Red Oak Installation + Blend Match, Umstead Ridge
Carpet and vinyl removed from family room and kitchen, replaced with 2.25" red oak from Ten Oaks. New installation sanded and stained to match the existing hardwood throughout. One continuous floor, seamless blend.
Location
Umstead Ridge, Raleigh, NCSpecies
Red Oak, 2.25"
Finish
DuraSeal Quick Dry Stain, Medium Brown + Natura One Coat Hardwax Oil
Completed
2026
This Raleigh hardwood installation project replaced carpet and vinyl in the family room and kitchen of an Umstead Ridge home with 2.25-inch red oak from Ten Oaks, then sanded the new installation and the existing hardwood together as one surface. Finished with DuraSeal Medium Brown and Natura One Coat Hardwax Oil, the new and old floors are indistinguishable.
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.
Before
During
After
Products Used on This Project
“Izral is a master at his craft, and took time to explain in detail all of the options to consider in blending them together, stains, and finishes. He and his team did a fantastic job with everything going exactly as planned, including daily cleanups of dust and debris.”
Bill Gentry, Umstead Ridge, Raleigh NC
Common Questions
What does blend match mean in hardwood flooring?
Blend match means sanding and finishing new hardwood installation alongside the existing hardwood in the rest of the home so both read as one continuous floor. You install the same species, same width, and same cut. Then you sand everything together as one surface, apply the same stain, and finish with the same topcoat. Standing anywhere in the finished home, you cannot tell where the new floor starts.
What is Natura One Coat Hardwax Oil?
Natura One Coat is a catalyzed hardwax oil finish, Zero VOC, applied in a single coat with an added hardener for durability. Like Rubio Monocoat, it penetrates the wood rather than forming a film on top, delivering an open-grain feel and flat appearance that polyurethane cannot replicate. It cures in about 5 days and is spot-repairable if a section is damaged later. We use it regularly alongside Rubio Monocoat depending on the job.
Why use cleat nailers instead of staplers for hardwood installation?
Staples split the tongue of the hardwood board at a higher rate than cleats. A split tongue means a loose board, and loose boards squeak. Cleats engage the tongue at an angle without splitting it, locking the board from below. Every installation we do uses Primatech cleat nailers. This is not a preference; it is the correct method.
How do you handle demolition of carpet over particle board?
Carpet over particle board is a two-stage demo: carpet and pad first, then particle board. Particle board cannot serve as a subfloor for hardwood. It swells with moisture, delaminates, and does not hold a nail or staple reliably. All of it comes out. The subfloor underneath is then sanded flat and inspected before any new wood goes down.
How does water-popped stain preparation help with a blend match?
Water-popped stain preparation opens the grain across both new and old wood before stain is applied. New red oak is denser and more closed-grained at the surface than wood that has been sanded multiple times over the years. Water popping levels the absorption rate so stain penetrates evenly across both. Without it, new boards often read lighter than old boards under the same stain, and the blend falls apart.
Ready to Start Your Project?
Every project starts with a free in-home consultation. We come to you, assess the floor, and give you a written estimate before any work begins.
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