Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring searches split into two good stories: installing new wood — solid or engineered, the floor bought once and refinished for decades — and rescuing existing hardwood, the boards already in the house that decades of carpet and vinyl have been protecting since before the current owners were born.

West Michigan housing rewards the second story constantly: pre-war homes across the region were floored in oak and maple as a matter of course, and refinishing recovers them for a fraction of replacement. New installation earns its place too — matching additions to originals, extending wood through main levels, and the engineered options that put real wood where solid cannot go.

For refinishing, the request wants the rooms, the wood's visible condition, and its history — past sandings if known, water events, pet years. For new installation, the rooms, the grade level (solid wood dislikes basements; engineered tolerates them), and whether matching existing floors matters. Photos serve both: close shots of the boards and wide shots of the rooms tell the evaluation most of what it needs before anyone visits.

Refinish or replace — how is the call made?

Board thickness, past sandings, and damage depth decide it. Solid boards usually offer several refinishes in their life; the evaluation reads how many yours has left.

Solid or engineered for new work?

By grade level and subfloor mostly — solid above grade on wood subfloors, engineered where moisture or concrete rule. Both are real hardwood where it counts.

Can new hardwood match an 80-year-old floor?

Species and width can be matched closely, and finish blends the rest — perfect invisibility depends on the floor, and the estimate will be honest about the seam.