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The Old House Flooring Design Dilemma

Doug fir refinished feedback request

last year

last modified: last year

We found Doug fir under carpet that we asked to have refinished. Wood by the bay window needed to be replaced. We vacated the house to facilitate not walking on the floors during the job. Unfortunately, the flooring contractor did not contact us to ask if we wanted to stick with clear vs use a stain - given the unexpected replacement. This is what the floor looks like now, am I mistaken for expecting it to blend a little better or to have at least been asked about staining before it was completed? Photo below apologies wasn't able to add here. When I asked if a stain would have helped first he said not really then that Doug fir gets blotchy when stained... Not sure if that's the truth vs trying to mask an oopsContractor wants to ask for more money than the estimate after the job is done, no prior request or discussion was had. I think it's reasonable if he fixes the floor mismatch but it seems weird to pay more than estimated AND have such funky mismatched flooring?

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PRO

G & S Floor Service

last year

Your old floors do not look like Douglas fir. Post a better photo of the old floor. Also, floor looks thirsty, is it completed already?

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Comments (16)

J C
Original Author
last year
BlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
last year
Maybe the new boards can be adjusted with a tinted version of the same finish? if you have extra boards, I'd have a sample made on one of those.
J C thanked BlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
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If you don't want "nasty plastic chemicals" I assume you are ripping out the vinyl flooring and replacing it with ceramic tile, which unless you are on a slab will necessitate reinforcing the floor and putting down hardibacker. ESPECIALLY given that they nearly always use some version of OSB as floor underlayment. It isn't the load bearing capacity that is the problem, it is flexion. If your floor flexes with vinyl or wood its not a big deal. The same amount of flex with tile will crack tile and/or grout. I would never go larger than 12" tile on wood underlayment no matter how it is pumped up. Anyone who tells you you can cheap out on your underlayment is either an idiot or they're lying to you. I LOVE tile flooring - but unless you're on a slab its a lot of extra expense. Almost any of the laminate plank flooring will be a better option on a wood underlayment without additional expense. In other words, your best bet to replace that floor is "nasty plastic chemical having" vinyl sheet flooring expense-wise (and even appearance-wise, many vinyl sheet flooring designs are QUITE attractive), or laminate plank. The only thing I find "wrong" with the kitchen as it is is it seems dark, but that could be a function of your photography. There is no reason to replace those cabinets and you would have to pay a LOT to get similar quality. I would strip and refinish in a lighter color or paint. As in you paint them yourselves. They make several versions of paint suitable for painting cabinets that show few, if any, brushmarks. If you use the proper prep, primer, and brushes. And patience. I don't care for the flooring but wouldn't replace it unless it is actually worn or I was flush with money. The vinyl flooring I've seen in Home Despot is way uglier though so - really I think you're sort of lucky with what you have. Actual flooring companies undoubtedly have more options but will also (undoubtedly) be more costly than the Big Box stores. Watch for laminate plank on sale. That can be quite attractive and affordable at the right price. This is a minor quibble but those curtains are TOO long. Personally I don't want curtains draggling in the overspray from my sink. Hem them, replace them, or raise the rod. Mostly I don't think there's a thing wrong with your kitchen. I'd leave it alone unless you know you're going to be in it for years and years, in which case do whatever you want to it. "Upgrading" for sale is also not sensible. You will DEFINITELY NOT get your money back in a mere 2 or 3 years. I would also never put a rug in a kitchen. They get nasty fast. Comfort mats in front of work areas, sure. Rug - no. And that rug in the picture is way uglier than the floor itself. IMO.
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arcy_gw
last year
What did 'refinish' mean to you? It appears they stained and did not first use a conditioner that would improve the stain being absorbed more evenly. IDK about fir but it works great on pine.
PRO
JAN MOYER
last year
Is the large portion of the floor stained or not? Or is it clear coated?

New wood, will never exactly match old wood, and agree that doesn't look like fir, which does not stain well at all.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
Who said it was fir? I don't think so and thta is where your trouble began . IMO the guy doing the floor should have mentioned this was not fir but often the guy doing the work is just doing what he is told to do.
J C
Original Author
last year
Two flooring contractors came out and both said doug fir. I don't know enough to be able to say what it is. It was sanded, clear coated, refinished. Would have hoped the old and new could have been mixed/moved around to blend more or a stain with color to make it less stark. Not sure what the wood is if not df additional photos attached and I'm so sorry the app has been really buggy on my phone if I try to delete any words they re-appear in duplicate/triplicate.
M C
last year
last modified: last year
Spouse here. Here are a couple more photos of the completed original material. Contractor states that moving boards around is not possible because old fir is too brittle although the non-damaged pieces that were removed in the area where new material went in came out without issue.

There was no stain put on anything, I'm not sure why the contractor's photo came out so red.

As JC said, refinish was repair damage with some replacements and filler, set all nails, sand. Then 1 coat Duraseal oil based sealer and 2 coats DuraSeal oil based polyurethane.
BlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
last year
If there was no stain ever involved, that's why you have drastically different colors of wood ... both woods were just given sealer and poly, but the old wood and new wood started different colors because the old wood has changed color as it aged.

A good contractor should have pointed out the difference in the two woods and discussed possibilities for addressing this, but in absence of that discussion, this is exactly what I'd expect.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
last year
You can apply a toner coat.
J C thanked G & S Floor Service
ci_lantro
last year
The old floor doesn't look like it was sanded enough but, perhaps there wasn't enough wood above the tongue for more thorough sanding.
stellarceline
last year
last modified: last year
Yes, they should have discussed the color difference with you and options, including staining the new pieces to attempt to get a match.

It doesn't look that bad though, I assume this is an old house if it has narrow doug fir flooring and that beautiful woodwork? (My 1893 victorian has the same) -- in these old house this kind of funky thing is part of the charm. Leave them an honest review on Google or Yelp and move on, or ask them to screen/sand the new stuff and stain it -- offer to pay for the staining labor but not the screen/refinish as they should have discussed this with you.

We had a similar situation in our house and they discussed how to stain the new stuff to match even though our existing floors had a wide variety of patina/texture/color variation going on. It's just an obvious thing to bring up to the homeowner. They couldn't get a perfect match but they blended it pretty well -- which did require staining the entire floor, staining just they new section wasn't an option. New section got additional coat of stain though.
BlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
last year
@G & S Floor Service, the toner would go over this finish, right? So no need to remove what's there ...
PRO
G & S Floor Service
last year
last modified: last year
Yes, apply a toner coat to new stuff. Right on top of the finish, buff first.
J C thanked G & S Floor Service
M C
last year
The contractor said any replacement wood wouldn't be an exact match. We acknowledged and understand that and had no problem with 'not exact'. We didn't know that meant, "no effort to match".

@stellarceline yes, 1900. We chose this contractor because he is 3rd generation floor restoration, came in saying he works with stuff like this all the time, and he could take care of it.

When I asked him yesterday if this is the kind of work he'd want on his website his response was that he wouldn't choose to do work like this, wouldn't have restored this floor, and would have laid oak over the top of the whole thing.
BlueberryBundtcake - 6a/5b MA
last year
I'd ask him about the toner, but if he gives pushback on it, just find another refinisher that is familiar with such products ... no point in undoing what's done when a top coat can fix it.

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