Staining fir floors
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008We are refinishing our fir floors. We have used a dark stain called jacobean. The color looks great. Now we have put a satin polyurethane on, and it has appeared to make the tone more of a red color.
We are refinishing our fir floors. We have used a dark stain called jacobean. The color looks great. Now we have put a satin polyurethane on, and it has appeared to make the tone more of a red color.
I am purchasing a home and don’t know which is the best, most durable wood to choose. I worry about wear and tear over the years. What is the best way to maintain wood floors before you have to change it, or not? I don’t love too much grain in the floor, that is why I prefer maple; but is Black Cherry, Maple or Walnut better? If I have to choose oak due to cost, should 3/4″ size or more be better? What about staining the oak? I was told that staining is not good. I thought that all wood had to be stained to achieve all the various colors that are available. What then is “natural hardwood” without staining, but in a darker color?
My hardwood floor is constantly having to endure things being dropped on it, creating dents. Is there some sort of finish that better protects floors from damage?
I am installing a new kitchen. I would like to use hardwood floors throughout the great room which includes the kitchen. I also live on the water with a lot of windows and skylights. What kind of wood do you recommend, keeping in mind the fade factor? I am looking at a Brazilian Teak or Brazilian Oak at the moment. Any thoughts?
I’d like to put in White Oak throughout 3 bedrooms, a dining room, a hall and foyer. What would that cost, in Toronto? I want HARD wood that’s dog friendly. If something cheaper is actually better, that would be nice.
I just bought unfinished Brazilian Walnut, 5″ wide. How much color variation should it have? Should there be greens and yellows and red, along with the browns? Is it customary to stain it darker if there are too many color variations?
What is the difference between folk grade and provincial grade?
I want to put down hardwood floors in the living room and dining room, but we have a 100 lb. Golden Retriever. What type of wood flooring would be our best bet against scratches on the floor? He gets excited and prances around about 5 min. when someone comes over…
I have bought a home with hardwoods in 90% of the home. I need to add hardwood flooring that matches as closely as possible in one room. However, I’m not sure if it’s red or white oak. With the stained floor, it’s hard for me to judge which wood is currently installed. Any suggestions?
I was considering putting wood flooring in my home, my question is: What type of wood flooring is best for dogs to walk on and not damage? I have a Bulldog to two German Shepards who all seem to nail-walk on the tile floors.
About 3 months ago I had a #2 common red oak floor sanded, stained with natural (same color that was originally used) and refinished with 3 coats of Swedish finish. Now there are many uneven dark (nearly black) lines that are unattractive. It may be my imagination but it appears to be getting more dark streaks every day. Was something improperly done with the staining or refinishing of the floor?
I am trying to decide on what type of hardwood to purchase. In a previous home I installed dark cherry-stained oak. I have a dog and of course the scratches were very visible and after only a few months looked terrible. I also found it very hard to keep clean.
What is the characteristic difference in red oak and white oak 3/4 tongue and groove hardwood flooring?
We are remodelling our kitchen and considering putting a Beech floor down. Is this a good wood for wear and tear? We have two grandchildren and they tend to play in the kitchen. Will the beech show all the dents and scratches easily? What would be the best wood to use? The flooring person said that beech is just as hard as red oak- Is this true?
We’re currently building a house and am having 3” wide maple hardwood put in. Our concern is we have a large German Shepard and Jack Russel. We’d like to plan ahead and try to avoid the fate of some other folks asking questions. What is the best coating we should put on our hardwood prior to moving in to protect from the unsightly doggie scratches?
I’m considering putting 5″ maple engineered floors on the 2nd story of my house (plywood subfloor).But I’m worried that when the power goes out for a week of two after a hurricane the humidity in the house will cause the floors to be ruined. If so, will they come back to normal? Also, is engineered flooring much better resistant to buckling etc.? Is there a particular species of engineered wood better then another?
A few weeks after being installed, entire floor is cupping. These are Pre-finished, 3/4 inch thick, solid oak strip floors. What’s best way to resolve the problem? Can they be sanded down smooth and re-stained & re-finished? What is a normal price point for this sort of job? Also, flooring was purchased at ********, which sells discount flooring materials (which I found out later are often “seconds” or slightly damaged). I’ve seen other installations where the same flooring has been used & they exhibited similar problems with different degrees of cupping. Sometimes just a small patch was cupped & others when larger or separate areas cupped. I’m assuming the flooring to be the same because of the large number of visible “flaws” in the wood such as knots and dark streaks. (Although the flaws are what I found most beautiful about the floors!) Could it be that the wood was still too green when they were pre-finished but the problems not occur until after installation due to trapped moisture? Would the manufacturer be responsible for this? Any info would be greatly appreciated!
We are installing utility grade oak hardwood flooring. We like the look of the large knot holes and other flaws in the wood. My questions is how to fill these holes before finishing? We are planning on finishing with a water based polyurethane (no Stain). I was wondering if there is a clear epoxy that I could use to fill the holes which could then be sanded with the rest of the floor before finishing. A builder told me to take the sawdust from sanding and use the polyurethane to form a paste to fill the holes prior to finishing. What would work the best?
We recently had a red oak floor installed. In one area of the floor it appears the installer may have hit the edge of the hardwood a bit hard with the manual nailer. Where the tongue and groove pieces meet, there is some damage. Could this have been done by the installer ‘butting’ the wood floor together too hard, or just inconsistent wood?