Installation
New hardwood floors, laid to last a hundred years.
Solid or engineered. Nail-down, glue-down or floating. Site-finished so the floor reads as one surface, or prefinished when the schedule needs it. Across Greater Boston and New England.
What you get
The floor is 20 percent of the job. The subfloor is the rest.
A new hardwood floor fails from underneath. Boards cup because the subfloor was wet. Gaps open because the wood went in at 12 percent moisture in August and dried to 6 in February. Squeaks come from a subfloor that was never screwed down, and a hollow tap at the doorway means someone bridged a low spot instead of filling it.
So we start there. Every job gets a ten-foot straightedge across the floor and the fasteners the subfloor needs before any hardwood arrives. The wood sits in your house until it matches your house. Then it goes in.
Specifications
How we install
Species
Pick it on your floor, not on a screen.
We bring sample boards to the house and lay them where the floor will go, then leave them for a day so you see them at breakfast and at night. Every species below is stocked by suppliers we have used for years.
White oak
Red oak
Maple
Hickory
Walnut
Brazilian cherry
Questions
What people ask before installing
Solid or engineered hardwood?
Solid 3/4-inch hardwood over a plywood subfloor above grade is the long-term choice: it can be sanded five or six times over its life. Engineered is the right call over concrete, in basements, over radiant heat, or when you want planks wider than about 5 inches without seasonal gapping. We install both and will tell you which one your house wants.
How long does the wood need to acclimate?
Usually three to seven days in the rooms where it will be installed, with the heat or AC running as it normally would. The wood is delivered ahead of time and stacked in the rooms it is going into, with the house at the temperature and humidity you normally keep, so it settles to your house before it is nailed down. Engineered needs less time, wide solid plank needs more.
Site-finished or prefinished?
Site-finished floors are sanded and finished after installation, so the surface is one continuous sheet with no bevels between boards and the color is matched in your house. Prefinished boards come coated from the factory, install faster, and can be walked on the same day, but have micro-bevels at every edge and the color is what it is. We do both and will tell you which fits the job.
How long does installation take?
A typical 800 square foot site-finished job is about a week: one to two days of prep and install, then two to three days of sanding, staining and three coats with drying time between. Prefinished cuts that to two or three days. Add acclimation time before either.
Can you match my existing floor for an addition?
Usually, yes. We identify the species and width, lace the new boards into the old ones rather than butting them with a transition strip, then sand and finish the whole area as one floor. That is the only way the seam disappears. Prefinished boards next to an old floor never match.
What about radiant heat?
Engineered hardwood, glued or floated, with the system run for a week before installation to dry the slab and the floor surface held under 80°F afterwards. Solid wood over radiant is possible in narrow widths but we do not recommend it.