Re-staining mid-century parquet floors

http://cdn.brownstoner.com/4e8a669227b96-.jpg

I have parquet floors from the mid-60’s (they are actually more like solid wood tiles vs. the intricate,  parquet floors from earlier in the century).  I am considering having them re-stained a darker color (jacobean or ebony).  Anyone ever done this? I saw a couple of older posts about the process etc, but what I am really concerned about is how the finished product looks.  I know plank floors look great re-finsihed, but not sure about this 40+ year old parquet.  I attached a pic of the samples.  If anyone has experience with this, would love to know (and would love to see pics!).  Thanks!

Sager

in Flooring 13 years and 7 months ago

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brokelin | 13 years and 7 months ago

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agree that darker looks better.  for old flooring, plank or parquet, I much prefer no stain, so you can see the woodgrain.  on this newer parquet, i almost never like the way the woodgrain looks, so i would definitely go darker.

fexleycb | 13 years and 7 months ago

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My floors are narrow new quartersawn white oak planks.  Regardless though you may want to check out Mohawk stain products.  Not ubiquitous like Minwax but worth searching out.

tinarina | 13 years and 7 months ago

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I think this is a good solution–but I much prefer the darker sample, which probably takes two coats of stain. End with a matte finish varnish or poly and I think the floors will look nice. FYI, for my hardwood floors, I used one coat of ebony followed by one coat of jacobean stain. The end effect was a very dark brown and looked great.

Sager | 13 years and 7 months ago

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Hi Fexleycb- Did you do this process on parquet? or on plank floors?

fexleycb | 13 years and 7 months ago

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You may want to consider using a wood stain by Mohawk – available at Abbott Paint in Brooklyn.  I used the Van Dyke Brown on my oak floors and am very happy with the result.  I experimented with Minwax stains and found the Mohawk to be superior.

brucef | 13 years and 7 months ago

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I wish I knew less about the tiles you discuss. I highly recommend you step back from the decision tree that led you to your idea. New hardwood flooring (assuming a decent sub-floor) is not that expensive, and a more durable, satisfying product. It is possible to spend a fortune, but shop the Lumber Liquidators odd lots, to see if they have enough square footage of something you like. if you are a tenant, and don’t want to spend money on your landlord’s floor, OK, but I can’t imagine any reason to waste time on parquet tiles. We repair and install real parquet, but that is a different ball game.