On Saturday, January 4, 2014 10:02:54 AM UTC-6, SBH wrote:
I'm in the hunt for hardwood floors and trying to stay within a specific

price range. I have oak floors on my first floor and normally, would

stick with the same for the upstairs project. I ran across a few good

prices on maple floor but prefer a little darker in color. Is it safe to

assume I can stain maple to closely match the oak or basically stain to

any color I desire?

Staining wood is staining wood is staining wood. Of course you can stain, dye or color it the way you want.

You might want to consider a few things. First, the texture and appearance of oak and maple are quite different, and no matter how you stain it (unless it is and obscure chocolate brown or black) they will never match. Even then, in deep colors it will only match in color, not in texture. Maple is much finer in grain than oak as well, which can make it prone to a blotchy appearance when coloring.

White oak is the norm for older oak floors, but red oak has a large market share these days as well. White oak is difficult to stain unless you have some experience doing so as it doesn't absorb stains well. Red oak is almost never stained as it can be a nightmare in appearance due to soft and hard areas all on one board that take coloring differently, leading to an unacceptable appearance. So red oak is usually clear sealed, the amber nature of sealers giving it a tint of color.

The last thing to think about is the actual finish itself. If you existing floor is factory finished, the finish will be a complex formulation specifically designed for the flooring industry. It will be harder, thinner, and more color neutral than the material available to you. Usually they are developed to resist ambering as well.

This means that the finish you put on today that is applied to match the existing floor color may not match in just a few years. The "over the counter" materials available are very hard and wear resistant (and in some cases better than an original factory finish) but react differently to light, wear and moisture than factory finishes. Your stain/finish work that matches color (not texture) today will probably look a great deal different in 5 years.

If it were me, I would buy the maple if I liked it and color and finish it as a complimentary color rather than try to match it. That way when the finishes change, you won't notice.

Just my 02.

Robert