Hardwood Flooring Installation in Enfield, CT – Wide-Width White Oak on Misty Meadow Road
Enfield, Connecticut 06082 | Misty Meadow Road Area
This hardwood flooring installation project in Enfield, Connecticut 06082 gave us an opportunity to do something very different from simply replacing an existing floor.
The Misty Meadow Road homeowners already had traditional 2¼-inch hardwood flooring in part of the home, but they wanted to introduce a wider-width white oak floor into the dining room and family room.
We spent time discussing the project and the appearance they wanted before work began. Their goal was a floor with more character and a more natural appearance—not something that looked overly glossy or heavily coated.
The project also presented an interesting installation challenge: a curved transition between the new hardwood flooring and the existing tile.
Bringing the New White Oak Flooring Into the Home
This photograph shows the project at its beginning.
The existing flooring had been removed, the subfloor was exposed, and bundles of the new white oak flooring were on site and ready for installation.
Rather than trying to make the new areas look exactly like the narrower 2¼-inch flooring, the homeowners chose a wider board that would give these rooms their own distinctive appearance.
The white oak also contained natural character marks, knots and color variation.
We didn't want to hide those characteristics. They were part of what made this particular floor attractive.
Installing Hardwood Around a Curved Tile Area
One of the more complicated portions of this Enfield hardwood flooring installation was where the new white oak met the existing tile.
Instead of a simple straight transition, the tile had a large curved edge.
That meant the hardwood couldn't simply be installed up to a straight transition strip. Each portion of the floor along that area had to be carefully fitted to follow the existing curve.
This is the type of detail that can make an installation considerably more challenging, but it can also become one of the most interesting features of the finished floor.
A Light Finish That Lets White Oak Look Like White Oak
Once the installation was completed, the homeowners wanted to keep the floor light.
They weren't looking for a dark stain that would overpower the natural variation in the wood. Instead, we selected a light stain that allowed the natural color and grain of the white oak to come through.
This photograph also gives a good view of the curved tile transition.
Rather than distracting from the floor, the curve became part of the design of the room.
You can also see why we didn't want to cover this flooring with a heavy stain. There is considerable natural variation from board to board, including lighter and darker grain, knots and other character marks.
That's the personality of the wood.
Choosing a Matte Oil-Based Polyurethane
The homeowners also had a very specific preference for the final sheen.
They wanted matte.
They didn't want a shiny floor or a surface that appeared to have a heavy layer of finish sitting on top of the wood. They wanted the protection of an oil-based polyurethane while keeping the appearance as close as possible to a natural wood floor.
After the light stain was applied, we finished the flooring with oil-based polyurethane in a matte sheen.
The combination produced the understated appearance they were looking for.
Staying in Touch While the Homeowners Were in Florida
An interesting part of this project was that the homeowners weren't in Connecticut while much of the work was being completed.
They were in Florida.
That made communication particularly important.
Throughout the installation and finishing process, we stayed in contact and sent photographs so they could follow the progress of their Enfield flooring project even though they were hundreds of miles away.
For us, that is an important part of a project. The homeowner shouldn't have to wonder what's happening simply because they can't be at the house.
Wide-Width White Oak Changes the Character of the Room
This wider view shows how dramatically the new flooring changed the room.
The wider boards give the space a completely different feel from traditional narrow-strip hardwood. At the same time, the light color works naturally with the existing woodwork around the windows and fireplace.
The knots, mineral marks and natural variations weren't defects we were trying to eliminate.
They were part of the look.
Finishing the Details Around the Fireplace
The fireplace area is another place where the installation details really show.
The new flooring needed to work with the existing marble hearth and fireplace rather than look as though it had simply been added around them.
The finished border creates a clean transition around the hearth while still allowing the variation in the white oak to remain the focus.
Details like the fireplace and the curved tile area are why hardwood flooring installation involves considerably more than simply laying boards across a room.
Hardwood Flooring Installation in Enfield, Connecticut 06082
At Patrick Daigle Hardwood Flooring, we install unfinished site-finished hardwood flooring in addition to providing hardwood floor refinishing, wood floor refinishing, repairs, sanding and color changes throughout northern and central Connecticut.
This Misty Meadow Road area project in Enfield, CT 06082 is a good example of why we still like installing hardwood flooring the traditional way.
The homeowners were able to choose the wood, width, character, stain color and final sheen rather than selecting a prefinished floor where all of those decisions had already been made for them.
For this home, wide-width character white oak, a light stain and matte oil-based polyurethane produced exactly the natural appearance they were looking for.
And even though the homeowners were in Florida during the project, regular communication and progress photographs allowed them to follow the transformation from the material arriving on site through the completed floor.