Solid hardwood is one piece of wood, usually 3/4" thick, and can be sanded and refinished many times over its lifespan. Engineered hardwood is a hardwood wear layer over a stable plywood core, which makes it less prone to expanding and contracting with humidity. Solid is a great choice for above-grade rooms in stable climates. Engineered is the better call for basements, slab-on-grade construction, homes with radiant heat, or anywhere humidity swings are a concern. We install both and can walk through the trade-offs for your specific project.

Both. Prefinishing in our shop means the boards arrive at the job site already sanded, stained, and finished, which cuts down on dust, smell, and downtime in the home. Site-finished means we install raw boards and then sand, stain, and finish them in place, which gives a more seamless look between boards and lets us match a specific stain on site. Each has trade-offs in cost, timeline, and final appearance. We can recommend based on the project.

We're based in Minnesota and do most of our work regionally, but we travel for the right job. We've installed floors as far west as Aspen, Colorado, and we regularly work with builders on second homes, lake places, and custom residential projects across the upper Midwest and Mountain West. If you're a builder or homeowner with a project outside Minnesota, get in touch and we can talk through what's possible.

Usually, yes. Matching an existing floor depends on the species, the original stain and finish, and how much the existing floor has aged. For close matches we typically pull samples on site, mill new boards to the same dimensions, and test stain and finish combinations until we get there. In some cases the cleanest path is to refinish the existing floor at the same time as the new install so everything reads as one continuous surface.

Yes. A large share of our work is for builders, GCs, and designers on new construction and whole-home remodels. We handle the flooring scope start to finish (specifying material, milling, prefinishing, install, and any related cladding or stair work) and coordinate around the rest of the trades on site. If you're a GC looking for a flooring partner, we'd be glad to talk.