Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We've got roughly 3,000 SF of hardwood in our home. It's stained with a red hue to it (typical color, nothing outlandish, you've probably seen it many times). House is 17 years old, and we're going to have the floors (and matching stairs) refinished in the spring (bonus + tax refund season).
We want to lighten up this house. We've painted everything from the ceiling (flat bright white) to the baseboards (semi-gloss bright white), with neutral colors in between.
The wood is red oak. In searching the internet (and pinInterest), I've seen a couple of photos of red oak floors that were sanded down, and then just sealed with a matte finish. The finish by it's self appears to bring out just enough character of the wood to satisfy us. Some darker areas here and there, grains coming through subtly. What we don't want is a "tan" colored floor, or a yellow-like floor.
I also like the idea (good or not?) of having the ability to re-seal in the future without having to sand down and trying to match the stain.
We're very "formal" now, and it's not really our thing. But also don't want to look cheap either, like we were cutting corners on not staining the wood.
Anyone seen something like this in real life before? Essentially raw red oak floor that is simply sealed with a few coats of polyurethane. No staining? Does it look good? Refined with a casual hint to it?
Thanks!
PS: Ultimately, our dream would be to just replace with a 5 inch wide-plank. Really like the Brazilian teak (Cumaru) wood for it's density and strength. But the cost difference is 3x's. I have a guy who can refinish for $2.50 psf. Replacing would be nearly $8 psf. Cost difference is $16k, which I think would be better served with replacing the vinyl siding with hardiplank instead. It's a "McMansion" from the AOL.com days. You know drill....
Sounds like the floors were stained with Minwax's Red Mahogany- did quite a few in the early 90's. The best one had 4coats of poly- it literally looked like a mirror finish. You couldn't see a single grain relief or joint. It was an executive couple- no pets, no cookie crumblers!
There's a blogger who has had unstained Red Oak in several houses. They said that it eventually takes on a reddish cast that they don't like.
The most versatile wood floor stains are brownish. Lighter floors are easier to live with than dark floors.
I'm not a fan of very yellow floors or very red floors because they limit the colors you can use in decorating to an extent. Though floors are somewhat like jeans in that multiple colors can go with them even if they clash. Still, brown wood floors are the most classic and versatile.
It's the sealant. Plain old polyurethane will leave a yellow cast over red oak almost from the beginning. Clear poly will leave the wood seeming almost white -- freakishly albino-like to some eyes. Pick your poison.
Thanks all, and thanks to PC member for sending me the PM as well, would love to see a photo if you're comfortable with it!
Here's a link to a blog that shows a few before/after of what we're hoping to do as well. We want to avoid the "before", and love the "after" photos. Says it's basically a few coats of a clear matte finish, no stain added. I think the matte finish itself has enough influence on the grain of the wood to bring out just enough of the variations of the wood's character.
I read somewhere that the yellowing is a result of using an oil based poly instead of a water-based. The oil itself goes yellow with time. Not sure if that's 100% accurate, but makes sense to me.
The attached picture below is basically what we have now, but maybe a shade darker. It's in our kitchen, dining room, family room, living room, home office, foyer area, stairs (including risers and banister), second floor hallway, our master bedroom, and master changing area. All this color. It's just too dark for us, and it needs some work anyway after 17 years of use.
K'Bldr, I'm probably 90% sure it's red oak and not white oak. The area under our refrigerator was never stained, and it looks exactly like what I'm seeing on the internet as unfinished red oak. There's a slight tinge of red it in, very slight. Our wood patterns in each slat match exactly like this photo. My son calls them tiger stripes. But, I reserve that 10% to be completely wrong as well (which would be great, because it would probably make this much easier with more options for what we want to achieve!)
Don't believe your eyes on red vs white oak. My flooring guy came into my home, swore it was red but tested just to make sure (a shaving from under a vent cover) and it turned out to be white. It's a fast and easy process to test, do it and know for a fact what you're working with.
Anyway, I have a matte poly on my white oak floors and no stain. It's still got a slight glossy sheen to it if you're looking to remove that entirely. If that's the case, look for the Bona HD Traffic water-based matte finish. I had that put down over white (again, no stain ~ I abhor stained wood floors, they look disgusting to my eye) and it was as close to no-sheen as I've seen short of a completely unfinished wood. Higher cost, better product IMHO, but you really need to find someone proficient with putting it down.
Red and white oak are more alike than different. Red oak tends to be slightly softer, grainier, and to have a barely noticeable touch of pink versus a similarly vague touch of brown in white oak. In side by side application, the more complex grain is apt to be the only thing apparent to the naked eye, and even there, the difference is slight -- so much so as to typically go unnoticed unless one is actively looking for it.
Well, you guys have me not so sure anymore, and I'd like to recall my 90% to 50/50 Please! I do know whatever it is, it's pretty darn tough. I've seen plenty of matchbox cars dropped on it without a single dent. And considering the previous owner raised two kids and always had large dogs, for the condition it's in, I am still impressed. It's not great, but certainly not as bad as I would've thought given the conditions. Maybe it is white oak (slightly higher Janka rating than red oak)!
Looking up how to test to figure out which is which, it looks like the two main ways is if I have some sodium nitrate around (which I don't), or a white oak test kit (can get one on Amazon for $30). But, are there any other tricks of the trade to tell that might be easier? I can easily roll out the fridge and test on the unfinished area to find out.
This is the unstained red oak in my last house, with a satin (not matte but not glossy) finish. I think there is a difference between this and the more yellow toned white oak.
Looking at the face is usually the 50/50 guess- depending on the "cut" can make a huge difference in the appearance.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
