Red Oak Installation + Blend Match, Umstead Ridge

The Challenge

The family room had carpet over particle board and the kitchen had vinyl over luan. Both had to be demo'd down to the subfloor before a single board could go in. The harder problem was the blend: the existing hardwood in the rest of the house had years of age and patina. New red oak straight off the truck reads completely different from wood that has lived in a home. Getting new and old to read as one floor under DuraSeal Medium Brown required careful sanding, water popping, and stain application timing across both the new install and the existing boards.

What We Did

We pulled the carpet and particle board from the family room and the vinyl and luan from the kitchen, then installed 2.25" red oak from Ten Oaks using Primatech cleat nailers (never staplers, which split tongues and cause squeaks). Once the new floor was down and acclimated, we sanded the entire installation plus the existing hardwood as one continuous surface using the Lagler Hummel drum sander. Water popping before stain opened the grain evenly across both old and new wood. DuraSeal Quick Dry Stain in Medium Brown was applied and finished with Natura One Coat Hardwax Oil. Standing anywhere in the house, you cannot tell where the new floor starts.