Hardwood floor installation
Laid by the crew that finishes it too
Most hardwood problems show up months later, and nearly all of them start under the boards. So the subfloor gets checked for flat and for movement, any soft spots come out, and the wood sits in the house until its moisture matches the room. Only then does it go down.
We install red oak, maple, walnut, cherry, hickory, ash and mahogany, and we lay it straight, diagonal, in herringbone or as a bordered Versailles panel. The same crew sands and finishes it, so nobody hands your floor to a stranger halfway through.
Picking wood for a room? Call Best Choice Flooring and Mike will come and look at it.
Solid or engineered for a Delaware house?
It depends what is under the floor. Solid wood is one piece through, so it can be sanded and refinished many times over its life, and it suits a room over a dry crawl space or a wood subfloor. Engineered wood is a real wood wear layer over plywood, which holds its shape better where moisture moves, so it is the safer pick over a slab or a damp basement. Both look the same once they are down. Mike will tell you which one your room wants when he sees it, along with anything else the flooring work we do in Lewes can cover at the same time.
What does pattern work add?
Time and precision, mostly. A straight lay is fast. Diagonal costs more in offcuts. Herringbone and double herringbone have to start from a center line that is right first time, because every board after it repeats the error. A Versailles panel is joinery: a framed square with a woven field inside it, usually set into an entry or a dining room as a feature. We build borders and step nosings the same way. Herringbone has been the look people ask for since around 2019, and it is worth doing properly, because a pattern that drifts is the one thing you cannot sand out later. The National Wood Flooring Association publishes the installation guidelines this work follows.
Put real wood back in the room
Mike comes out, measures it himself and puts the wood, the pattern and the schedule in writing before anything is ordered.
Call (302) 232-7524Prefinished boards or finished on site?
Finished on site gives you one flat, sealed surface with no bevel between the boards, so nothing collects in the seams and the color is yours rather than a catalogue number. It takes longer, because the sanding, the stain and the coats all happen in the house. Prefinished is quicker and there is no finish smell, and it is the right answer when a room has to be back in use fast. We do both. If you already have wood in the next room, matching it is usually a refinishing job rather than a replacement.
If the room is concrete rather than joists, epoxy and metallic floors are the other route.
How much disruption is it?
Real, and worth knowing about up front. The rooms have to be clear, the wood needs time in the house before it goes down, and the finishing days come with a smell and a floor nobody can walk on. Most people stay in the house and we work room by room where the layout allows it. What we will not do is compress the schedule to make it sound easier, because every corner cut there shows up in the floor. You get the dates in writing, and if something slips you hear it from Mike rather than finding out. See the rest of what we install.
Ask the man doing the work
Straight answers about your flooring questions
How long does a hardwood floor take to install?
The wood has to sit in the house first, usually several days, so its moisture matches the room. After that, installation is a few days for most houses and the sanding and finishing follows. You get the dates for your rooms before we start.
Can you put hardwood over concrete?
Yes, with the right build. A slab needs a moisture barrier and usually an engineered floor rather than solid boards. We check the slab first rather than assume it.
Do I have to move the furniture?
The rooms need to be clear so the crew can work wall to wall. Tell Mike what is heavy or awkward at the estimate and we will sort it out between us.
What wood do most people pick around Lewes?
Red oak, by a distance. It is hard, it takes stain evenly and it matches what is already in a lot of older Sussex County houses. Maple, hickory and walnut come up when somebody wants a different grain or a darker floor.
Can you match the wood in my other rooms?
Usually. Species, board width and stain can all be matched, and the join between old and new gets woven in rather than butted. Bring a spare board if you have one.
Where do you install hardwood floors?
Across Lewes and the beach towns, including Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Milton, Bethany Beach, Georgetown, Millsboro and Ocean City, MD. Call (302) 232-7524 and tell Mike where you are.