, this LITTLE bit of shrinkage is normal and to be expected with every floor (especially if it is 30 years old).
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SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
To find a good colour match, you will have to start bringing samples home (if you want a factory finish). There are no two ways about it. And yes, doorways are a great place to start and stop flooring.

The upstairs can be anything you like. I tend to prefer the same species...it makes it easier to match up if you decide to redo the stairs (a costly undertaking in and of itself). Red Oak is commonly used for stair treads which will make the main floor easy to work with.

If you don't want more red oak, you can choose any species you like. Changing colour/flooring for a second floor is common and well accepted in the design industry.
HU-676200374 thanked SJ McCarthy
HU-676200374
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you SJ McCarthy. Very quick and useful suggestion. Your comment about my doorways and breezeways being much easier to work with old and new floor transition makes up my mind to go this way. Appreciated.
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new hardwood floor matching old existing one

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new hardwood floor matching old existing one

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SJ McCarthy

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