If you've been thinking about refinishing your hardwood floors for a while, now is a great time to seriously consider it. We don't say this just to push our services. We say this because the summer months are actually fantastic for home improvement; especially in the Midwest. Read on to see why we think these months can really make a difference in the value in your home. 

We consider ourselves professionals. We take great pride in the work we do. We don't cut corners, and our work represents that. We know that we may not always be the cheapest when it comes down to the bids themselves, but there is good reason for that. We give honest pricing so that there are no surprises, but most importantly we want the job to be done well. We want our customers so happy with their floors that they're raving about them to their friends. We recently stumbled upon a case of a floor man cutting corners and literally ruining this individual's hardwood floors. 

We know that this is a hardwood flooring blog, but you'd be surprised how much we have to know about carpet in our line of work. Removing carpet is something we have to deal with more often that we'd like. Carpet removal can be a mess and sometimes even painful. There's a reason your flooring man is going to charge you for carpet removal. Read on if you'd like to pick up a tip or two if you plan on removing your own carpet this summer. 

We like to use this blog as a place where we can answer some questions that our customers have for us. We have customers asking us what the difference is between pre-finished hardwood floors and hardwood floors that are finished on site. Both have their pros and cons, but at the end of the day, and flooring man is going to side with floors that are finished on site. We'd like to put a list together so that you can better make a choice when you're going to be undertaking your next flooring project.

We're getting a lot of customers getting new hardwood floors, which is typical of the summer months. Our business really kicks into high gear join the summer when people feel more eager to get things done inside of their home. We thought this would be a great time for a refresher in a few tips you follow as you get ready for some new hardwood floors.

The relationship that you're going to establish with your contractor when you finally decide to being that home improvement project is going to be important. Letting someone into your home to drastically change the look and feel of the space is a lot of responsibility. We try to ease this process and make things go smoothly by establishing a line of communication in which we feel the customer can ask us pretty much anything in regards to their home improvement project without feeling like they're bothering us. We feel that we are in a unique position in the Chicago area to deliver a service that no one else can match. 

A great hardwood floor can leave create a classic and timeless look for any home. There is just something about a solid hardwood floor that gets us excited. It's great to know that so much care and thought went into something like a hardwood floor because it is going to last for years if treated properly. It is a reflection of the care the owner put into their home. That same level of care should be applied to every part of the job. We can cover the labor aspect to ensure that your floors are installed properly. There are a couple aspects of the installation that you should look into and consider before moving forward. They have to do with "on-grade", "below-grade", and "above-grade" installation. If these words mean nothing to you, read on to understand why it is important to understand these terms. 

We've run into a couple of situations in which a customer mentioned that they had hesitation  before choosing hardwood floors for their home. We asked what the reason for the holdup was, and they mentioned children. Apparently there are a lot of people out there who are afraid that a hardwood floor might be too "harsh" for small children. We couldn't disagree more. While a hardwood floor might be harder than something like carpet, a hardwood floor becomes more practical in day to day life. Read on to see why we think so.

We're not just a simple hardwood flooring business. We have core principles that we want to reflect in our day to day work. We care about the environment and work to ensure that we're environmentally friendly in as many aspects of our business as possible. We've complied a list of simple things that any one of our environmentally conscious customers can look to when they decide to do their floors in the future.

Everyone loves their pets. Our lives would be a little less happy if we had to live without our dogs. We also have hardwood floors in our homes. So it should be no surprise that we think pets and hardwood floors can live together in perfect harmony. The trick is knowing how to negate the damage all pets can do to a floor. 

Summer is right around the corner and we thought it might be worthwhile to write about how seasonal weather changes can affect your hardwood floors. Wood is an organic material that has characteristics that make it unique. A responsible owner knows the ins and outs of their floors so as to make sure they can identify a problem at the first warning signs. Read ahead if you'd like to know what the inevitably hot midwest summer is going to do to your hardwood floors.

The kitchen tends to be where a lot of families do most of their "living". It is a high traffic area that takes a lot of abuse. We occasionally get asked, "Does it make sense to have hardwood floors in the kitchen?". Our short answer is yes, but we'd like to give a few reasons why we think it's a good idea, as well as dispel some common misconceptions.

It wasn't so long ago that a lot of our customers preferred to have a hardwood flooring specialist come to their home and do an estimate on site. Just like most things in life, change is inevitable. We are finding that a lot of our potential clients want their estimates done over the internet. We live in a hyper connected world where time is more valuable than ever. It's our job to adapt to these ever-changing environments and give the customer what they want.

Our customers are always ecstatic when they get to see their newly refinished floors. We like to try and remind them that their new floors are merely the beginning of years of great memories framed by having great floors to walk on. It is important to know how to maintain your floors once you have them refinished in order to get the maximum value out of them and to ensure that they are going to shine for years to come.

The word quality is thrown around a lot on our industry. Everyone claims to offer superior quality for half the price. When everyone starts shouting the same thing, the worlds begin to lose all meaning fairly quickly. We'd like to be specific and mention some of the areas that we take special care in. We really do try to create a superior experience compared to the competition out there.

Refinishing and installing new hardwood floors is a task that requires the use of materials that are inherently dangerous when not used with proper precautions. We do our best to inform our customers of all the hazards that a hardwood flooring project can entail so that we don’t run into any unfortunate consequences down the road. Read on to see how you can prepare your home, and the people living in it, for your next hardwood flooring job.

A lot of our customers can’t wait to pick the stain color for their floors. Lots of people consider the staining process to be vital and necessary when they decide to undertake a flooring project. In fact, we've seen lots of confusion when people begin to talk about staining a floor. The process of “finishing” the wood and “staining” it are very often lumped together. Staining can lead to problems for even the most seasoned hardwood floor specialist. It’s almost a given that a first time do-it-yourself individual is going to run into complications when staining their floor. Read on to see why floor stains can lead to headaches.

It’s fairly standard practice in our industry to offer free estimates. We find that most of our customers actually expect these estimates free of charge. We’re more than happy to come look at a floor and bid for the job. We like to put a strong emphasis on seeing the floor in person befire we actually give an estimate so we can set the expectations of the customer accordlingly. Read on to see the benefits, to both us and customer, of seeing a floor in person before giving a “ballpark” price estimate.

Many people know that floors can be sanded multiple times. However, there is a limit to how many times you can sand a floor before you need new wood. Sanding a floor one too many times can lead to splintering and cracking. The limit for 3/4-in. solid flooring is when the wood above the groove is near 3/32-in. after sanding. Read on to see what preparations anyone should take before they consider sanding their floors.

Floor finishes come in two major varieties: water-based and oil-based. Most of our customers choose to go with an oil-based floor finish, but it’s something everyone should consider before they begin their next hardwood flooring project. Read on to learn about some of the differences between the two finish types so you can make an informed choice when the time comes to refinish your floors.