Red oak floors with walnut plug accents, refinished and recolored after storm damage repair
Upper level red oak floors stripped of carpet years prior had worn past the point of a buff and coat, and main level floors with walnut plug accents needed a color change — both levels were fully sanded and refinished, with Early American stain applied to the main level to neutralize the plugs.
Project Overview
Service Type
Home Type
Floor Type
Wood Species
Date Completed
Before Photos
Red oak hardwood floors on the upper level showed heavy traffic wear patterns, a gray cast, and lack of finish after years without a topcoat following carpet removal. Main level red oak floors were in serviceable condition but carried decorative walnut plugs that had become visually prominent and were no longer consistent with the direction of the remodel.
After Photos
Upper level red oak floors were sanded down and refinished with a clean, protected natural finish. Main level red oak floors received a full sand and an Early American stain that brought the walnut plugs into the surrounding tone, resulting in a consistent, neutral look throughout.
About the project
The homeowner noticed the upper level bedroom floors had been living without a finish coat for some time. The carpet had been pulled years prior, and the bare red oak had accumulated visible wear patterns, discoloration, and a grayed-out appearance from daily use. On the main level, the red oak floors were in better shape, but they had a detail the homeowner wanted to address: small decorative walnut plugs set into the wood. The goal was to pull those plugs into the surrounding floor tone so the color read more uniformly.
After taking a closer look, the upper level floors were beyond what a buff and coat could address. The finish was gone in the high-traffic areas, and the wood had started to gray. The main level floors were structurally sound, but the walnut plugs — a decorative touch from the original installation — stood out in a way that no longer fit what the homeowner was after. A full sand was the only path to changing the color.
Based on that, we recommended a full sand and refinish on both levels. The upper level floors went back to natural — no stain, just a clean reset. On the main level, we applied Early American stain before finishing to bring the walnut plugs into better visual balance with the surrounding red oak. For the finish, we used Loba's Easy Prime followed by Easy Finish in satin — a water-based single component system chosen for its low odor and faster dry time, which worked well given the family was living in the home throughout the process.
The result was a consistent, protected finish across both levels. The upper level floors looked reset and ready for everyday use again. On the main level, the Early American stain brought the walnut plugs into the floor tone — they were still there, but no longer the first thing you noticed. The whole house read more cohesive once the work was done.
Finish & Materials
This video covers a full sand and refinish across two levels of a single-family home following a storm damage restoration. The upper level floors had been living without finish since carpet was removed years prior. On the main level, Early American stain was used to neutralize decorative walnut plugs that had been set into the red oak during the original installation. Viewers will see what worn, unfinished red oak looks like before work begins, and what a consistent satin finish looks like once the process is complete.
When we got here, this house was coming out of a full restoration — a tree had come down on the upper level, and the family had been putting everything back together. The floors were part of that process.
On the upper level, the red oak had been exposed for years. The carpet came up a long time ago, and since then, the floors had just been lived on without any finish. You could see the wear patterns, the gray areas, the spots where the wood had started to dull out. A buff and coat wasn't going to fix this — there wasn't enough finish left to work with. We needed to go all the way down.
The main level was a different situation. The floors were in decent shape, but they had these small walnut plugs set into the red oak — a decorative detail from the original install. The homeowner wanted to bring those plugs closer to the surrounding floor color so the whole surface read more evenly. The only way to do that is a full sand, so you can apply stain before you finish.
We went natural on the upper level — sanded it down, primed it, and finished it in satin. On the main level, we added Early American stain after the sand to pull the walnut plugs into the surrounding tone, then finished it the same way. Water-based finish throughout — lower odor, faster dry time, and this household didn't need anything beyond a single component system.
What you're looking at now is both levels finished consistently, the plugs blending in on the main floor, and the upper level looking protected and even again for the first time in years. It's a clean reset for the whole house.