Hardwood Floors

30yrs and I (we are both agents at the same real estate firm, with me being a relative newbie, and him, being, well, 30 years of experience) just had this discussion as I just bought and was seeking his counsel. He argued that a natural, unstained blond was the most generic/easy on the buyer color. I trust his judgment. Natural is safest.

I really love dark floors though, so I decided to take the risk of staining mine. An interior designer said "just don't use anything with a red tone, that makes it hard to decorate." And then our contractors said that "medium brown" was the color that makes the most clients happy, so that's what we went with.

They didn't use Minwax colors (I don't know what they used that "Medium Brown" was actually a color) but if you are looking at Minwax I am talking something in the Early American/Provincial/Special Walnut family).

I know floors that are darker than that -- a sort of chocolate -- are very trendy right now, but I think those will look dated. My brown floors look timeless to me. So I'd say they're "second safest."

And have them use an oil-base, not a water-base, if your building will let you.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Special Walnut is fairly neutral. I have that in the living area (inc. kitchen) and Tudor (darker) everywhere else. Oak is not that hard to restain, if need be.

BTW, if your space lends itself to this, consider getting it laid in a herringbone pattern. Also, between 3" and 5", there's not that much diff. in price, so consider getting 5" (costs the same in labor).

Avoid anything weird (like red) or that very dark brown color that was so popular--it scratches and was very 2005-08. Dated already. You'll also see every spec of dust and dirt.

A nice MinWax stain that isn't too orange or yellow and is more brown is "Golden Oak". It is light-medium and brownish on my floor. It will vary from one type of wood to another though so do tests. We tested 4 samples colors before deciding in small areas.

Be cautious of anything that has a hint of yellow--many sealants will yellow in time and will make many stains even yellower. I'd also recommend a matte final coat of sealant regardless of whether you use water or oil based. If you have kids, I think you want to go with the harder oil finish even though it takes longer to apply the coats. In a few weeks it'll harden and provide more protection against dump trucks and tricycles being pushed around. If you are just a regular grown up, I find the water-based finish is fine.

Bob: No idea what your budget, apt size or decor is going to finish looking like. But I think the most stylish, traditional, sexy flooring you can have is 8" planks of hand scraped walnut.

8" planks would look silly in a small space.

8" may be good for some things but if this poster is thinking resale and appeal to the broadest audience, niche products that no one is familiar with is not what sells no matter how high end. A leather tiled wall is also incredibly expensive and nice to some people but not an investment I'd recommend for resale.

That's a good question. I like American walnut engineered hardwood floors and like items. I agree about staying away from reddish stains.

I'm going with engineered over real wood due to the VOC-freeness (or less VOC) than sanding, staining, sealing, and repeat every 15 years or so. And, it's more forgiving with water and around the kitchen.

kyle: How do I take a picture out of my iphoto library and post a link here of a photo without it linking to me?

Got me. Would be nice if Streeteasy allowed uploads of relevant photos.

No worries, I just have some photos I would share. My rooms are obviously in a much larger format so the planks work great. No idea about Bob's situation. My computer literacy is an issue. I think I remember a thread about remodeling 6-9 months ago and another poster displayed a bunch of photos of his classically renovated apt trying to used period specific items. I can't remember the poster, but I think it was your thread.

Solid oak is the safest as far as resale goes.The wider board 4"-6" is much dearer cause of the wider/older tree in Ireland anyway and doesn't look loads better than 70-90mm so 70-90mm wide is fine with a nice prefinish varnish not too shiny.It goes with everything and doesn't show up scratches as much as walnut or other darks.Oak is my favourite wood for floors and beds/tables.

Just put 120mm/18mm (good deal) thick down in an apartment with white walls looks great.Very neutral.

Best of luck

Thanks! Sounds like I was on the right track. I saw some samples of the Golden Oak and it looked good. That is pretty much the look I was thinking. My living room is approx 16x15, foyer is approx 100 sq ft, halway is 10x3 and bedroom is approx 15x12. I was thinking 3" because the apt is pretty small. About 750sq ft with about 550 of it being wood floor.

oak is always good and honey is always well received. sometimes buyers dont like dark walnut, but I happen to like it. and normal size strip is always most well received, I find the wider panels to get a slightly worse response from clients.

really? so don't go with 3"? what is normal size strip? 2"?

go with prefinished, it will save you lots of time and smell.

i refinished my floors with oil lacquer and boy was it a mistake. when you lift the rugs up, you see the original color, the rest of the floor has yellowed due to sun exposure. if you will have to refinish, in the past 3 years some fantastic water based lacquers came out that don't smell as bad and dry dignificantly quicker. most of the pro have started using those.

p09, i think it was 30yrs, and it was a facebook link.

Classic prewar Manhattan apartments, when herrinbone or parquet isn't used, have 2.5" strips (I'm nearly certain). I agree that winding up with a Golden Oak (a bit lighter than medium) is your best bet. That look was achieved in older flooring simply by using oil-based polyurethane, which yellows over a short time.

I prefer the non-yellowing water-based poly, which (as Ali alluded to) is required in many coops now, because oil's super-stinky and potentially flammable. If you use water-base, definitely test that on whatever wood you get, or you might wind up with a birchier look (which I prefer anyway, in a matte finish, especially in small, low-ceilinged spaces like mine).

3" is the standard size

patient09, your best bet is to upload your pix to flicker or something similar, then post links here to those (or an album of those).

flickr

I just remembered that 2.25" is the standard width for strip flooring, and I'm pretty sure that was the case even in the teens and twenties.

thanks

2.25" is the standard width of strip flooring - red oak is most popular. just spoke to Marc of Floorworks NY who I have used for myself, my moms house, 3 clients and always satisfied.

UD is correct as usual (except that red oak being most popular is a historical thing: i.e. there's a lot of it because EVERYONE used red oak in apartment buildings in NYC for decades. I'm not so sure, and in fact I doubt, red oak is the most popular for new installations).

A word on laying herringbone floors: MUCH more expensive, MUCH harder to do so MUCH higher chance of problems down the road if you don't get top notch guys to install it, and MUCH more sensitive to subflooring issues. Also, IF you ever have a flood, the damage is usually MUCH worse, since what you usually get in straight laid is cupping, but herringbone starts to explode and pop up all over the place. This comes from someone who has installed white oak herringbone floors in his living room.