Service
Hardwood Installation
Site-finished and prefinished oak, maple, and hickory.
$8.00 - $15.00 per sq ft, materials and installation.
Hardwood is the floor people picture when they imagine a finished house, and it is the one that rewards being installed properly. We work mainly in white oak, red oak, maple and hickory, in widths from three to seven inches.
The work that decides whether a hardwood floor lasts happens before any board is nailed down. We check the subfloor for flatness and moisture, because wood laid over a damp or uneven deck will cup, squeak or gap no matter how good the boards were. If the deck needs levelling or a vapour barrier, we tell you before you sign, not after we have opened the floor.
Nail-down over a timber subfloor is our default. Over concrete we glue down or float, depending on the moisture reading. Stairs, thresholds and trim are milled from the same run as the floor so the grain and colour carry through the whole house rather than stopping at the bottom step.
What it costs as the job grows
The band shows the budget-to-premium range for this material at each size.
At 1,550 sq ft, hardwood installation typically lands between $12,400 and $23,250.
Common questions
Prefinished or site-finished — which should I choose?
Prefinished boards arrive with a factory-cured finish, so the room is usable the same day and the coating is harder. Site-finished floors are sanded flat after laying, which gives a seamless surface with no micro-bevels between boards and lets us match a stain exactly. If you want the floor to look like it has always been there, site-finished wins. If you need the room back fast, prefinished does.
How much movement should I expect?
Solid hardwood moves with humidity — that is normal, not a defect. We acclimatise the boards in your home for several days before laying, and we leave an expansion gap at every wall, hidden under the skirting. In a heated home you may see hairline gaps in winter that close again in summer.
Can hardwood go in a kitchen?
Yes, and it is one of the most popular places we lay it. Standing water is the enemy, not humidity, so we seal thoroughly around the dishwasher and sink and recommend you wipe spills rather than let them sit. In a basement or a wet room we would steer you to LVP instead.
Installed across Rockford, Loves Park, Belvidere, Machesney Park, Roscoe.
Recent work
Hardwood Installation we have finished
Ready for a floor you stop noticing because it just works?
Free measured estimate, no obligation, usually within 48 hours.