Sanding, patching, stairs and new hardwood for Somerville two-families, triple-deckers and condos, worked one unit at a time.
Somerville Wood Flooring has spent 20+ years refinishing, repairing and installing hardwood floors in Somerville, MA, from full sanding and refinishing to stair work, water damage repair, new hardwood installation and engineered flooring. Most of what we work on sits inside the city’s two-families, triple-deckers and condo conversions, so the job is planned around the people who keep living in the building while the floors are done.
The floors here are mostly old: red oak strip in the front rooms, eastern white pine in kitchens and back halls, and the occasional parquet or maple from a later renovation. Many have been sanded several times already, patched where radiators came out, or hidden under carpet and linoleum for decades. We start every job by finding out what is actually under your feet, how much wood is left above the tongue, and what is safe to sand.
You get a written, itemized estimate before anything starts, a schedule that names the days each room or unit is closed, and a finish chosen for how the floor will be lived on. That applies whether we are refinishing one bedroom, turning a rental unit over between leases, or putting a new herringbone floor into a renovated condo.
What we do
Hardwood floor refinishing, repair and installation in Somerville, MA
Full sanding and refinishing for old oak and pine floors, with the remaining wood measured first and the work scheduled around the household.
Engineered hardwood chosen by wear layer and core, installed over concrete, in condos and over sound underlayment where solid wood would struggle.
Board replacement, radiator hole patches, squeak and nail pop fixes, and insect and pet damage repaired with wood woven into the existing floor.
Water-damaged hardwood traced to the source, dried, measured and documented room by room, then repaired and refinished once the wood is stable.
Treads, risers, nosing and railings refinished by hand, painted stairs handled lead-safe, and common hallway stairs scheduled around every unit.
Solid and engineered hardwood installed over a checked subfloor, acclimated to the house and matched to the old floors in the rooms next door.
A light abrasion and fresh finish coats for floors whose finish is dull and scuffed but still intact, done in a day with almost no dust.
Carpet, pad and tack strip pulled, the oak underneath refinished where it is sound, or new solid or engineered hardwood installed in its place.
Old softwood floors sanded with a gentler grit sequence, cut nails set, gaps and splinters dealt with, and finished to suit the wood's warm color.
Herringbone, chevron and wide plank wood floors laid out from the room's center, fastened over a flat subfloor and sanded and finished in place.
We have been sanding, repairing and installing wood floors for more than twenty years. That time is spent on the problems old floors throw up in this area: thin strip oak, softwood pine that gouges under the wrong paper, radiator holes, painted borders and buildings where three households share one staircase.
Every multi-family job is split by unit or by floor, with doors and returns sealed and the schedule written out in advance, so the family upstairs keeps its kitchen and its sleep rather than being told on the morning of the work that the hallway is closed.
No floor in a pre-1978 building gets a drum sander until we have checked the build year and every painted edge, because Massachusetts enforces its own lead-safe renovation rules on top of the federal ones, so lead dust is not spread through a shared house the way it is when someone sands first and asks later.
Old Somerville strip oak and pine have often been sanded three or four times, so we pull a heat register or a threshold to measure the remaining wood before choosing a grit sequence, rather than running a coarse paper across the room and sanding through to the tongue on the last pass a floor had.
Radiator holes, old wall lines and moved outlets get boards woven into the existing field, matched for species and width, so the patch disappears once the room is finished rather than showing up as a square of new wood framed by a straight seam.
Only finishes that meet the Massachusetts VOC limits for wood coatings go on your floor, with drying and fume times planned around the people in the building, so a tenant on the floor above is not breathing solvent for two days the way they would be under a product picked purely for speed.
Each quote is itemized by room, by repair and by coat, so a landlord can keep it with the move-out paperwork and a homeowner can compare it line for line, rather than receiving a single lump sum that hides the price of the stairs inside the price of the floor.
In a stacked two-family or triple-decker, a leaking toilet or dishwasher above often shows up as water stains and cupping in the ceiling and floor below. We trace where the water traveled, dry and read the boards with a moisture meter, and document every room for the adjuster. Sanding before the wood has dried just brings the damage back.
Cupping is the edges of each board rising above the center as the underside takes on moisture; buckling is the floor lifting off the subfloor entirely. Radiator valves, burst pipes and appliance supply lines cause both. We find and fix the source, let the floor dry to a stable reading, then decide what can be flattened by sanding and what has to be replaced.
When steam or hot-water heat comes on, indoor air dries out and boards shrink, opening winter gaps that close again in summer. That seasonal board gapping is normal and should not be filled with rigid putty, which cracks out by spring. Where gaps stay open year-round, we look at the subfloor and fasteners rather than the season.
Squeaky floorboards usually mean a board rubbing against its neighbor or a loose fastener over a joist. Old face nails and cut nails also work up over time and catch socks and sanding paper alike. We reset or replace the fasteners, add flooring cleats or screws from below where we can reach, and set every nail head before sanding.
Pet urine that sits in oak turns gray, then black, and often soaks through the boards into the subfloor, where the odor lives. Sanding cannot lift a black stain that deep. We cut out the stained boards, check and seal or replace the subfloor beneath, and weave in matching wood so the repair blends in.
Small round exit holes and fine powdery frass on a floor or joist point to wood-boring insects such as powderpost beetle or old house borer, while carpenter ants leave coarser shavings near damp wood. We identify which you have, replace damaged boards, and tell you when the job needs a pest professional before any refinishing makes sense.
Many older floors were waxed for decades, and wax residue stops modern finishes from bonding. A new coat of polyurethane laid over it peels in sheets within months. We test for wax before quoting, and the fix is sanding to clean, bare wood rather than another coat on top.
Years of oil-based finish turn oak a deep orange, and some red oak boards show a pink cast once sanded bare. Neither is a defect, but both change how stain reads. We sand off the old amber finish and lay test samples so you can choose a neutral, warm or darker tone with the pink accounted for.
Traffic lanes are the gray paths worn through the finish in hallways, kitchens and front rooms where everyone walks. Once the wood itself is exposed it absorbs dirt and water. A screen and recoat cannot restore color there, so worn lanes generally mean sanding the room to an even surface and refinishing it in one piece.
Old wood floors in a stacked building transmit footsteps and dropped objects straight to the unit beneath. When we replace or install flooring, we can add a sound-reducing underlayment rated for the job and check the condo or building rules on it. On an existing floor, rugs and pads in the right rooms help more than most expect.
A full sanding takes the floor to bare wood with a drum sander and an orbital sander, then rebuilds the finish. A screen and recoat lightly abrades the existing finish and adds fresh coats on top. We test which the floor will accept, because a recoat over damaged or waxed finish is money spent twice.
Eastern white pine and the occasional heart pine floor are soft, often wide, and held with cut nails. They gouge if the sanding paper is too coarse and splinter where gaps have opened. We set the nails, fill or slip-strip gaps where it suits the floor, and sand with a gentler grit sequence than oak would take.
Pull up old wall-to-wall carpet in Somerville and there is often red oak strip flooring underneath, along with carpet pad, staples and tack strip nailed through the perimeter. We remove the strip and staples, fill the nail holes along the walls, and assess the oak for stains and wear before a full refinish.
Where radiators and their supply pipes came out, they leave holes and short boards cut around them. We remove the damaged pieces and weave in matching boards, staggering the joints so the radiator hole patch sits inside the floor pattern rather than as a visible square once the room is finished.
Take down a wall between two rooms and you usually find a gap, a change in board direction, or a strip of subfloor where the plate sat. We lace new boards into both sides of the old wall line and sand the joined rooms together so they read as one floor.
Strip oak that has been sanded many times may have very little wood left above the tongue and groove. Sanding into the tongue exposes nail heads and splits boards. We check the remaining thickness first, and when it is thin we use a lighter cut or a recoat, or tell you plainly that replacement is the better path.
Painted borders, porch floors and stairs are common in old houses, and paint from before 1978 may contain lead. Massachusetts has its own lead law and deleading rules under 454 CMR 22.00. We check before any sanding and set up the work and containment to suit, rather than creating lead dust in a family’s home.
Hardwood stair refinishing is hand work: each stair tread, riser and nosing is sanded or scraped individually, and painted stairs need extra care. We price stairs per tread rather than per square foot, and schedule shared stairways so every household knows which days the stairs are wet.
The same stain looks different on red oak, white oak and pine, and different again under north light. We lay stain samples and sheen level options on a sanded patch of your own floor so you choose in the room, in the daylight, rather than from a brochure.
Dust containment means plastic and tape over doors, sealed heat returns and HEPA vacuums attached to the sanders. Fumes depend on the finish: waterborne polyurethane has far less odor than oil-modified. We plan which rooms close on which days so you can stay where it is practical.
Solid hardwood can be sanded many times and lasts the life of the house. Engineered flooring has a real wood wear layer over a stable core and handles moisture and concrete better. Vinyl plank resists water but cannot be refinished. We lay out the trade-offs for your rooms rather than pushing one.
Engineered hardwood suits a condo where the association requires sound-reducing underlayment, and a basement over a concrete slab where solid wood would cup. Floating or glued installation depends on the slab and building rules, and the engineered wear layer thickness tells you whether the floor can ever be sanded.
We pull the carpet, pad and tack strip, inspect and level the subfloor, and install solid or engineered hardwood in its place. Matching the new floor to oak in adjoining rooms is often possible, and we plan the transitions at doorways before ordering material.
Converting a carpeted staircase means removing the carpet and staples, checking whether the existing treads are finish-grade or rough, and either refinishing them or installing new stair treads and risers with matching nosing. Each step is measured individually because old stairs are rarely uniform.
Prefinished boards come from the factory finished and go in with no on-site fumes or drying time. Site-finished floors are sanded flat after installation and finished in place, giving a smoother surface and full stain choice. We explain both and how each wears in a busy home.
Herringbone and chevron patterns need square layout lines, precise cuts and a flat subfloor. We lay out from the room’s center, glue and nail each piece, then sand and finish in place so the pattern reads cleanly from every doorway.
Wide plank floors in white oak or pine show more grain and fewer seams, but wider boards move more with humidity. We acclimate material, check subfloor flatness and moisture, and fasten to suit the width, so the floor stays flat through a Massachusetts heating season.
After an addition, kitchen move or wall removal, the new section needs to match the old in species, width, cut and color. We source matching red oak or pine, weave the new boards in, and sand and finish the whole area together so it reads as one floor.
In a condo or multi-family, a sound-reducing underlayment beneath the new floor cuts impact noise reaching the unit below. Many associations name a minimum rating in their rules. We check the documents, pick an underlayment that meets them, and install the floor to suit it.
In a two-family house or three-family house, we refinish one unit or one floor at a time while the other households stay. Doors are sealed, returns are taped, and the schedule is agreed with every unit so no one is surprised by noise or a closed hallway.
Common hallway stairs and landings are the only route in and out for every unit above. We work them in sections or schedule the full closure on agreed days, with the dates written down in advance so each household can plan around them.
The gap between one tenant leaving and the next moving in is often days, not weeks. We schedule sanding and finishing to land inside that gap, using a finish that cures in time for move-in, so a vacant unit does not sit empty longer than it has to.
Massachusetts law under M.G.L. c.186 s.15B separates normal wear from damage a landlord can charge against a security deposit. Our itemized estimate and photographs describe the floor’s condition clearly, which is the kind of record a landlord keeps with the move-out paperwork.
Landlords often need to know whether floor work is a repair or an improvement for their records. We write invoices that break out refinishing, board repair and new installation separately, so your accountant has what they need without a phone call back to us.
A two- or three-family being converted to condos under M.G.L. c.183A, and in Somerville through the Condominium Review Board, often gets new or refinished floors in every unit. We can plan floor work unit by unit and coordinate with the other trades on the conversion schedule.
Many condo associations set rules on hard flooring, rugs and underlayment, plus notice periods and permitted work hours. We read the association’s own documents rather than assuming, and plan the work and materials to comply.
Most of Somerville’s housing was built before 1940. Massachusetts runs its own lead-safe renovation program alongside the federal EPA RRP Rule, and tenants and owners are both affected. We check the building’s age and painted surfaces before sanding and plan containment and cleanup to match.
Under old carpet or linoleum you may find resilient floor tile and black mastic adhesive, either of which can contain asbestos in older buildings. We identify it before sanding anything nearby and leave its removal to the licensed trade under 310 CMR 7.15, then work on the wood once it is clear.
Refinished hardwood is one of the strongest notes in a listing. We schedule sanding and finishing so the floors are fully cured before listing photos and open houses, and choose a neutral finish that photographs evenly in daylight.
Somerville Wood Flooring provides wood-flooring throughout the greater Somerville area, with the same crews and the same standards on every job.
Good to know
Full sanding and refinishing is priced by the square foot, then adjusted for what the floor needs first: board replacement, radiator hole patches, stain, the number of finish coats and how much furniture has to move. Stairs are priced tread by tread. We give every customer a written, itemized estimate after looking at the floor, so each line can be compared rather than guessed at.
Most single-unit jobs run a few working days from the first sanding pass to the final coat, longer when there are repairs or stain. Waterborne finishes usually take sock traffic within a day of the last coat, while oil-modified finishes need longer, and rugs and heavy furniture wait longer still. We write the schedule down before we start so you can plan where to sleep and park.
Often, yes, especially in a two- or three-family where we are working one unit or one floor at a time. We seal doors and returns, run HEPA vacuums and choose a finish with lower odor where the household needs it. Some jobs, such as a whole first floor with the only kitchen on it, are easier if you stay elsewhere for the finish days.
A screen and recoat works when the existing polyurethane is worn but intact and the wood underneath has not been reached. Once traffic lanes are gray, boards are stained, or the floor was ever waxed, a recoat will not bond or will not hide the damage, and full sanding is the honest answer. We test the finish before recommending either.
Yes, and most of Somerville's housing predates that year. We check the build year and look for painted surfaces before any sanding, because Massachusetts has its own lead rules on top of the federal EPA RRP Rule. Painted stairs, borders and thresholds in an old house change how the job is set up and contained.
Solid hardwood nailed to a wood subfloor can be sanded many times and suits most Somerville floors above grade. Engineered flooring is the better fit over concrete, in many condos that require sound underlayment, and where moisture is a concern. The thickness of the engineered wear layer decides whether it can ever be sanded, so we compare products by that number.
Waterborne polyurethane is our usual choice for a lived-in home: it stays clear, dries quickly and fits the Massachusetts VOC limits for wood coatings. Oil-modified polyurethane gives a warmer amber tone that some owners want on old oak, and hardwax oil suits people who prefer spot repairs over periodic recoats. We put samples down so you see each one on your own wood.
Usually. We match the species, the board width and the cut, then weave the new boards into the old ones rather than ending them in a straight line, and sand and finish the whole room together so the color evens out. Some older red oak and heart pine takes careful sourcing, which we tell you about before quoting.
We read the floor with a moisture meter, photograph the cupping, staining and buckling room by room, and write up what has to be dried, replaced or refinished. That record is what an adjuster asks for. Coverage decisions belong to your insurer, but a clear, dated record makes the conversation shorter.
Request a free quote today and we'll get back to you fast.
