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July 7, 2008
question about flooring....
I recently bought a hundred year old two family in Greenpoint. I am looking to have the floors redone. Due to furniture color and circumstance I am looking to have the floors redone. My initial summation of the situation was, "I want grey". Is this a really deviant (uhhh) choice? I have been doing my due diligence, or whatever, on the Internet, and have come to the conclusion that this might be and (unknowingly) unpopular choice. At least on this side of the pond. All the examples that are in line with my desires seem to emanate from the ream of the .uk. I',m nobodies fool, so I'd prefer to stay away from dollars v. sterling. My question is is there anyone who produces such wood locally? I'm no stickler for the absolute perfection in production. Apparently, the Brits are doing a white ash with some sort of black oil staining. Its beautiful, but I'm not really trying to absorb $20+ a sqft in materials alone. BTW way whats an acceptable rate for labor on such a job? I had one contractor over who quoted me $3000 labor + materials on what is a 750 sqft job. Is this reasonable? Does anyone know of a local shop that could approximate such an aesthetic? I understand with a drop in price comes a drop in quality, but can someone recommend an alternative that is affordable and approaches this "look"?
Comments
Ive not used these guys but have seen their showroom in the city.
Posted by: guest at July 7, 2008 9:03 AM
A few years back, my friends had their floors bleached. I believe it was just regular white oak. Their floors are white, but I suppose you can give it a greyish hue. In any case, my regular floor guy did it for them. You can give him a shout and ask: Desmond, 917-642-2752.
Posted by: rh at July 7, 2008 9:50 AM
There's a place in Tribeca on Greenwich St called Siberian Living that does furniture in flooring in a grey/white oak.
Posted by: Park Place at July 7, 2008 10:05 AM
Are you laying a new floor or just sanding/refinishing the existing one? If the former, check online for prefinished solid plank flooring.
It looks like a wash stain. I did wainscot in my bathroom that was kinda close to that color and translucency:
http://images.magpie.com/house/photos/bathroom/bathbuild8.jpg
I mixed a whitewash stain, which is basically a very thinned paint, with a tube of burnt umber until I got the color I wanted.
Couple of things to bear in mind about staining floors though, especially if you have dogs or are rough on floors. The finish on a stained floor is never as durable as one which hasn't been stained. This is because the stain also seals and there's a never a perfect bonding between the stain and the finish sealer. It's also more difficult to spot repair a stained floor. With a urethane or Waterlox sealed floor you can screen ("scuff up") the floor and reapply finish. You can't do this if there's a stain.
Posted by: Steve at July 7, 2008 11:11 AM
The look above is, i believe, referred to as 'pickled'. That is almost certainly white oak. Shouldn't be too outrageous; I believe the look can be achieved with a white stain coat and a rub of a darker stain that's wiped off before setting.
Posted by: guest at July 7, 2008 11:12 AM
White ash is not considered to be a "premium" hardwood. By premium I mean it is inexpensive (less than $2/bf). White ash is harder than red oak and softer than white oak.
I had a similar color custom made in a water-based stain last week. A water borne stain will open the pores of the wood so that the pigments penetrate the surface. Problems with finish adhering occur when the wood is not stained properly, such as when it is sanded too fine, brushed on heavily, not dried long enough or allowed to remain on the surface of the wood.
If you take a sample of the color and a piece of the wood to Abbott paint they will make the exact stain for you.
Posted by: southslope at July 7, 2008 4:38 PM
I've seen grey stained floors before. I don't know if it's unpopular, but I agree with you that it is gorgeous. It's not the same as pickled or whitewashed as some seem to be saying. My friends who had it done said the color was called "driftwood" which seems to be what it looks like. Have you looked for stain colors like this? Can't you just sand off whatever typical brown color is on your floors and stain them grey?
Posted by: guest at July 7, 2008 4:42 PM
you have to be really careful--most light stains (like anything that would give you a pickled white or grey effect) can have strange reactions w/ poly finishes and end up looking yellow or green. This is a specialty finish that requires an experienced pro. But it's a great look in the end. Check this out--best example of the look that I've seen: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=12a9809dc732f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=header_6&autonomy_kw=going+gray
Posted by: guest at July 7, 2008 6:10 PM
Just wanted to point out that a grey oak floor isn't necessarily stained. During the Arts & Crafts movement there was another common method for greying oak called fuming. The raw but well-seasoned lumber is placed inside an air-tight tent with a very strong solution of ammonia and left for a day/days, or however long it takes to get the right color.
The ammonia fumes react with the tannic acid in oak to produce a grey color. Stickley was a proponent of fuming oak. The trick is to keep it grey because UV light (over many years) will gradually turn it brown.
Posted by: Steve at July 7, 2008 6:20 PM
Fuming will give you a dark brown color, bordering on almost black depending on how long you leave the wood exposed to the fumes. For a driftwood color, you are better off using a bleach (not the kind you use for washing, but wood bleach). It can be a tricky process though, especially for large areas.
The beauty of pickling is that it's relatively easy to do, and you have lots of control over the process. The drawback is that it's not going to wear very well on a floor.
Posted by: Bond at July 7, 2008 6:55 PM
4:42 PM--
Thanks. I'm truly a novice. My floors now are about hundred years old, but for the most part are in good shape. Do you think your proposal, ("Can't you just sand off whatever typical brown color is on your floors and stain them grey") would be more economically favorable than just replacing the floors entirely? Do you know of anyone who does such work?
Regards,
Mike
Posted by: deepBTUz at July 7, 2008 11:43 PM
southside-
Excuse my ignorance but who are "Abbott"? I'd be interested in speaking to them.
Regards,
Mike
Posted by: deepBTUz at July 7, 2008 11:48 PM
6:10 PM,
You have great taste. Your reference point is basically what I am striving for. Is this "look" inherently custom? Is there Prêt-à-Porter approximation available?
Regards,
Mike
Posted by: deepBTUz at July 7, 2008 11:59 PM
Bond-
Interesting. I have no kids/pets. Do you know anyone who has done this kind of work?
Regards,
Mike
Posted by: deepBTUz at July 8, 2008 12:03 AM
Bond -
"Driftwood" is spot on. It is one of the terms I googled in my initial research. Is there a NYC outfit who could take this on this look?
Regards,
Mike
Posted by: deepBTUz at July 8, 2008 12:08 AM
Love grey floors. I considered it myself during my reno but when the floor person told me to consider how my furnishings would look on a grey floor, I realized my decor would not match so went with a walnut stain color instead. With grey floors you need cool colors. Warm tones--woods, reds, oranges etc don't look so good. I have a lot of teak midcentury stuff and it doesn't look good with grey floors.
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 12:15 PM
Interesting. I was thinking of going grey because of my furniture. A lot of black and espresso stained and wenge wood. I think they would look cooler on black than a brown.
Posted by: deepBTUz at July 8, 2008 11:05 PM
If you plan on refinishing the current floors, only certain kinds of wood really look good (in my opinion)when they are bleached. Oak, ash, chestnut, etc. A lot of Brooklyn houses have either Douglas Fir or Southern Pine floors, which don't bleach very well. Additionally, a lot of those floors have had repairs done which involves patching in new flooring which might not bleach the same. The grey also seems like a very slick, modern look, an old beat up floor, which has its own beauty, might not match that style. Sounds like you have some tough personal decisions that you're going to have to make.
If you are planning on going with a new floor, finding what you want should be relatively easy.
If you are planning on using the current flooring, try a test patch somewhere first like a closet that won't show.
Either way, very few things are irreversable. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and jump in and do it. Good luck.
Posted by: Bond at July 9, 2008 8:23 AM
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