Quartersawn Oak?

6 years ago

Hello, we are having some floor laced in with our original hardwood floor as part of our renovation. Then they'll sand and stain the whole house to match.

They originally brought over white oak, quartersawn. However after tearing out the "other" in our house and seeing it more they said they weren't sure anymore that's what it was so they went to have it tested.

They found instead it is red oak, quarter sawn so now that is acclimating at our house.

I had someone over this week who was doing something else at the house, and they told me the floor that is acclimating is NOT quarter sawn, so now i'm worried.

I thought I'd turn to Houzz expertise to make sure it is.

I took these photos - can anyone help me rest at ease?! I have no idea what I'm looking at but want to be sure, a. we're not getting one pulled over on us, but also b. it looks great when done!

Thanks:)

Featured Answer

SJ McCarthy

6 years ago

@ Kayla - I think you might be getting 'hung up' on wording. It is common to refer to "rift and quarter sawn" simply as "quarter sawn". Many professionals forget that industry lingo does not translate out to every-day speech.

The rift and quarter sawn products are an upgrade. It is rare to get 100% rift or 100% quarter sawn. One cut creates the other so it is often mixed into one product: thus "rift and quarter sawn".

The $12/sf doesn't bother me. That is industry standard for rift + quarter sawn. At the end of the day, the only issue we want to see 'resolved' is the overall look of your floors. So long as the SPECIES matches and the CUT matches (regardless of the name that cut goes by) and the width of the plank matches we are happy with the final result.

I know this is frustrating but I feel things are moving nicely. If you are SUPER concerned, get the old floor sanded down at the interface and ask for a single coat of finish be applied over both types of boards. A coat of finish will reveal any grain/species issues before the rest of the work continues.

Or you can wait until everything is sanded down and ask the STAIN and FINISH samples are done OVER TOP of the interface area. Any species/cut issues will show up VERY quickly once the stain patches and the single coat of finish are put down. It is a super simple type of test.

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Comments (15)

PRO
Uptown Floors
6 years ago
Need more boards to see. 2nd top picture shows a rift cut which is common in rift and quartered.

"who was doing something else at the house." the plumbers opinion..hehe
PRO
G & S Floor Service
6 years ago
The grade should be stamped in ink on the underside of the floor boards. But the boards shown are rift.
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johnc777
6 years ago
I'm just curious, can one buy just quartersawn oak flooring? It's been years since I bought quartersawn oak for woodworking projects but it was pretty expensive and required a some picking through the pile to find the "good" stuff.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
6 years ago
Full quarter sawn is available. But, still has a good amount of rift in it.
SJ McCarthy
6 years ago
Photos of the floor you have already would help as well. You can always lay down 5-10 loose planks next to your existing floor to see of the 'rays' in the boards are a decent match. As simple as that is, it is highly effective.
Kayla
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks everyone.

Here it is installed. It looks like some is rift and some is quartersawn. Posting a few of what I have of the old floor... it’s so dusty now hard to see.
Kayla
Original Author
6 years ago
Anyways, would still be happy to hear thoughts! I asked the wood floor guy again and all he said is “it is quarter sawn.”
Kayla
Original Author
6 years ago
By the way we paid $12/sq ft just for the wood charge, if that’s any indication... it’s not a lot of area but still.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
6 years ago
Your floors look like white oak. What type of test did they perform to determine that it was red oak?
Kayla
Original Author
6 years ago
SJ McCarthy, this is really helpful advice, thank you!
PRO
Johnson Flooring Co Inc
6 years ago
As G&S stated your existing floors look like White Oak. I'd say it's obvious. If your contractor put in Red Oak, they will not match. I can buy, mark up and sell 3/4" x 2-1/4" x r.l. select grade, rift and quarter sawn White Oak for <$7/square foot, plus shipping.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
6 years ago
You can do a tannin test. There are kits from Woodwise for $30. Or you can use tea, reactive stains or anything that will react to tannins. White oak will be darker compared to red oak.
PRO
Oak & Broad
6 years ago
Kayla , here are two helpful grain diagrams for you.
Educational Plank Flooring Examples · More Info

Educational Plank Flooring Examples · More Info
PRO
retired
6 years ago
From one of the largest quarter-sawn white oak mills in the world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbaXWmEiS98

https://frankmiller.com/lumber/