What is under the carpet
Lifting a corner in a closet costs nothing and frequently changes the whole plan.
A lot of East York oak is still under broadloom
Houses of this era were built with solid oak strip flooring as standard, not as an upgrade, and a great deal of it was carpeted over in the decades since. That carpet has frequently protected the wood rather than ruined it. Before pricing a new floor here the first job is to lift a corner in a closet and see what is under there, because refinishing at $4 to $8 per square foot against replacing at $10 to $18 is a difference worth ten minutes of checking. What you are looking for is solid strip, not plywood, and enough thickness above the tongue to take a sand. Where both are true, the floor you already own is better than most of what you could buy.
Floors we install in East York
Refinishing original oak
Carpet and staples out, boards sanded back and re-coated.
Board repair and replacement
Matched strip cut in where boards are damaged or stained.
New floors where the old is gone
Hardwood, plank or tile over a subfloor brought up to 19 mm first.
What we look for in an East York property
Thickness above the tongue
Solid strip of this age usually has at least one sand left, but it has to be confirmed.
Staple and tack strip damage
Carpet leaves holes along the edges. They fill and disappear under a sand, but the edges need the work.
Subfloor condition underneath
Original panels here are often under 19 mm, which matters only if you are laying something new.
Staple holes and tack strip edges in East York houses
Carpet leaves a record of itself. Tack strip runs a line of nail holes around the whole perimeter, and staples leave their own pattern through the field. All of it fills and disappears under a full sand, which is precisely why a floor uncovered from carpet needs the full treatment rather than a light screen and recoat. The other thing carpet leaves is risers and closet floors that were never finished, because nobody expected them to be seen.
What our clients say
Reviews collected directly from clients.
5/5
The team refinished our existing hardwood floors and brought them back to life. The colour looks great, and the final finish is smooth and consistent.
5/5
Ontario Flooring installed new hardwood flooring throughout our home, and the results look beautiful. The crew was careful, professional, and kept the work area clean from start to finish.
Questions about flooring in East York
How do I know if it is real hardwood under my carpet?
Lift a corner in a closet or behind a door. Solid strip oak is narrow, usually two and a quarter inches, with a tongue you can see at the edge of a board. Plywood or particleboard means it is a subfloor and there was never a finished floor there.
The carpet has left staple holes everywhere. Is that a problem?
No. Staple and tack strip holes are filled and then sanded, and they disappear entirely under the new finish. It is one of the reasons a carpeted-over floor needs a full sand rather than a light recoat.
My floor is oak but it looks orange. Can that change?
Yes. Most of that colour is the old finish ambering rather than the wood itself, and sanding removes it. Red oak has a pink undertone that will still read through a very light stain, so we put a sample on your actual floor before committing.