Can you spot the problem with this floor from a recent inspection?
I'm sure most of you immediately spotted that the left side of the photo is white oak and the right side is red oak (clearly marked in this shot with arrows):
The floor had been repaired, but the contractor didn't pre-sand the floor to do a positive ID on the species and the color. As you can see, the white oak floor was repaired with red oak material.
Before you do any repairs, always spot-sand to ensure proper color and the right species. Even the same species might not match: White oak from Wisconsin and Kentucky might not match and can, in fact, have a wide color range. A good rule of thumb when doing repairs is to bring out flooring from two or three manufacturers to try to match the sanded floor. Or, I usually bring wood samples from the job to the distributor to confirm the color.
