[tom31415926]

I hope this is the right forum. I’m planning to install a hardwood floor consisting of prefinished Tobacco Road acacia, and I want a small baseboard that is visually compatible with the acacia. I think what I mean by “visually compatible” is something that represents one of the colors in the Tobacco Road acacia and that does not call too much attention to itself. I am posting here because the best plan I have right now is to get oak baseboard and stain it darker. Because of the relatively open pores in oak, however, I am concerned that it will take the stain unevenly and not look even close to the acacia. But perhaps with a pore filler, then sanding, then stain, I might achieve a reasonable look. I think a “coffee” colored stain might work well for my purpose. In any event, I will do some trial-and-error. Will using wood pore filler help the oak will take dark stain evenly? Any advice on how to approach this problem?


Background: I would start with some other hardwood with a more suitable grain, but I can't seem to find any!


I have found acacia baseboard on the web, but it is expensive and over three inches tall. I have found 3/8 by 2-1/4 reversible baseboard locally, available in unfinished oak and in pine. (It is a very plain, straight-sided profile that has the external top corner rounded.) So the choice of oak is only because I can get the profile I want and now I'm trying to make it look right.


thanks,


Tom

 

[oh'mike]

Do you have a link to that flooring so we can see the color and grain?
I'm not familiar with that wood.

Poplar takes dark stains well and has a fine,closed grain-----

 

[joecaption]

I just can not imagine a room looking right unless you have something like 7' ceilings using a short base board.
Oak is not open pored and is a very dense wood, but it will have lighter and darker lines though because of the grain and it's not going to look anything like the flooring.
Unless your going to also do all the window and door trim with the same wood It's also going to look off.
There really is no good reason why the base board has to match the flooring.

 

[tom31415926]

Here is a link to the flooring:

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/c/Tobacco-Road-Acacia-Builder's-Pride-PRTR3S/10008056

Yes, I have seen where things look like they are supposed to match, and then they don't quite. It does look like a mistake. So I guess I am trying to figure out how to complement the flooring with something that is not out-of-place.

As for the cross-section, in another part of the house we have oak floors and thin baseboard that is about 2" high. The baseboard is stained wood. Whatever we do with the new floor will will be visible near the old stuff (but they don't meet up). We like the look and imagine that it will work in the remodeled room (where there are 8' ceilings).

Having said that, if we did get wider baseboard, do you see it just painted white (like in the link above?)

 

[ToolSeeker]

I really think the oak can come pretty close to that. Just use a dark stain and wipe it off quickly. Maybe get a short piece of the base and cut it into small sections then try different color stains. The wood filler is a bad idea most don't take stain and are used on oak to fill the grain before painting not staining. Oak really takes stain well. I would recommend oil stain then see or gloss poly for top coat.

 

[ZZZZZ]

There is such a variety of colors and shades in that hardwood, I think whatever exact shade you end up with on the oak trim, it will blend in just fine.

 

[1acre]

I do think filling pores on wood for staining is more of an advanced project. It is something I have yet to get satisfactory. Washcoats, filling pores, rubbing off the excess, it is a lot of work, and if you have anything but the tiniest amount of trim to install, you'll most likely spend weeks just finishing the trim if you run a joe job like I do and have a family.

Personally, I'd go with painted trim. It CAN look very nice if done well. You can also go with a nice tall baseboard for an economical price. Small trim makes your house look cheap, imo. I also think you need to be careful with stained trim, as it can scream 80's and 90's if not done correctly (pssst....oak).

 

[tom31415926]

Thanks, all. I have gotten valuable perspective and probably saved myself some time.

My wife and I will look at painted baseboards and maybe consider stained wood if it looks decent.

We'll also consider some slightly wider (i.e., higher) baseboard.

I'll make another post soon with a different question.

Tom