Floors: Semi-Gloss or Matte finish?

Matte, matte, matte.

Don't go too dark with the stain - a lot of people think that very dark brown floors are on their way out. Get the widest planks you can afford. If you live in a prewar space, having herringbone wood floors is kinda nice in the living areas.

Eggshell is easier to clean.

"Don't go too dark with the stain - a lot of people think that very dark brown floors are on their way out. Get the widest planks you can afford."

Agree with the dark stain.

But don't go goofy with planks so wide that it looks like a Vermont log cabin.

Cherry wood floors are well received. Buyers will appreciate eggshell for maintenance.

I have 5" oak and it doesn't look in the least bit log-cabin-y. Maybe if they were stained a golden color or something. They are a medium brown (English chestnut). Interestingly, when I see 3" floors now, they look "cheap" to me. I've had 7" oak floors installed in a loft-like space and it looked good. If I had a regret, it would be my impatience in renovation and not trying to work out a solution with the original damaged oak parquet and inlaid Greek key border floors.

Cherry is too red for me.

Proportionality is important, if it's a postwar space with lower ceiling height, narrower strip flooring might look better.

Very dark is IMHO definitely on the way out - a semi-gloss finish looks very good, and in a pre-war (or pre-war look) herringbone is great.

Thanks all. I wanted White Oak in a natural color, but I couldn't find a source with strips that were a consistent tone. I know darker floors are a risk, but to me pale floors have no warmth.

"Proportionality is important, if it's a postwar space with lower ceiling height, narrower strip flooring might look better."

Exactly.

I'm sure those log cabin-y wide planks looked fabulous in your loft, but would look ridiculous in the typical UES shoebox apartment.

Parquet looks cheap.

Get a few samples of the wood to try out different stains. People will think I'm crazy here, but I had good results with Minwax (there are more upscale stain mfrs). I initially went with one shade of chestnut over the other, but realized (very early on) that I wanted a slightly darker shade. Also, you might or might not want to stain more than once (for a richer color).

I also paid for "Rift and quartered" grade wood, which is a bit of a rip off unless you get it custom milled from a reputable place.

p.s. i have red oak as well

Premier Flooring in Bk is good for competitive prices.

Matt: there's parquet and there's parquet. Prewar parquet, esp. turn of the century, looks amazing. They did it back then with no care for waste, so you get many "tiger-flecked" planks.

I've also had some 3.5" maple installed (natural, matte finish, no stain) in an 8' ceiling house, and it looked great.

Do NOT try to stain maple (I learned the hard way).

"Matt: there's parquet and there's parquet."

Unfortunately, most of what's out there (particularly in the UES crap postwar boxes) is the parquet that looks strangely like cheap vinyl tile.

parquet.. is that like formica?

It's like buttah

Don't say you hate parquet, it's silly, like saying you hate Chardonnay. There's Meursault, and then there's Turning Leaf.
Don't hate on beauty because of ugly imitations.

standard 2.25 inch strips, no stain, non-yellowing water/latex/acrylic based matte finish, extra applications for longer wear.

I also dislike the 60s Yorkville "parquet", but love the even more downscale version of it that just looks like squares of plywood. Very bauhaus.

They do parquet in Peter Cooper, no?
http://stuytownreport.blogspot.com/2009/08/french-door-partitions-in-stuy-town-and.html

Formica = wall-to-wall carpet in Matt's world, no?

I don't love 60s parquet but better than wall to wall and more economical in the long run. My parents have inexpensive parquet (not the stick on type) and it has lasted 20+ years, and will last another 20 more.

Lincoln Towers has a strange version of parquet that's wider than standard issue and it looks quite attractive in a matte finish.

Maly: exactly.

Alan: why 2.25"?

2.25" is the classic New York (pre-war) width, except of course where there's parquet or herringbone. For some reason, if I'm not mistaken, maid's rooms often have slightly wider pine instead.

Oh, and PMG: NO BEVEL!!!

Yep, no bevel or micro bevel. And make sure the wood is well-seasoned/acclimated to reduce gaps.

i used prefinished light maple -- matte finish --- HUGE resale value -- People raved over how light bright and airy the apartment was....

Just make sure you cover 80% of that hardwood.

Dissenting here on the prefinished. Don't like it - gives it too "perfect" a look.

Matte finish makes the floor look plastic.

True matte finish is hard to pull off. If you have a contractor who can do it, it looks really nice.

Dark wood (ebony, mahogany, wenge, others) floors are not on their way out at all. What is out is people trying to make blond and softer woods look like very dark wood. You simply cannot stain oak to look like ebony. Well you can, but as soon as there is any wear, it looks terrible. Ditto the earlier comment on staining maple.

Low VOC tung oil based sealers are great.

PMG, I like dark floors too, though I agree that lighter is better for resale. I would try to go with a medium brown if you can -- we just did in our own home, and it really says "floor" -- rather than a dark chocolate which I fear is indeed a trend that is waning.

I would go for a slightly shiny finish -- a satin -- over a full matte, but I would take either over a full gloss, which is a little out of fashion these days, and can too often read as "bowling alley."

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

front porch is slightly shiny the same as egg shell?

I think the usual progression for floors (polyurethane) is satin / semigloss / gloss ... I don't think you can get true matte or eggshell.

And Matt, wood needs 100% coverage, with any of the polyurethanes that have been discussed here, or even just a sealer and floor wax.

Eggshell is not a finish available for floors. It's a paint finish.

"And Matt, wood needs 100% coverage, with any of the polyurethanes that have been discussed here, or even just a sealer and floor wax."

I was talking about RUGS, Alan.

Oh.

Try propecia.

Stop pissing me off.

riversider -- eggshell is indeed a paint finish, where the progression is matte/eggshell/satin/semigloss/gloss.

ali

^^ Oops, I meant "flat" not "matte."

I just did English Chestnut stain with a satin finish--love it!!

i like me a shiny floor... but then again, look at my handle...

glamma, did you mix the mica chips (or whatever like that) in for some glitta to go with the glamma? I would have. No matter what decade it is, I'm dazzled by those sparkly sidewalks that you see here and there.

I don't know whats "in", but I really like the really dark, ebony type stuff, even in prewars with white walls.

Dark floors are very traditional ... very Classic Six, very old money.

Light floors are more modern ... light and breezy ... very downtown loft.

actually, old money was parquet. the poor folks had wood planks, often painted.

"old money was parquet"

And yet, it looks so cheap ...

Wrong, Matt: dark floors aren't very Classic Six, very old money. Unstained oak, coated in either wax or oil-based poly (both go on amber and get deeper over time) are those things.

Wrong, Matt: you're confusing the "parquet" of the 1960s, 12-inch tiles that appear to be 4 6-inch squares of little splinters of wood, with real parquet, which is hand-built into squares that are typically twelve inch squares, and perfectly proportioned for Classic X bedrooms, where they were usually installed, with understatedly-elegant multi-strip borders around the perimeter.

Much of what looks/is expensive and nice now WAS what was cheap 200 years ago.

Dolly Parton: "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap."

After a delay, I've reversed my decision. Now, it's natural maple to open up the small space and avoid absorbing indirect light. The floors are pre-finished with a micro bevel, which I gather is not ideal, but given that I will occupy the space during installation, it seems like the most practical solution. The only choices are cashmere finish or semi-gloss, and 3-5/16" or 5" widths. I think I would prefer the semi-gloss with the narrower width, but the 5" boards are 1/8" thicker. With no sub floor, will the extra thickness "feel" better? I've been warned against adding a sound insulation layer, because the floors "feel" like laminate. Do any commenters have an opinion about resale value?

I do not think the floors will feel like laminate because of sound proofing. Also keep in mind the wider the plank the more it tends to shrink and expand.

We have solid hardwood parquet (the elegant type!) but I want something more modern - hardwood plank style. Should I put on too of it or should I rip off? Torn because the parquet kinda looks nice - just old fashioned:(

If you install new wood on the parquet floor it will be ruined anyway. Might as well rip it up

Just leave the nice elegant-type parquet, don't stain it, use matte finish, and furnish your room with modern/eclectic stuff. Your attempt to create a more modern look is a fail from the start, because it's not a modern building, the windows aren't modern, your neighbors aren't modern, etc.

Plus the planks you like now because they're so now will in no time at all be so then.

Go with a satin finish. The gloss will show every imperfection.

Alanhart, I'm going to ignore your peripheral comments about neighbors not being modern, etc. etc...but I get your general gist. I'm going to explore refinishing the parquet and staining it a diff color and really adding accent peices that make the room more contemporary. Thx!

Good, but seriously, consider NOT staining it. Natural, blondish tones are classic modernism. Your old wood will also have good grain, which will be (subtly) noticeable in the parquet. You can offset the lighter, natural, unstained floors with oiled teak furniture.

Water-based matte finish, not the more amber oil-based, by the way.

Why water based matte finish and not oil finish?

Many buildings don't even allow oil-based anymore -- it's intensely fumey, and takes a long time to calm down. But besides that, it ambers the wood, and gets even darker over time. Water-based allows the (nearly) natural color to show. Downside is that you'll need more coats, but each can be applied with a much shorter wait time vs oil.

Got it! Thanks !

Alanhart, how many coats of water based finish would you recommend?

One or two more than the product recommends. Even more for entrance foyer/gallery.

I once had a floor refinisher who painted himself into the far corner of the room, as evidenced by the footprints that he left behind, permanently. "Like a vaudeville act", said an older relative of mine when she heard about it.

I emailed my wood floor guy Carlos Wood Floors and he said you should do one (1) coat of sealer and (3) coats of water based finish preferably BONA® product. If you want to contact him directly email him at carloswoodfloors@gmail.com - they are wood floor experts who work specifically in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Alanhart: I once had someone in to fix and refinish my floors after I had a leak from the overhead apartment. The guy adjusted the rubber strip on the bottom of the front door to assure that it would not scrape the wet coat on the floor. However, he didn't tighten the screws enough and it fell down when he closed the door leaving a windshield wiper affect on the floor -- first thing you noticed at the entrance.