The grain and the color are different. I would contact the seller.

Direct your inquiry to the vendor. Please hold your compliants until necessary.

Yes that’s very different.

I would not be happy with that difference. The one on the left barely looks like wood, more like a painted floor and much too gray. Gray is going by the wayside in decorating now, so you'd be installing something that would look dated/trendy very quickly. The sample is just on the edge of gray, but still looks like a wood floor

Yeah I specifically didn’t want a gray floor, so it’s hard for me to accept this. I just wanted to make sure I would be justified in bringing this up. My husband thinks there’s no point because nothing will be done about it.

Not at all the same thing. Clearly, that is not the same.

Demand the vendor take it back.

I also have a very unhelpful comment, and I don't mean to be annoying, because I truly hope you are not going to be ripped off by the vendor who sent you a gray floor when you ordered based on a beige floor sample:

Next time you decide on a flooring you are sure you like (from the sample), order a box of it, so you can check out a bigger sample.

I hope you get your money back and they come take it away so you can start over.

I edited my response. It was inappropriate.

I apologize.

Wow I asked for people’s opinions. I have a wonderful marriage. Sounds like you’re the one manufacturing drama.

Thank you Hallett & Co. I appreciate your input! We will be reaching out to the vendor and letting them know about this.

I would reach out the floor installers or vendor. This is not what you ordered. Start with collecting all your paper work: orders invoices details.... Then meet with them in person if you have to and bring evidence. Maybe they can reorder the floors or give you credit to order another floor or give you a significant discount. Or maybe there was indeed a mix up and your floors are in another warehouse.

Don't give up. You can handle this in a calm, assertive way. Your husband probably just wants this project finished so he can enjoy his space. But, your instinct is on target to find out and see if this can be corrected. It can't hurt to ask.

You are truly justified in getting a product that you is closer to what you want. What they delivered certainly looks like a grey floor and doesn't read wood because of the lack of grain. You have no reason to accept this. It isn't a small purchase and will impact the whole look of all the rooms you are placing it in.

Thanks everyone! My husband and I talked it through more and he’s on board with reaching out to them now. He only hesitated because we got a good deal with free shipping (normally $400). He’s a commercial flooring estimator and the floors are from a new vendor he’s working with. So it feels hard to bring it up when they were good to us. But he now agrees it’s worth it!

our neighbors install a lot of engineered hardware and they will say that sometimes the sample fades and/or is really old and the product gets ”updated” but the new sample doesn’t ship - they usually tell their clients to order 1-2 boxes of the flooring first before placing the full order to make sure the sample jibes with the current product - 🤞hopefully your vendor will make it right, that would be frustrating!

Don’t accept that. Doesn’t even look like the same product other than width of boards.

Actually that doesn’t look the same either.

Agree with all the above comments. New flooring is a huge commitment, in terms of both cost and inconvenience. You deserve to get what you love. Please let us know how this is resolved.

Definitely get it taken care of. The wood sure looks like a different kind of wood, and if you measure the width of the planks, you will see they are wider boards than your sample. In short, the floor you wanted is very nice looking, and the one you got, is not all that attractive, and while I like gray floors, that looks greenish to me in your picture. I wouldnt want it on my floor.

To be fair, I know the sample was 6” wide. But we paid a little more for 7.5” wide floors, which they sent. So the size wasn’t the problem.

" Yeah I specifically didn’t want a gray floor, so it’s hard for me to accept this. "

The sample will read gray in many light consitions as well unfortunately. Changeing from the 6" to the 7-1/2" may be the issue. Did they have a sample of the 7.5" floor? It may just be a different product completely.

Well, Of course your husband wants to tread carefully . This is a future client or partner in future projects. I still say going at it with a serene calmness can go a long way to getting what you wish for and creating a perfect future relationship with a vendor. Sometimes these little glitches in projects bring a new perspective. One day the floors will be done and you will look back at the good way this changed.

Just adding another voice to the chorus. I am partial because I love white oak - it's what I have in my own home. Your sample is beautiful. What you received is....not.

If you installed it and showed it as a final product I would have kept my mouth shut - particularly if you said you liked it. However since you seemed unsure I'm wading in to agree with the others.

There is usually some variation between wood samples and what gets delivered, because wood changes color over time. So as I read your original post I was expecting to see a more "raw" looking white oak vs. a more ambered tone. And then I got to the photos....

Yeah. No. That needs to go back.

Thanks for the validation. My husband did reach out and let them know today. I think they’ll respond about it tomorrow. So hopefully it’ll be a positive answer!

Very normal for sample boards not to be a very good match to current dye lots.

The sample boards can be old, faded, abused or a combination of those. Another thing I noticed when shopping for engineered wood floors was that the manufacturers usually used the best, evenly colored and most perfect planks for those sample boards!

Did no one tell you to order 1 or 2 boxes of your final choice before placing your complete order?

The flooring company I used "forces" customers to do just that, because it is so common for the current dye lots not to match the sample boards. The shop definitely doesn't need the extra work of returning and shipping back a couple thousand sq.ft of floors.

I had 2 floors that I liked, so I ordered a box of each and was then able to easily make my final decision. While I made my decision over a couple of days, the flooring company made sure that the distributor placed a hold on enough sq.ft. of that same dye lot to complete my project.

way too different. see what the vendor says. I'd want something different since that's not even in the same color family.

The supplied product is coated with an opaque stain that cloaks the grain structure you see in the sample. It could be a different species of wood.

" that the manufacturers usually used the best, evenly colored and most perfect planks for those sample boards! "

Hardly. If so a recipe for numerous customer complaints.

We’re only renovating our home office, so 160sqft. The supplier ships from Canada and for whatever reason only sends things on a full pallet which costs $400. Naturally we didn’t want to spend $400 to ship one box of flooring and then another $400 for the rest. (And they waived freight for us anyway bc they added ours onto large order through my husband’s work that was being delivered near our house).

The sample board actually has more character than the wood we received, which is odd considering we ordered character grade.

That goes back to wherever it came from. Period. If there is a restock fee? Pay it or negotiate.

I have never, for a client received a pile of anything wood that far from a sample.

This is why, you place NO order for any flooring, until you have sampled on site at least one full box of your selection.

PS? You DO hate it; (so would I) as it looks dated, lacks any warmth and that is before the first board shall be laid.......

Get rid of it. The cost of living with it is worse than the floor.' P.s is it 3/4 or 9/16? and I would not need a 7. 5" wide board. Six inches is plenty, is more stable, whether engineered or sand on site.

That's not the same flooring. Return it and get your money back.

Not acceptable insist a return full refund and if they cannot supply the right one go shopping

Don't use the Canadian source. Use someone who can ship a box and even better will allow you to return that box if you don't like it. That's 99% of everyone else.

@Megan - any updates? Hope they are accommodating you 🤞

It is all about the stain. What info is on the boxes you received compared to the info on the sample?

It’s too late to not use them since we already did. They’re a new vendor for the flooring company my husband works for and he’s building a relationship with them.

I called them today and the rep I spoke with (who sold us the floors) said she agrees that’s a big difference and isn’t right. She needs to speak with someone in her company with more power to do something and will get back to me. So just waiting!

The boxes we received and the color listed on the sample both say the same thing. That was the first thing I checked when they came.

Glad you have someone on the case for you

I agree with all the comments above that the color discrepancy is significant. I hope the brand will eventually provide a satisfactory solution. Engineered white oak's color can be tricky, especially with lighter stains, as the same production process can yield batches that differ quite a bit from the sample boards. Here are two tips I'd like to share:

1. Try your best to work with the same supplier for your next floor selection. This will make the return process a lot easier for everyone involved.
2. It is super important to pre-order a box from a specific lot and have enough boxes from that lot put on hold for your approval.