Natural Red Oak Floors No Stain

October 27, 2022

Our Refinished Oak Floors And Details!

We loved that this 1950's cape had hardwood floors downstairs, they were very charming. With our addition, I thought it would be the perfect time to refinish the oak floors to match the color of the wood we did upstairs, more whitewashed. And I want to mention that I don't think the color of the floors was ugly or bad. Another reason we wanted to refinish the oak floors was so we could add wood floors to our kitchen addition and have the color flow throughout the house. Plus, it's usually less expensive to refurbish your real wood floors than to get all new real wood floors. It's hard to say exactly how much it cost us to refinish our floors, as they also did the new floors. Wood Floor Finishing Process-

First they sanded our floors with a big sander. It was quite uneven in places because it was so old and could have had something stained on the floor (like a pet from previous owners). Then they applied a coat of bleach to even out the darker areas and stains (they only bleached the OLD red oak, not the new herringbone floors in the kitchen). Above, oak floors after receiving an application of the white wash stain (called Dura Seal's Country White Wash) after the bleach has dried approximately 12 hours. Above is another photo of the red oak floors just before the finishing process began. I like its transformation, now the ceiling no longer competes with the floors. I want to mention that old floors are not perfect. Here are our new kitchen floors after they were sanded and the white wash stain (no bleach).

Stain Or No Stain On Red Oak Hardwood Floors?

We have lots of natural light and the floors almost look a bit yellowish with the natural finish. I wish I had a little more color...I'll wait another year or two and then we'll have to touch up and add a stain.