Hi, I have an Oak floor that I believe was laid down when the house was built, 1954). I took up a tile floor that was adjacent to it, and had a contractor weave in a new hardwood into the old. I was told from the contractor that the old floor was Red Oak (that he said he confirmed with a chemical test from a piece of the old floor), so he laid and weaved in Red Oak Select.

I don't know much about hardwood floors, but I do know that Red Oak has a more pronounced and exotic grain than White Oak. Looking at my floor once finished I think the old floor was White, not Red. There is a very obvious difference in grain pattern from the old and new. Please see the attached picture, the top is the old floor and the bottom weave is the new Red.

[img]
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KwfwM6 ... sp=sharing
[/img]

It does look like an old white oak floor. It's hard to tell the difference when there is an old varnish on a floor. Most old floors were white oak which wine and whisky barrels are made from. New white oak flooring has a similar look to your red oak patching, but is deeper in color.
Sorry.

Thanks Pete. So what you’re saying is that the contractor put down the wrong floor type?

And to be honest I expected the floor to match much much better then it does. I had him weave the floor in because I was expecting a near perfect match. The contractor told me when it was done that it was not possible to match both flooring since it was so old. He could have stained the whole room but the stain from the old/new weave would not match the old floor in a adjacent room.

Would having new white oak floor match better than this? Is the contractor telling the truth?

If you have some of the wood from the patching left over from the old floor that could be used to confirm the test that he gave, and re-test that would confirm his results or not. It was his test that he used for deciding on the wood species. If he tested the wood with the old varnish still on the floor where he tested, then he would get a false result.
Someone who relies on a chemical test, which could produce false results, has not noticed all the characteristics that help determine the species without a test. Taking up a piece of flooring the day that the work started to confirm the test with a loose piece of old flooring would enable one to make sure.
I ca't be sure just from the picture, but it looks like old growth white oak to me.

The old flooring in the picture looks like a Clear grade and the new flooring looks like a Select grade. Like Pete said, get a piece of the old flooring and test it yourself.

OK thanks for the tips. I have him a piece of floor from an un-coated section that was under my old cabinets which I removed.

I think his test was incorrect, and rather than owning up to it when he started the install he thought that I would not notice the difference.

So what is this test and how do I go about performing it? I am going to a lumber yard tomorrow morning with an old board so they can tell me what it is for sure before I call the contractor.

Sodium Nitrite is the chemical used to perform the chemical test. The chemical is put onto oak shavings. White Oak shavings will turn black. Red Oak shavings will not. There are visual, water, and alcohol tests. Visual involves looking at the end grain. Alcohol and water tests involve standing the boards on end in alcohol or water. White Oak will not absorb either. Red Oak will absorb both. That is why White Oak is used outdoors and in boat building. Red Oak is for interior use. There are laboratories that will do a wood species identification for you. Depending who you find at the lumber yard they may or may not be able to do an accurate identification.