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kjc1234

Help!! Red oak flooring the stain is so uneven!!

last month
last modified: last month

We got new red oak floors installed and sanded and stained a couple years ago and they looked great (see last picture for initial floors) but something was wrong and nails were popping up all over causing a safety issue so the contractor agreed to redo them. They installed new red oak, stained them and now they are so uneven, it absolutely ruined the look of our house! Please help: professionals, do you think this is a sand and stain issue or a wood issue (the wood being from different batches or the wrong grade). For professionals reading this, what grade wood do you think this is? i think they used a lower grade compared to what they usef the first time they did our floors….contractor is reluctant to resolve but i find this so unacceptable and a complete different look!









Comments (12)

  • last month
    last modified: last month

    That’s just what plain sawn red oak looks like. Exactly like what you had. Move on. Or pay for another redo with a water pop to go darker. You arent getting a redo for free. Or pay a BIG upcharge for rift and quartered oak. Or an even bigger upcharge for rift and quartered white oak instead of red.



  • last month

    Then why did it look so great the first time? They confirmed it was the same red oak

  • last month


    First time around - stain was even

  • PRO
    last month
    last modified: last month

    Brands of stain, oil vs water based, methodology of application, all combine to create individual appearing boards in the overall.You likely had oil based products the first go around, and were out of the home for a week or so.

    Why did you sand and restain so soon?Nails usually just need a set. Or else it would be a full redo based on poor labor for the install. But finishes easily last 20-30 years if taken care of.

  • last month
    last modified: last month

    We had water based both times and same exact stain color. they had to replace the flooring entirely bc nails were popping through the boards for the following two years after initial install @Delta Systems

  • last month

    @HU-171482230 the first time we had it done, they used select and better grade. do you think the new wood is lower grade?

  • last month

    I think that the initial wood floors looked much nicer than the replacement ones. It seems like they used a lower grade wood. It doesn't look like my red oak (which is clear = select and better). I would be unhappy. Your original floors looked really nice.

  • last month

    You need to step back and face reality. It is what it is and nothing interweb buds say will change it. No two trees are identical , if you want clones try manmade flooring.

  • PRO
    last month

    I'm no flooring expert, but it may be just the mix of boards in the new floor.

    When I was building cabinets and buying lots of hardwood (not flooring), there almost always were differences from one delivery to the next for the same grade material.

    I'd sort it as it was going into the rack making it easy to pull similar looking material for a job.

    Your new floor has lots of variation in color board to board, and far more light color than the original. I'd want a far more uniform appearance.

    They may have used a lower grade, as you suggested. Was there anything in your contract for the original floor that specified grade, or anything this time that stated the same info?


    On your before floor, it looks like the two outside sections are a good match, but the run down the center looks different.


  • last month

    the first time we had it done, they used select and better grade. do you think the new wood is lower grade?


    This confuses me. You asked and then answered your own question. Yes, I tink the newer wood is lower grade. I'd be sad about it too. When I had floors done, I selected every plank. The contractor and Amish floor maker weren't expecting me to do that on my trip to their storage barn, but I wound my way into it and love how my floor looked.

  • PRO
    last month

    New flooring has more shorter boards. Giving it a busier look. It's a different manufactuer compared to what was used last. Definitely select grade, just a more economy grade manufacturer and not premium one. $.50 per square feet difference is a big difference in quality between mills.


    Your current flooring looks like it has a higher moisture content. This can be from the kiln dry process from the mill. They spend less time drying their raw material.


    Not much you can do but, poly it and move on.

  • last month

    It's just the nature of the Red Oak boards to be slightly different, even with the same stain. I live in an older house with red oak floors and if you focus on them you will notice that individual boards are lighter or darker. But over time you don't even notice it. I think you're noticing it a lot right now because it's new, but you won't as time goes on.