Photos of what you WANT upstairs and photos of your current hardwoods now.

I picked up some sample boards today of the engineered floor I am currently liking, Opus Premium European Oak Naples. Here it is pictured vs. my current hardwood below.

Opus Naples below

current mixed width 4-5-6-7 character grade oak below

Seeing the comparison in my house leads me to a couple of thoughts. First, I want to make sure this wide-plank look will stand the test of time. If I commit to it, my best bet may be to replace all of the hardwood I currently have with the engineered, which seems to defeat the purpose of getting solid hardwood in the first place. I currently have about 1500 square feet of hardwood that will be refinished and another 1500 square feet of new to be added. If I calculated correctly, it may be less expensive to replace all with the engineered, if we do our own demo. My concern here is if the wide plank is right for my house in the Midwest and if this particular flooring brand is the best way to achieve it and if I will be happy with this decision five years from now! Secondly, if we keep our current floor, I am thinking that the grain and knots of the character grade will jump out even more with a light finish that may not give me the lighter, raw-looking clean finish that I like.....raw, but busy. Lastly, I feel like my best bet may be to keep what I have, install the same throughout the first floor and then, maybe pick a size like 5" and install a uniform plank upstairs in solid and then, figure out the stain once the floors are installed. At least that way, if my contractor and I cannot figure out the perfect formulation to achieve the look I love, I can resort to something darker that I would be happy with as well. Any insight appreciated!

You are looking to do this? You will nee to find someone with finishing skills. But it is doable at the right cost. Find a NWFA certified craftsman in your area.

Thank you! Yes, I did look for a NWFA certified sander and refinisher in my area and the closest one was 90 minutes away. I do have a reputable craftsman coming tomorrow for a consultation, but I am not sure he has been trained using the products necessary to achieve this look. I've read on this site that it is very specific and not for the untrained to tackle.

The easiest way is to use a hard wax oil system. Which may not fit your lifestyle. a Polyurethane system will be more ideal. It takes a little more work to do.

Does Bona certified mean anything?

Bona Certified means the person (or someone at the SHOP if this is a company with more than one refinisher) has attended Bona Training and had strong enough understanding of the Bona methods to be called 'certified'.

Hopefully this is a single person. I've seen some shops use the 'Certified' designation when in truth only one person had the training (and was no longer employed with said company). Sad. But true.

Did you go with the Opus Naples ? I am looking at it now. No one has heard of Opus !

We did not. We ended up installing character grade white oak to match our existing hardwood. We will sand and refinish old and new sometime in 2021, hoping to achieve a light finish that we love. I wish I could remember the name of the company in California who distributes Opus. I called them to inquire and was told that Opus is manufactured in China and they simply distribute here in the US. I was unable to find any other information or reviews and it made me a little nervous to commit. I will probably regret that decision when I have to move all of my furniture and live through the sand and stain process! I wish I had more information for you...I know how frustrating the search can be!

I just saw your post today. We are in the process of doing the same thing, but with different wood. We currently have solid red oak, smooth, narrow plank downstairs. We plan to refinish it and install solid hardwood upstairs. I'm looking at a prefinished hickory wood, with mixed widths of 3 1/4" - 5 1/4" but curious how your project came out and if it met your expectations.