R.L. Colston  3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

This flooring is for folks who want character in their floor. It is not perfect - not even close. I hit mine with a hammer and a saw to give it some extra character. I burned a lot in my wood stove since it was not useable so order extra. BUT... I wanted character. And with a lot of cuts, a lot of patience, and some yelling from my wife to get it done, I got it done. The pic is after 1 coat of wet semigloss. I gave it 4 coats before using satin as final finish and I got the look I wanted. Visitors assume it is reclaimed oak from some old mansion for crazy money.... alas, it was under a buck at lumber liquidators.

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

This is the fifth hardwood floor I have installed, so I do have some frame of reference. That being said, this was definitely the most labor intensive of the 5. I installed 950 square feet in an apartment house. I purchased 30% extra and used it all. Take your time and pre-sort each bundle, and you'll save alot of headache. I cut the bad ends off and used those for starters and ends. Measure the width of each piece before install, most are 3 1/4" but I had about 15% that were 1/16" to 1/8" under. This is not a problem if you put all the narrow pieces in the same row. I used the bad tounges and grooves for starting and end rows. Some of the end cuts were off, but its easy to see if you have the next board down before you nail it. The product comes as described. If you don't mind the extra labor, I'd say it jumped it by at least 50%, this product is beautiful when finished! I will use it again.

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

I bought this to mix in with #2 common white oak, i wanted knots, pits and splits for a more rustic floor. It was actually in better shape than I was expecting, but I added some distressing and it was perfect. there are some warped pieces, and there were a few that were not usable at all, but I am very pleased with it.

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

I was able to use the utility oak as a great cost effective way to build new bedroom doors that look fantastic and have an aged unfinished look.

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

The utility grade oak flooring is a great product if you're willing to be creative in how you position your pieces and are willing to WORK. A lot of pieces that may see like waste may actually be good starting or finishing pieces. I ordered over 240 sq ft just for my master bedroom, which resulted in approximately 7-8 bundles. The extra 10% that LL recommends does come in handy. You'll get a lot of short pieces and will need to utilize every one of them to complete your project. I ended up placing the longer, more attractive pieces in highly visible areas and the shorter pieces in area(s) that may or may not have furniture placed on them. My waste ended up accumulating to approx. two bundles.

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

I was hesitant at first because of the price of the product. I bought 2600sq for a remodel and I can say that the quality is as good as higher priced products/woods. You cant beat the price the value or the outcome. VERY PLEASED!

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

I used this product throughout my home. Its a lot of work upfront but cheaper, you can stain it any color you want, and it has way more character.

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

I absolutely love the look of the finished floor- I was very disappointed in the fact that at least a third of the pieces did not have a square end on them. The result was a triangular shaped gap on roughly a third of the end but joints. This was for a rustic cottage so it's OK, but would not be acceptable in a full time home. Again- the look with the broad variety of color and grain is beautiful if it wasn't for the "variety" of the manufacturing standards.

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

Very happy with the finished product. We had about 30% waste.

Comments about 3/4" x 3 1/4" Utility Oak Flooring:

After reading all the reviews we were excited and nervous at the same time. It took me and my husband about 9 hours total lol split in between 2 days but we saved ourselves over 1,600 doing it ourselves and I say never knock something until you try it. We love the boards so much we plan to leave them bare after we sand and poly them. Here are some before, during and after pics. We haven't sanded yet. Good Luck and I go for it!!!!!