How would I make my red oak floors look similar to this color?
Jamie Loveland
2 years ago
How would I make my red oak floors look similar to this color? I tried a sample of Minwax Driftwood and Poly, but it wasn't close.
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Should I stain my red oak floors??
Comments (2)Ditto. Two more things. First, the floors are going to darken a bit whatever you use. Take a damp sponge and wipe a small area of the wood. That is going to be the color once the finish is applied. Second, some people advise putting one more coat of finish on if using a water based finish. Some of them have, or perhaps had, fewer solids in the liquid, so to get the same coverage, you needed an extra coat. So your floor guy may charge you a few bucks extra. But I agree with the other post - if he balks at water, and some people do just because they don't know any better, get someone else. There is NO reason not to use it. Actually 3 things. Last, water based finishes do raise the grain in the wood, much as you do if you simply wipe the wood with a damp rag. Oak especially is prone to this - I just did a floor last weekend. I used 13 kinds of wood, but interspersed a lot of oak. After the first coat, the oak was extremely rough in comparison with the other woods. So it needed a good screening to become smooth. Make sure your floor guy will do this because if he is only used to working with oil-based finishes, they are not going to do the same thing. In those cases, you generally screen, if you do, to remove dust and lint particles that settle on the finish while it dries. Anyway, it's not that big a deal and if you need to, put the finish on yourself....See MoreHow to stain Red Oak cabs and White Oak floors to look good
Comments (8)We have white oak kitchen cabinets with a very light stain. Our house was originally built with white oak floors, which we thought were red oak. We had to replace quite a few boards and we used red oak so now we have a red and white oak floor (definitely by accident). I'm with you on the white oak being nicer. Despite the efforts of our floor refinisher, the red oak still has a pinkish cast to it. In order to make the white and red oaks really blend, we would have had to go with darker stain on the floor, which we didn't want. Have you checked local cabinet makers for prices for white oak cabinets. We found that some could only get red oak and others could only get white oak. The guy who could only get white oak wasn't any more expensive than the guy who could only get red oak....See MoreI'm refinishing my oak floors. Would you like to help me?
Comments (3)" Red Oak is open grain and look's better if filled, White Oak is closed grain therefore doesn't require filling." -Wrong, completely 100% false. Both Red and White oak are OPEN grain woods. The grains on white oak are a bit more narrow, but still open. Maple is an example of a closed grain wood. If you take a close up pic of the floor, and post it, i can tell you if its red or white. I post over on the Floors forum all the time, post your question there and receive a lot more help. I personally dont like the varathane products, but thats for a different debate. For the Smoothest results, lightly abrade between EVERY coat. generally a 150 grit paper is fine, can even go 220. two coats in a day is fine. i would try 3 coats total (2 one day, then 1 more the next), and then see how you like the look. if it looks dry or you feel like another is necessary then go ahead. since you plan on staining the floor, do not keep adding coats after coats of stain. it can effect the adhession ability when you go to apply the coats of finish. If you want the stain to come out darker, you have two options, mix the stain with a darker stain, or you can Waterpop your floor. this will help get a more even color throughout the floor and take the stain a bit deeper. The wood filler i would do this, if you prefer to not trowel fill the entire floor during the sanding process, then after you get two coats of finish on the stain, then spot fill the areas you want and then lightly hand sand the fill off...doing this with finish applied will help prevent you from scuffing the stain off the bare wood causing a shading issue....See Morered oak floor solution to look like white oak
Comments (38)I ended up going with special walnut. One coat with a satin water based poly (not shiny). We love it. After the floor stainer put samples down of the lighter colors it really did look pink. I feared having my whole house “being ruined” so I went with the “safer” color and I couldn’t be happier. Someone gave me the advice that most of your hardwood floors will be eventually covered by area rugs anyways so no need to stress! The picture was taken at night with overhead lighting on. Not the best time to take a photo but you get the idea! Good luck!!!...See More
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2 years agoJamie Loveland
2 years ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago 
PROG & S Floor Service
2 years ago
Jilly
2 years ago
PROKristin Petro Interiors, Inc.
2 years agoJamie Loveland
2 years ago- PRO
Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc.
2 years ago 
Therese N
2 years ago
Jennifer Shapiro
2 years ago
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