Red Oak Installation with Lace-In, Summerset Place

The Challenge

The family room had carpet while the adjacent breakfast nook already had red oak hardwood. The goal was one continuous floor from room to room -- no transition strips, no visible seam, nothing to indicate where the new wood started and the old wood ended. A lace-in at the boundary accomplishes this, but it requires pulling alternating boards from the existing floor and weaving new material in at staggered lengths so the joint disappears. The existing wood also had years of wear, paint drips, and finish degradation that had to be addressed before any of it could match the new installation.

What We Did

We removed the carpet and pad from the family room, prepped the subfloor, and installed 2.25" red oak with the Primatech cleat nailer, running the boards continuous toward the breakfast nook. At the transition, we executed a full lace-in: alternating boards from the existing floor pulled back, new boards woven in at staggered lengths, then locked together. Once the installation was complete and acclimated, we sanded the entire floor -- new family room and existing breakfast nook -- as one surface with the Lagler Hummel. Water popping before finish opened the grain evenly across both old and new wood. The finish is a custom blend of Berger Seidle hardwax oil, applied to achieve a warm brown tone with a matte surface. Standing anywhere in the room, there is no seam.