Hardwood Floor Installation

Our hardwood floor installation covers the subfloor check, the layout of the rows, fastening and fitting the boards, transitions at doorways, landings, and stairs, and, for site-finished floors, the sanding, stain, and finish. The written estimate lists exactly what your project includes, so you can compare it with other quotes line by line.

Both make durable, good-looking floors. Red oak has a warmer, slightly pink tone and a bolder grain, and it is the classic floor in many older New England homes. White oak is cooler and more even, and it suits natural and gray looks. We bring samples to the estimate and help you decide in your own light.

Site-finished hardwood is installed raw and then sanded, stained, and finished in your home, so the color can match other floors and the surface is smooth from board to board. Prefinished boards come with the finish already applied at the factory. We explain the trade-offs for your rooms during the estimate.

Solid hardwood is usually not recommended directly over concrete or below grade, because moisture from the slab can make the boards cup or gap. For those areas, engineered hardwood or luxury vinyl plank are often the better choice. We look at the space during the estimate and recommend the floor that will perform well there.

Wood takes on moisture from the air around it. If boards are installed much drier or wetter than the home, they move afterward and can open gaps or cup. Depending on the product, we let the wood adjust in the house and compare its moisture with the subfloor before installation, so the floor stays stable through the seasons.

Yes. Landings and stairs are part of many of our installations, as the photos on this page show. New wood at the top of the stairs has to line up with the treads and the railing, and the nosings have to be fitted carefully. We plan the stairs together with the floors so the whole area matches.

It depends on the square footage, the subfloor preparation, the stairs and landings involved, whether the wood needs time to adjust, and whether the floor is finished on site. We give you a realistic schedule in the estimate and plan the rooms with you, so you know which parts of the house are closed and when.

Not the whole time. Someone should be available at the start to confirm the plan and at the end for the walkthrough, and we stay in touch during the work. The rooms being installed need to be empty, and pets should stay away from the work area while tools and materials are in use.

When the new floor is site-finished, we can stain it to come close to the color of the floors in the rest of the house. An exact match is not always possible, because old and new wood age differently, and sometimes refinishing the older floors at the same time gives the most even result. We discuss this during the estimate.

The cost depends on the square footage, the wood species and width, the subfloor preparation, any existing floor that has to come out, the stairs and landings involved, and the stain and finish. We do not quote over the phone. We measure and check the subfloor at a free in-home estimate and send a written price.