Oak Flooring Transition (moved after install)

[DKAudio]

I did this project a while ago...

I ripped out walls and turned a walk through bedroom into a dinning room. Basically I tour out the two doors on opposite sides and opened it up to about 3-4' openings. I have original 1954 1.5" wide oak flooring that runs North and South. The wall I tore out ran East and West, therefore, I cut a 6" wide strip through the original oak flooring so I could install a new transition using 4 new pieces that run perpendiculer to the rest of the pieces.

Here is the problem,
First, I bought maple pieces because the oak seemed very dark at the store. I used the same stain as I did when I refinished the floors but it did not match at all, the maple was way lighter in color. I experimented with many different colors but never got it that close.

Second, I used wood glue and glued all 4 pieces together side by side. I then used Gorilla Glue to glue down the new boards to the wood subfloor. I finished it by sanding it level with the original floor. A little at a time all 4pieces have moved up on one side and is now about 1/4" higher than the rest of the floor.

My questions, if I redo this I will use oak and biscuit joint the 4 pieces together. How should I attach the 4 pieces to the subfloor?

When I sanded it level with the rest of the floor the sander hit the already finished floor. I stained it all then used a polyurethane but you can see a wavy line where the new polyurethane dried on the existing, how do I fix that without re-doing the whole floor?

[pushkins]

The maple will never look the same as the oak no matter what stains you use, the grains are completely different, so absorption and the raw finished surface will always be different.

You said you had to glue the pieces together?....Even if you biscuit join the pieces you will have to do a lot, to even stand a chance of it holding together over a period of time, biscuit joints are not meant for walking surfaces. Thats why tongue and groove joints are relatively large in comparison to the plank thickness.

Most often what I do when the raw wood color or plank size is not available for transitions like yours, I get a solid piece made to fill the area. Fitting it perpedicular to the existing floors is also a great way to transition.
The width of this piece isn't so important as with old very expensive inlaid floors they spent a great deal of time and money inlaying pieces just like this. A sort of "more work it took, the more expensive it looks" attitude.

As for the original floor have an over wash of polyurethane on it and seeing the "wavy" line, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there is little you can do to fix this without redoing the entire floor, usually when doing this sort of work you stop hand sanding right on the edge of a given plank, so that the poly. finishes on this plank and is less noticeable. You could try using 1200 wet sandpaper and GENTLY rub back the wavy line of new poly back to level with a plank. You will want to be very careful though basically your trying to take back some of the "newness" (gloss) to hide it.

[DKAudio]

Thanks, maybe I will try to use a solid piece next time. How would I attach it to the floor though (or the other perpendicular pieces)?

[pushkins]

Drill and nail with appropriate sized nails and drill (1/16" drill bit and 1/8" nails would do), then fill the holes with stainable putty.

[DKAudio]

Thanks a lot, I will do that. May not tackle this for a little while since I am finishing my basement right now.

Thanks again.

[walton02]

Hi,

There are different types of woods that make up wood floors. The most common is oak flooring. An oak floor gives your room a magnificent and an appeal of sophistication. Oak floors come in different shades; so it is just a matter of choosing the right color that will go well with your style. One big advantage of real oak flooring is that it has potential to last well only if it is well maintained.