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Flooring Design Dilemma

Match hardwood floors or not?? NEED HELP!!

3 years ago

We are planning to replace carpet on stairs and upper level with hardwood floors. However, the wood on the lower level(main floor) that was used by the previous owners of the house is hard to find. So, we are planning to go with this maple tuscany woord( as in pic 1) for the stairs and upper level .

Is there any rule that the stairs hardwood floor should match with the main floor wood?

Attaching picture of the existing hardwood on main floor(pic 2).

Any suggestions?? Thank you so much!!!

Comments (6)

PRO
JAN MOYER
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I'd first ask myself, do I LOVE the tone of the first floor wood? Can it be refinished ? Seems quite orange in tone on my monitor.

A second floor need not match, ( you can't see both simultaneously ) however, that is a very abrupt change at the stair, and I certainly don't love it with the "blonde" stair - any part of it.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
IMO the floors ideally should all match and for sure the stairs should match the main floor flooring. In a perfect world you would refinish the main floor to match the new floor which to me is a much nicer color.
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I have wood that is wide planked in the livingroom and then regular width in halls and bedroom. It is original. I think 1/4 of an inch is not going to be that noriceable but if you are worried then deliberately go wider so it looks deliberate. Will the new floor run parallel to the existing hardwood or will the ends meet? If the ends meet then it may be noticeable and in that case I would think about doing a border with the wood and then running the rest inside of it.
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You need to do a little more archeological digging still. You need to know the whole construction of the floor before you can decide how best to install something new. I'd take up that plywood piece in the kitchen and see what's under it. It's higher than the surrounding floor, so needs to go. You should also be able to see from there what subfloor is under the original kitchen hardwood. It's too bad the space under your entryway is finished, but I'd still do some exploring from below to see what's under there, and to figure out the fix to stop it from squeaking. Is it drywall below or a drop ceiling? I know it probably seems like a pain to tear out drywall, but if you cut out a clean patch, like 2' x the width of the joists, it'll be relatively simple to repair. Just make sure to cut it down the center of the joists so that there's room to screw the patch piece to it later. Cut the hole under the area that squeaks the most, if you can. Have someone walk on and watch the floor from below to see what's moving. It might be as simple as pounding in a couple shims from below, or face-nailing a loose board from above. You want to find out what's underneath the hardwood. It might be laid directly on the floor joists, or there might be 10" wide boards that the hardwood is nailed to. Another thought is to take out a board in the hallway, since that's not original and you want to replace it. See what the subfloor is there. I am a bit puzzled at why, when you've stripped the kitchen down to the original hardwood, it's still higher than the hallway floor. Is your current surface perhaps not the original kitchen hardwood? Peeling back the plywood area will help determine that. BTW, I haven't heard of that stop squeaking product you linked to, so can't offer any personal opinion. And don't pour self-leveling compound over top of hardwood. It needs to go over plywood.
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You are welcome to have two different wood colours on two different levels. You can get them to "work together" by changing the stain on the BANISTER and the edges of the treads. Yah. I know. You don't want to touch them....but the problem is the the banister/treads BELONG to the MAIN LEVEL flooring. Remember: anything that a "visitor" can see from the "public" level of the home (bedroom levels are normally private areas = often the upstairs areas) SHOULD BE coordinated. If you want a darker floor but do NOT want to change the banister/stair treads, then it is logical to change the UPSTAIRS floors and not the main level floors. Why? Because the banister/treads belong to the main level = public areas = needs to match. The choice is yours....but please be aware that the two colours you have are showing above, do NOT blend well together. That means the main level wood is going to CLASH with the banister/tread colour. And that is normally a "no-no". If you want darker, then I suggest getting a darker version of the UPSTAIRS colour. The gray/black is going to cause a BIG clash with the warm brown. And that clash will force you to change the stairs.
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It seems like being in the same color family, they don't clash and won't look odd. I wouldn't replace them yet. If, after you finish the stairs and they look awful (which they won't) then you can do it. But I would wait and see how it looks. I don't think everything should be the same color. Then there's no contrast.
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sweetadobe
Original Author
3 years ago
Jan Moyer- Thank you! For the stairs we were also planning to put a runner because we have little kids. Do you think putting a runner would not show the abrupt change or it would still show 2 different tones?
The pictures show it ornage-ish but in fact they are more on light brown side and has that cottage flooring look. We really like the flooring on main floor but we don’t know what type of wood it is and not able to find a match to it. 😕
sweetadobe
Original Author
3 years ago
Patrica Colwell - Thank you! By ‘refinishing’ you mean to replace the flooring on main level with new hardwood?
kempek01
3 years ago
Refinishing is the process of sanding off the old finish and adding a new one. That new finish will be stain (if you so choose or the species of wood demands it) and top coat (which you must choose).
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
In design an upper floor can have it's own colour theme even with wood. The best thing to do is to match the SPECIES and then stain the upper floors a different colour. Traditionally the STAIRS match the 'main' level wood. If you put the new wood on the stairs be prepared for a BIG colour clash. You can run a stair runner but then you need to paint/stain the railings/spindles, etc. It becomes a much bigger job.

Your lower level appears to be a maple with an oil based finish (or a gunstock stain). Check to see if the wood is thick enough to get a full sand and refinish (we call that 'refinishing'). The wood needs to be 3mm or THICKER above the 'tongue' to achieve a full sand/refinish.

You can check the thickness of the wood by finding a cross section in the floor = vent cover. Simply pop off the vent and look at the cut section of the wood. You measure the ENTIRE thickness of the wood (total thickness) and then you measure the amount of wood above the tongue to find out if you have 3mm or more for a sand/refinish.

What is CURRENTLY on the stairs?

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