Help! A "professional" recently installed new hardwood flooring. I initially discussed reclaimed but it was too expensive the contractor advised that he "knew what I wanted" and installed what he said was common oak. Now the flooring does not seem to take the stain. I went thru many stain colors making sample on some board that he provided and settled on Traditional Cherry. Now that the stain is on the actual flooring it is yellow, pink, not rich cherry red. It this a problem with the wood? It does not seem to accept the stain as the wood on the sample did.

Wood that is sanded with too fine a sandpaper resists absorbing the stain. To help the stain penetrate into the wood some people pop the grain. Water dampened wood will have open pores that will be more saturated with the stain it coloring it like you want. Try popping the grain on a sample board, then try on a closet or another inconspicuous area. Since more stain will absorb into the wood, let it dry longer before coating with the first coat of finish.

My floor installers allegedly did this. thanks for the taking the time to respond!

It is common for installers to sand too much if they have not had much experience. We stop sanding at 100 grit, We sand the edgers with 100 grit, too.
80 grit will help blend the edges with the field and in the corners, after scraping.

"Water-popping" is a great technique we use for the majority of our stained floors. It opens the natural grains in the wood even more than sanding alone does, allowing for a deeper and more even stain absorption. If you are truly unhappy with the outcome of the color on your new floors, sanding them down to the raw wood and re-staining is always an option. The suggestion I will make to you is this: whenever you do a "test" stain sample on a scrap piece of material, make sure the "test" is done over more than 1 plank. Oak has its own natural characteristics and the color tends to vary from plank to plank, (especially when you're not using a "select" grade). It sounds like the "test" board that you were shown originally, might just have been a darker board. The only sure-fire way to get a good idea of what the stain is actually going to look like on your installed flooring, is to do the "test" over 3 or 4 different looking boards. And if you plan on using the "water-pop" method, definitely apply that to the "test" boards as well. This way, eliminating any surprises. Good Luck!

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