So the EASIEST WAY you can match a species = take a small cut from the existing floor and send it to a lab ($100) for them to make a species determination. That's where you START.

If that step was missed, you can look at the wood purchase order. It should have a species name, cut, width and grade. The CUT and the GRADE are HUGE! A LOW GRADE white oak can have similar features of a high-grade Red Oak. And vice verse.

Traditionally a FLOORING PRO (not a contractor) will offer 3-5 colour samples (or as many as the homeowner can successfully negotiate). It is preferred to have the ENTIRE floor sanded (the stuff in the kitchen will have to be sanded down to get a feel for whether or not the species are the same.

Remember: Designers are not always 'up' on wood flooring, nor on the methodology of wood staining. I know. upsetting but it isn't everyone's wheel house.

Who ORDERED the wood? The Designer? Or the Contractor? You have purchased the wood. You have the right to know which SPECIES and which CUT and which GRADE you paid for. The contractor has the right to redact his/her costs...but you OWN the wood. You paid for it. You are ALLOWED to have it.

I would ask them to provide PROOF you have White Oak that MATCHES your current wood. To do that they have to PROVE the species you have, the cut and the grade. Then they have to prove the new wood is a match.

I would make mention that you will not move forward with the staining/refinishing until you are sure of the wood delivered is what you specified for the contract.

Any issue with a delay will MOST LIKELY cause the Contractor to engage with you. IF you feel a delay is worth it, then delay. It is easier to remove/replace a floor that is WITHOUT finish than it is afterwards.

Remember: Haste Makes Waste; Marry in haste, repent at leisure. Etc. If you are uncomfortable with what you are seeing then double check. It's your right. You pay the bills. You have every right to make sure the product you received is the product you ordered/expected.

We just finished having floors done and I understand your anxiety over getting them right. I do not know if your floors are red or white oak, but I do know that you should be able to view samples done on your actual floor. Once our floors were sanded, the floor guys put down 5 stains for us to choose from, and when we narrowed it down to two, they put those two side by side in a couple of locations.

Seeing samples on other oak strips is helpful, but you should see the stain on your floor before you make a decision. We had the samples dry overnight so we were able to see them at night and the next morning. Once we made our decision the stain samples were sanded off, and the new stain applied after a final sanding.

The floors you have look beautiful! FWIW, our floors were red oak installed in the 80s. We chose duraseal weathered oak and couldn't be happier with how they look. The weathered oak has a grayish tint to it but the floors do not look grey at all. I think the stain neutralizes the red in the red oak because they look more like white oak floors now and still very light. Good Luck!

Im no expert, but they look like my red oak when they were unfinished.

To SJ’s point, do you have documentation as to what it’s supposed to be?

The contractors response can be interpreted that he’s trying to rush you to finish the floors to get to the point where it’s too late to replace them.

red oak can be less expensive than white oak

@SashaDog @SJ McCarthy there was never a commitment to use white oak, the commitment was to match the wood floor that was already installed. I don’t mind if it is red oak, so long as I can stain it in a color that doesn’t show the reddish undertone. I would hope that they matched the floors before they began.

I think I’m more annoyed at the fact that they seemed unwilling to discuss options in case the samples make the floor look reddish and that they haven’t confirmed that they installed red oak, they should be able to do that easily.

SJ is the pro on the wood finishes, so take her advice.

have you seen this discussion?

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4766317/bona-nordicseal-on-red-oak

.

white Oak w/the Bona Natural

white oak

Staining red oak w/the bona to get it to look like white oak. you could try this

https://aloprofile.com/how-to-stain-red-oak-to-look-like-white-oak/

Beth H thank you for the link I have not read that thread but I will do so today. I came across a bunch of post regarding pinkish floors and that is why I got worried. I’m ok with the wood being red oak, is that is what I have in my existing floors. However, I don’t want a pink hue. I prefer to go a darker color and prevent that. I was surprised by the contractors answer, as I did not believe that testing some medium tone colors was a big ask.

SJ McCarthy: thank you for all the suggestions, I wish I had known to be even more specific in the contract. I will hold off staining until I make sure we are all on the same page.

Sigh....I'm so sorry this has happened. I really am. As a point of interest, General Contractors do not 'normally' test things. In fact many of them don't even know this exists. A WELL established wood flooring pro will know this....and MAYBE send a sample away...if it was discussed.

Because you did not put in 'red' v 'white' oak in the contract (but used the words 'match the existing') you can send away the samples yourself. If the GC refuses to give you the answer to which wood was used, you can take samples from both the existing floor and the new floor and ask that they be tested ($100 each....takes about 2-4 days to get results).

Once you have PROOF IN HAND that the wood is NOT a match, you can then discuss the options the GC is going to offer you. If they are a match, then you continue on with your decisions...I still do NOT like the idea of a GC (not a wood flooring pro) offer only 2 samples. That's just weird....and not appropriate for a high-end finish like Bona.

Personally I like red oak in a clear coat...without any coloured sealant and a water based poly like Bona Traffic HD. And to be clear, Bona Traffic HD over RED OAK does NOT need a sealant...just sayin'.

Do you have any other concerns with the work this GC is doing?

@SJ McCarthy thank you so much for the information. I am ready to go back tomorrow and figure out the floor situation, I’m hoping is all just a misunderstanding of sorts.
To answer your question: other than lack of communication and inflexibility, such as the wood samples, I don’t have any other concerns so far. The contractor is highly rated and I spoke with several of their former clients prior to signing the contract. I know at the end it will turn out beautiful, I just wish they were better at responding to questions and getting back to us and considering our wishes. Even if they were to charge me to put down I few more samples, I would be ok with that, what I’m not ok with is them tell me that I have to choose from the two samples and that is that. The contractor has a flooring sub doing the work, he is not doing it himself.

I am open to changing the stain to a better one for red oak, I only went with the light options color because I wanted something lighter than what we had at our former home as it showed a lot of dirt.

I understand designers may not know about red oak looking pink after using a light stain on it, but this is a design and built company. They must have dealt with this issue before, I’m surprised they did not suggest a better stain to fit my floor and I’m angry at myself for not doing more research on stains before.

Do you have any suggestions for medium colors that I could sample? I don’t think I want to take the risk of the floor having a pink tone, even if minimal.

Thank you so much for your time, truly.

It’s very hard to judge colors accurately with photos but here are some pics of our floor. They are red oak with duraseal weathered oak and two coats of bona traffic water based sealer.

The kitchen photo shows an area that needed repair after finishing (on the left) that is new unstained wood.

They can look different based on the time of day, lighting, and what other shades the furnishings have. But overall the look is light, and not yellow. Can’t say there is no red at all since they are red oak but it’s very neutralized by the grey in the stain.

Good luck!

To rid yourself of pink, a stain with a green undertone is what you want to look at. Jacobean is the most well know of the 'colours' to reduce pink. Jacobean LOOKS like a very dark stain...but it is not going to go down nearly as strong as you anticipate.

If you look on the DuraSeal (or Minwax) colour chart, you will find a list of colours. Anything that looks like it is slightly green (sigh...darn monitors!) is going to be on your radar. Things like Antique Brown or Spice Brown will be an option. Even if you have to use 75% Antique + 25% Jacobean, for example, you can achieve a lovely soft brown without the red pulling through.

There are also 'pink blockers' on the market. Ciranova Pink Blocker is one such product.

ciranova® - Debal Coatings - Pink Blocker 2C

Go ahead and follow the link and see if it interests you.

Looks like White Oak to me.

Look at the lines "rays," are they short/red or long/white? (Your photos are not close or sharp enough.)

Photo # 6 above.

You can send a sample to ITEL laboratories and they will analyze and tell you; cost is $59.

(Used them for flooring & siding when dealing with insurance company. Was very impressed, ITEL was great.)

https://www.itelinc.com/homeowner.html

We are looking at the exact same stains for our flooring. When the guy came out to give an estimate, he scraped the flooring in a few rooms to see if it was red or white oak. It was a 10 minute chemical test. We didn't pay anything for it. I was/am still planning on the Bona Birch on the red oak. He said it also depending on the sealer you use. He advised us to use the commercial water based sealer.

Yes, can do sodium nitrite test.

ITEL gives you more information about the wood than just red or white.

Your existing is white oak. They matched it with white oak. You're good to go light or dark.

Yay! White Oak is the best! Lucky you!! Your floors are going to be stunning.

Way to stick it out Mari! I know there are more important things in life (is this a 'First World Problem or what?! ;-p ) but the thing you learned was HOW to go about talking with your builder. I would say that 'growth' occurred here and that life sends us little 'tests' to see if we can learn/grow as a person.

Just because it's a "1st World Problem" doesn't mean you can't learn Real World lessons! Good for you for sticking it out and seeing it through!

Stephanie

@Mari Rojas Thanks for providing the pictures. I am in the same boat now. So did you guys use stain or just a finish sealer at the end?

Can you please let me know which stain (name ad brand) and which finish for both side-by-side sample photos?

Thanks in advance for your help.

@Nafiseh Masoumi

Hi,

Left

Bona dryfast Birch

Bona HD

Right

Duraseal countrywhite

Bona HD

The country white looks more like the natural wood. Our project is ongoing, if you have time, I can post pictures once we remove the protection/cover from the floors and add the sealer.

Good luck!

Mari, I’d like to see pictures please.

@Laura Shoulders - Floors are still covered😞. This is the renovation that keeps on going. But below are some pictures of the floor cover pull back in two spots. The white cast in the perimeter is dust.