And, width would have nothing to do with this. Once you choose, you cant easily undo your decision years later. Parquet is very dated. If the wood is the same height, you may be able to do a flush saddle. The dining room floor, like yours, was laid in the wrong direction. Then refinish all the areas that are affected. My best suggestion to match is to get unfinished pecan and then sand and refinish it to match the color. Its very common to have a different flooring and color on lower levels. Wood has been in kitchens for eons if you have a flood no matter floor you have there will be need for replacement. We have a house in NJ from 1895 and our contractor was just told that we have spruce floors downstairs. Hi. We will need to put hardwood floors in the kitchen and family room and to avoid replacing the existing hardwood what would you suggest to have a more uniform flooring throughout? The good news overall is that wood is pretty neutral and people mix woods all the time and it looks good/fine, but if you can go darker with the wood, it will generally look better. But, most houses here have solid hardwood which is good news both for longevity, flexibility in color and match-ability.. Im of course assuming the room will be heated thoughout the year. They say it looks like youre trying to match and you might as well go with a wider width. Tips on Connecting an Existing Hardwood Floor With a New Hardwood Floor, How to Repair a Wood Floor That Has Been Oversanded, How to Bleach Dark Spots From Wood Floors, Minwax: Tips and Pitfalls of Stain Matching, Hometime-Additions: Golden Rules of Remodeling, The best air purifying plants for your home, How to Change an Existing Wooden Floor Color, How to Have a Wood Floor Refinished Without Chemicals, How to Match Wood Finishes to a Wood Floor. Hi! Chances are that would make them the same direction as the other room. Also for whatever reason the original oak floors in my house are thin enough and have been refinished enough that they could not be refinished. We plan to put in 2 1/4 wood floors in kitchen one day to match the rest of the house(red oak). Usually you would have the bullnose be the same color as the oak in the hallway and that is probably your best bet, and then maybe you could refinish the steps to match. Its extremely expensive and it would probably be less expensive to rip up your existing parquet and replace with regular solid hardwood. This is such an important visual point because they are next to each other right in the middle of the house I am not sure what to do Than you for any advice! Thank you so much for sharing this useful tips. The kitchen and 3 season room floors are the same level. Gaynell Oh good. Restain the entire wooden floor. previous owners did this in our upstairs bathroom. felt pads, doggie socks, Ebook What to look for when buying a home with hardwood. Color matching new wood flooring to old wood flooring is difficult. New hardwood floors and Old hardwood floors will soak in stain colors differently. Try water popping only the new floor and sample stain colors over new/old section. The solution Water Pop NEW Wood Flooring & Do Not Water Pop OLD Wood Flooring.. First, recognized that unfinished will probably look better and certainly match what you have; prefinished wont match and you have microbevel edges, so it will be shaped differently. Please note that this article may contain affiliate links. Do you have select grade or No 1 or No 2. and, of course herringbone is more expensive. I recently added new red oak hardwood after ripping up the tile entryway and kitchen to my existing hardwood floor. Thanks! We are knocking down walls in 1960 colonial to open up dining room and hallway into kitchen. I am thinking about adding wood to foyer (to replace tile and minimize flooring types). Have beautiful light oak floors in all bedrooms just had same oak put in hallway to match. Perfect match!, Image: Left sample (water popped old floor only). I think you are much better off doing solid hardwood in the kitchen and entryway. I found a matching color but porcelain tiles are 6X24. There are also other cuts of wood such as rifted and quarter-sawn. Hi, thanks for this article. bumping this up the queue for some flooring expert advise. The fir was stained natural and had many faded/darker spots from furniture and rugs when we moved in, and its tone was an unattractive yellow/orange so we refinished it and stained it special walnut last month. Check with your contractor on how the room will be heated. This is a job where an experienced pro will make a difference in the final look. It will look different because its a different cut. For many, this is not an issue as many may want to change the color and/or it may be time to refinish the existing area due to normal wear and tear. He has been published in "Woman's Day," "New Home Journal" and on many do-it-yourself websites. Yes, to avoid what just_jls showed, you want them to "weave" the new boards into the old ones -- that is, replacing to an irregular degree on either side. You can see in these photos the issue we were facing. If you notice, you can clearly tell the difference between the new and old hardwood flooring. Nobody wants to see where replaced boards are throughout their home. Color after color and we couldnt get any to blend the two floors together. Even the dark stain colors you could tell the difference between the two floors. As you can see in the photos: The secret, water popping. Will a wider, more stylish plank still work? I would be more inclined to pick out the kitchen floor first and then test stains on the maple next to it to see what you like. I would do parquet but an updated look. Water popping is when you wet down your wood floors. That's ridiculous! Obviously, it costs more to weave in wood. Any suggestions? Please note that because hardwood darkens over time, it may not be an exact match, but it will be pretty close. The trend has been to add hardwood to most areas of the home, and we are often getting calls where customers would like to add wood to places where its missing such as the kitchen, entryway, family room or 2nd floorit all varies based on how your home was constructed. Its the color consistency that is most important. They are in good shape, but we are unsure of the wood type ( the wood has several striations/species with some light and dark tones). Another option is to have some kind of border and or transition of wood, maybe a frame around the entire new area. Dale Yalanovsky has been writing professionally since 1978. I would avoid herringbone as it tends to look busy, and you especially dont want that in a kitchen, where you have so many other things going on (cabinets, counter top, backsplash) and way too many joints between the pieces. Or, this could be because the color may be different (and/or it may be slightly different than the existing and changing direction fools the eye). At NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, I will earn a small commission, if you purchase them. Thanks so much! I would just do harder species and wider planks. Alternatively, you can consider adding a flush saddle (or a full saddle) to separate the new and old areas. I want to replace the carpet on the bottom level, 3 flights of stairs, and master bedroom suite. Im hoping to have them all stained a medium walnut stain (after sanding the existing floor). There is more labor involved (and you must have someone experienced in this area) and you need more wood to do the job. Sorry about delayed responseI get a lot of comments and somehow this one got buried. This site is owned by The Flooring Girl LLC, a subsidiary of Dynamo Marketers. Would it look strange for my stair treads to match the upstairs red oak but have a different look downstairs? Now we want to replace the slate kitchen floor, with wood but it has a large opening/transition to the existing floor, so getting it to look good together/next to each other is critical. We are completely gutting the sunroom so we can choose any flooring. However, occasionally, homeowners make a strategic choice to alter the direction of the wood. And, you would ideally want to the height to match up with the wood in the other areas. The old wood was much darker from all the years of wear and tear, so when we applied the stain you could see a significant difference between the two woods. Kevin You will have difficulty matching this unless you have the exact same item. I am trying an old 21/4 red oak floor in my foyer with new red oak in an open floor plan consisting of DR and LR. Looks fine. (quartersawn will not give you the look). I recommend them as they are good products. Im so glad to hear that. We are purchasing a house that already has existing hardwood floors in the living room, dining room, and foyer area. This will more commonly occur with more modern types of flooring. Or, tile can work too, but its cold and hard on your feet. We just got our first and second floor done in Bona antique brown with a satin finish. We are going to have it sanded and dyed or stained. I am also thinking of installing tile on the bottom level since the base floor is cement. I dont know what to do to update the look but embrace the red oak. Its important to look at height, type, species, grade, width, color and direction of wood. Would it be odd to have different size planks where the floor transitions from dining room (old wood) to kitchen (proposed new floors) and foyer (old wood) to kitchen? What could have happened? I agree with feeny, why waste such a desirable element as existing hardwood floors. Most homes in Westchester County have hardwood floors, at least in some areas of the house. Use a roller and roll on the stain, as if it were paint. Its also very possible that the old wood was white and the new is red oak. The closest wood flooring to pecan appears to be hickory. I think it helps to make a different as you can and if you do it, going 4 is a good way to do it. You can learn more about the most common flooring species here. Multiple coatings can be added to darken the stain to the precise color that you are looking for. Also, it doesnt hold up well in entryways due to all the gaps in the wood. You can learn more about hardwood flooring grades in this article. We currently have 3/8 red oak in the living room and dining room. Thats too much and wasting wood and its life expectancy. Often you can go lighter or darker, pending your preference. For others, it creates a domino effect and makes the project scope to large. But, porcelain could work as its frost resistant. Christine Its completely up to you and how you intend to you the room. Sorry as I know this wasnt the answer you were looking for. Our clients refer us to their friends and family because of how well we communicate throughout the entirety of your refinishing, installation, or repair project; because we go above and beyond in trying to make things as convenient as possible for you while we're in your home or business; and, because of the top-notch quality of our work and attention to detail. But, remember, this is a permanent change. You can learn more about red and white oak flooring here. I have a split level house with red oak on the main floor and carpet in the lower floor (which is 4 below grade). The take out pieces near the area to be patched and put in new wood. Vilko This really depends on the stain of your floors. However, I cannot I cannot find the same color and my existing wood floors have yellowed. There really isnt an updated parquet. (This assumes you hire a professional hardwood sanding company). I am concerned about putting more fir in due to the softness (Already couch indentations in family room) and this room will be more frequently used with chairs and stools moving. And, a 4th reason for changing direction may be to avoid weaving in the hardwood. Youll need to call in a local professional for that. The first question is whether you have red oak or white oak flooring. Downstairs I have tile that I want to replace. Your email address will not be published. And, if so, they should have added a conditioner to close the pores. Pending on above decisions and areas to be done, you may need some transition strips. And Houzz did a poll on the same question and a huge majority said to use the wood throughout. If you do a darker stain, it will camouflage the difference more, as will oil based poly. They just want you to buy all new floor. Have you ever seen that work even though theres large entryways were this will butt up? Alternatively, you can also hire a professional contractor to do the job. So, most likely the newer wood would be a bit lighter than the existing wood. Generally, if you have oak hardwood flooring, provided that you match the existing species and grade, you can generally refinish the wood to match the stain on the existing portion. Theres much more to it so peep this! We want to put hardwood in the entryway and kitchen, but can we chose a completely different wood type and darker stain? San Jose Hardwood Floors Carpet & Vinyl Inc. DOWNLOAD YOUR FLOOR TIMELINE HERE! Its a house on the water in NJ. I would like to find a darker wood that matches one of the recurring patterns in my existing Pecan floors. Enjoy especially, the unified flooring, the larger feel within your home provided by a surface that is warm, comfortable and low maintenance: ), Should I cover scarred 100 year old wood floors with carpet or have new hard wood installed? Also, when you mix stains, especially with gray, it doesnt usually come out the same. Want to see the floor cleaning products I recommend? This will enable you to match large areas of old flooring with new oak flooring. (Note: Its very challenging to weave in new wood if you have pine floors since the woods are milled at different widths vs 100+ years ago so the pieces will not line up). Once the stain dries, apply a finish coat of sealer to replicate the original flooring. Most houses in Westchester have solid hardwood flooring which is 3/4 thick. felt pads, vent covers, Hardwood supplies e.g. This is the best advice Ive received since I started considering this effort two years ago. tile, different color hardwood, Coretec Plus. So, I would probably get oak and stain to match. From a design side I would either make sure the floors match well or intentionally make some contrast between the rooms using color or texture (aka pattern/size of wood). We have 10 year old walnut engineered wood floors in the kitchen/family room. Mix and match the old with the new. Several houses in my neighborhood have these thinner style Oak floors. Often I find that solid hardwood is either similarly priced or less expensive than engineered woodunless you are doing super cheap engineered wood. But be sure to get same species so that later, you can refinish the other area(s) to match. The standard size today (and for the last 80+ years) is 2 1/4, so thats not a problem. The older woods have a shine to them at certain angles. Hardwood flooring is by far the preferred choice of flooring especially in mid to higher end homes. We refinished our dining room floor and stained to match the new floor we had laid throughout the rest of the first floor. Then it all is sanded, stained, and finished. Make sure they use a conditioner. I have red oak floors in my great room upstairs that currently are the old orange red color that red oak often is. So, you trying to stain your red oak floors white? So my question what might look best wider planks, maybe herringbone in a different species stained on sight to match? I am thinking of a sandy whitish wood look tile called Sahara Sand or something like it. Gaynell Yes, unfortunately pecan flooring is very challenging to match. No, I dont. Importantly, if you are adding the same species of wood to your floors, you have the option of refinishing all the floors and changing all of the colors so they are uniform. Copyright 2011-2022 | All Rights Reserved. Wipe up your spills, wipe your feet, sweep regularly and enjoy!!! Amy Oh yes, I think that can work very well and will look better than the 2 1/4 as long as you do same species/same color. Sand and stain? Always keep the grain of the new piece running the same as the old flooring. But, the color will probably not match 100% because newer wood hasnt aged the same amount as older wood. Any cities outside of our service area may incur a $50 bid charge. Most homes in Westchester and the East Coast have oak flooring. .. wasn't expensive but they were small and we took the material from the kitchen. Tim Oh gosh, Im so sorry. We are replacing the living and dining rooms with wood. Seal the floor with a polyurethane finish. Get samples put down to make sure the color is right if you do try to match. I am wondering if yo could help me with our situation. The fir grain looks a lot like hard/heart pine but that is very expensive. Good luck! In my opinion "almost" matching can lead to something looking like a mistake while a different color or design looks like an intentional choice. If youd like to know the most popular stain colors for hardwood floors, read this article. Should the boards run in the same direction to the existing foyer and kitchen or can they be crossways? If there are several boards of old flooring that need to be replaced but they all are not in the same area, you can mix in newer boards with the old ones. If the transition area is a doorway, this looks normal (and may save you money later if you need to refinish one of the areas rather than the whole area). The next step is to identify the grade of wood. This technique works well if only a few boards of the old flooring need to be replaced. All rights reserved. They look COMPLETELY different. And, if you are doing the latter, it wont last, especially in the kitchen. They will probably never match exactly no matter what you do, but they will come pretty close. Matches perfect. Newer wood is lighter than older wood. We want to get rid of the carpet in the living room and would like to match with the adjacent family room wood. (Note: if you have a concrete sub-floor this will make it much more difficult (and likely more expensive) to install solid hardwood. My sister removed a tile area in her kitchen, and filled it in and matched it to the rest of the hardwood flooring. That is one of the problems with the woods that are photosensitive. In a new "cost a fortune build"the hardwood runs virtually everywhere and directly through kitchen, mud area, powder room etc. I dont think Ive ever seen Spruce floors here in NY. So plan for the long term. Vicki -Im not sure what to advise you. There is a guy here in Tulsa that does this with turn of the century homes all the time, like where a grate has been removed, or damage has occurred. Engineered hardwood wont last very long in either. I feel like the right thing to do is go with something completely different so it doesnt look like a bad match. I want to put wood-look porcelain tiles in the kitchen/sunroom. Normally all the stair treads would be the same as the floor color. I would probably either buy a new wood, or I would use it as the border for the room and then do the center a completely different color (or vice versa). Do you have hardwood floors that are over 100 years old? It can be tricky working with 100 year old hardwoods. It's tricky trying to color match the newly repaired/replacement boards. Want to lace new hardwoods into 100 year old hardwood? You'll want to read this before making that decision. I have 2 1/4 red oak select grade floor in living room. Thank you so much for responding to my question. Let us know what you think of this article in the comments and if you think your friends will find this helpful, please socially share. I had some wood patching done in several areas. Each coat of polyurethane will make the floor tougher and more durable. He specializes in do-it-yourself projects, household and auto maintenance and property management. The standard sizes for solid oak flooring is 2 1/4, 3 1/4, 4 and 5. just be sure that they blend the floor not just fill the gap. The entry way has a transition point into living room. I would see if there is a way to do your house in 2 stages so that it could be done the right way. Both would look good in your home especially if it is Victorian (hoping it is). Maybe try heartwood pine which is harder and has similar knots. C-15 state contractors license number 755672 | Designed by P100. I have Pecan Wood flooring on my main floor (covering foyer, living, dining/kitchen/sunroom). .."new" wood won't patch in and blend very well with old wood unless you're sure you can get an exact match. I want to use interlocking vinyl planks but I cant find anything that matches the existing floor very well. Note: there are some homes that have engineered hardwood, and this may be very difficult, if not impossible to match unless you know the manufacturer/item (and it is still made). Avoid these common pitfalls that can impact your floors durability! Are you about to sand your floors? The graining will be different and the color will be slightly different. We have a solution for those pet stains in hardwood floors. Yes, that's correct! Now, we can provide a cheaper solution for our clients. Replacing those damaged boards has been the only solution for over 100 years. I have carpet on the lower ground floor level (family room) and top level (bedrooms. Spruce is very soft, so it wouldnt be my first choice, and Im guessing its very expensive as you might need to get reclaimed wood. My hardwood planks are 3X18 1/4. From a previous project, I have about 100 sq feet of 3/4 x 5 hand-scraped Hickory. Bullnose is oak at top of stairs. You need to have the ability to refinish them; otherwise, you will have to completely replace them when they get worn down. That way it blended. Sand off the finish, then stain the entire floor the color of your choice. Houzz Pro: One simple solution for contractors and design pros. Its find to switch widths/sizes. Assuming you have solid hardwood, sanding and staining may solve, but she may also need to do a transition piece (same wood) so that its safer. If you want to do oak, white oak is a better option then red both for closer/more cohesive look, and easier to stain in different colors and white oak is a tad harder than red oak, and its more resilient to water due to pore/grain structure. I guess I would replace it with regular solid hardwood and refinish the whole area (including the parquet) in a dark color with a plan to replace the rest when you have more money in the budget. Please also note that if you have a custom blend of stains on your floor, it may be more challenging to match, as well as if you have used wax on the floors (note: some cleaning products have wax in them). With the stain it may not be that different. They look great but have lightened and become more golden. Need advise about the esthetics of installing a new hardwood floor near an old hardwood floor . Any other species wont match the graining and doubtful it will match the color. 2022 RippnFinish LLC. Here are some times where it can make visual sense to go wider: WAIT! Can I go with 4in rift n quartered red oak? It may take a few years for it to catch up, but most likely after 6 to 12 months, it would be closer in color. Most people prefer wider planks as it is more stylish and makes the room look larger. The main floor is red oak with a darkish red stain. You can learn more about this here: Solid vs engineered hardwood. To get the pinkish tint out of red oak, use double staining techniques and special sealers and finishes. My contractor is refusing to negonize the difference and blind to issues. I suppose if you wanted to spend a LOT of money, you could do fancy parquet (i.e. Its also smart to check if your sub-floor is consistent in height to the existing sub-floor for the other wood. I have hardwood floors throughout my house except the kitchen and connected sunroom. I now want to do living, dining, and hallway (all on the same level) the bedrooms used unfinished and I am considered pre-finished for white oak for the new areas because leaving my house is not an option. Shannon Oh yes, this and you will NEVER get it to match, even if you used douglas fir. We are remodeling a house with 117 yr old maple flooring in the living room. Just take a tape measure and measure the current width of your wood. As you noted, its a very soft wood and it would not be my first choice for kitchens as it will not hold up well. I have 2 1/4 inch white oak in three bedrooms which all open to the hallway. Alternatively, if you are not crazy about the color you have, then do a large color contrast. Nothing seems to match the golden shade. Once we water popped the new wood only and applied stain, viola! On the lower level, you get moisture, so I would avoid hardwood and instead look at a product like Coretec Plus (which is waterproof) and perhaps go with a completely different color so it doesnt look like its trying to match. (And, by the way, you will never find tile planks that match the size of the wood, especially since most wood varies in length and tile just cant be that long to be practical. So, you may want to consider contrasting the two. Suggestion as to what to do with top step so it transitions better. Plus, you need to refinish a larger area. How to transition hardwood foyer to new hardwood in adjacent rooms. Sometimes, theres a way to do it where you dont need to leave (if you can put up with the smell), but its hard for me to say since I cant see the layout of your home. Please note that there are other common species of wood such as maple, douglas fir and yellow pine. Will it work?