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new hardwood should I do white oak or match my red oak downstairs

4 months ago

Hi, I just purchased a home that was built in 1999 and so the downstairs has nice red oak hardwood flooring while the upstairs had dingy old carpeting. Pulled the carpeting now need to put in hardwood. My flooring guy recommended doing unfinished hardwood. I might refinish the stairs and will be doing a new runner. As of right now my red oak downstairs is sealed but not stained so it’s natural colored. I don’t really like the red oak though feels too orange red. I’m also trying to modernize the home because the previous owners didn’t do much since 99 so it’s still stuck there. I really like the look of natural white oak floors but I’m not sure if it would be odd to have red oak downstairs and white oak upstairs. Many have said this is a personal preference which it is but I just don’t know. Also some may recommend refinishing the downstairs red oak too but that’s just out of the budget at the moment and the floor is still in really good shape. Also to note my current downstairs is 2 1/4 hardwood and the new upstairs floor will be 3 1/4 it’s just what my family and I preferred. So basically is it okay to have an entirely different floor color and look upstairs or is that potentially a bad thing/bad look overall.

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Comments (4)

arcy_gw
4 months ago
I THINK you don't prefer the red oak--your first sentence compliments it but then you spent the rest of the time pointing out its flaws....SOO NO do not put in anything YOU don't prefer!! Think of it this way if you were 'updating to sell' you would choose wrong 99% of the time!!! Which is why you do what you are at the front end so SOMEONE enjoys it!! Also two floors different floors is pretty normal. Sort of like what you have now.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
4 months ago
Stick with red oak. If, you do go light, at least it will match when you do the stairs, then the downstairs. If, you are going dark. It doesn't matter as much.
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I ended up getting the red oak stairs and the white oak floor. Did white oak, no stain, water poly. Stained the stairs darker to make it look intentional. I might have been able to get away with keeping the red oak stairs natural, too, if the floor installers had been asked to, and they had looked for boards that were redder and installed them near the stairs. There were some boards that looked like red oak. Here's the thread and pics ... [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/red-oak-stairs-do-i-install-white-oak-floors-or-red-dsvw-vd~3697644[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/red-oak-stairs-do-i-install-white-oak-floors-or-red-dsvw-vd~3697644) Make sure you read the part at the end about the nosing strip. That was a real oversight on my part. (I miss my stairs looking like that - they look cluttered now with the railings.)
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I just recently did these sealers and finishes to my floor myself. It was a long and tedious process. The contractor didnt want to spend the time doing it right so i did it myself. I did it exactly as bona said. I applied two coats of the bona nordic seal 4 hours apart, then waited 24 hours to apply a third coat. I waited another day before i put on the finish after making sure the floor was completely clean by using a barely damn microfiber mop. For the finish, you have to do the coats within 3 hours of each other or the finish hardens too much (in the directions). After all those coats, no abrasion was needed because the floor was completely smooth. the trick with these sealers and finishes is to apply them at that magical point when they arent too dry or too wet. I also used a pad for the application because it was easier to use in my opinion: way way easier to get an even coat. The directions for both products explained that the sealer ”protects the wood from the finish”. So it absolutely warns not to apply the finsh to raw wood. here is a picture of the floor directly after the second coat of the finish. We are in the process of updating the house, so excuse the 1930s vibe here, lol. we started with the floors. Also, these products dry incredibly fast. One has to have a good work ethic to get them on. You have to be quick and methodic about applying even coats.
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I see there have already been some pieces replaced in at least one area. Its possible, that someone patched those pieces in and used white oak. They appear to have taken the stain a lot darker than the rest of the floor. The rest of the floor looks to be red oak. I see at least 3 shorter boards that have been laced in as a replacement on the wall side. I would use red oak, for the rest of the floors, and since they will all need to be refinished to match, have them remove those 3 boards and put in matching oak there too, so you dont have those strips of very dark wood.
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dan1888
4 months ago
There are refinishing products to lessen the red in oak. Ciranova has a Pink Blocker L ink. Bona has Red Out. Here's another-

You can finish with zero gloss water poly that does not yellow the wood. Cranova has Ecofix Plus and Woodlook Plus. Bona has Traffic HD and Nordic. The look that is popular is flat cut Western European quercus robur Oak. This species is denser without the open grain of domestic red and white oak. You can see lots of sources for this product, including Monarch Plank Link. And Forestry Timber. Link. 7 to 12" wide engineered planks can show off the wood structure of flat cut. You can't get that with solid wood planks 4" wide.

How do you get the best looking floor? Here's a plan. Test your red oak to see if when sanded and dered and finished with water ploy, you like the look. Now comes the hard to evaluate part. I'd consider carefully pulling the 1st floor wood and lightening and refinishing it for use upstairs. Then get a wide flat cut rustic or prime European Oak engineered plank for the 1st floor. DIY may help in budgeting. The Flooret direct to consumer $5.50 7" wide Silvan option may help. Link. Stairs are Silvan Lyon.
grapefruit1_ar
4 months ago
How fortunate you are to have a home with beautiful classic floors. I woukd not change them at all. The color works with everything.

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