Formidable Flooring
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WESTPORT · REFINISHING & INSTALLATION

A new chapter.
The same home.

Main-floor Brazilian cherry, refinished. Upstairs carpet, replaced with engineered hardwood. Stairs, handrails and nosings, coordinated as part of the transformation.

Refinished Brazilian cherry brings a deeper warmth to the furnished living room.
Refinished Brazilian cherry brings a deeper warmth to the furnished living room.

THE FINISHED MAIN FLOOR

Warmth through
every room.

The deeper finish carries through the sitting room, dining space and kitchen, bringing the existing hardwood into a new chapter of the home.

Refinished hardwood through the sunlit sitting room.
Refinished hardwood through the sunlit sitting room.
The refinished floor through the furnished dining area.
The refinished floor through the furnished dining area.
Rich hardwood tones connect the fireplace seating area and dining room.
Rich hardwood tones connect the fireplace seating area and dining room.

01 / MAIN FLOOR · REFINISHING

Same wood.
A deeper warmth.

The main-floor Brazilian cherry was retained, sanded and refinished in a darker tone. The grain and character remain; the change is in how the original floor feels within the home.

BEFORE · MAIN FLOOR

Original red-toned Brazilian cherry in the living room.
Original red-toned Brazilian cherry in the living room.

AFTER · MAIN FLOOR

The same living room after sanding and refinishing.
The same living room after sanding and refinishing.
How we chose the finish · View stain samples and sanding

Samples tested on the existing Brazilian cherry helped establish the darker direction alongside the new upstairs flooring. The sanded dining-area floor shows the timber before the new finish.

Stain samples on the actual floor.
Stain samples on the actual floor.
The dining-area floor after sanding, before staining.
The dining-area floor after sanding, before staining.

02 / UPSTAIRS · NEW HARDWOOD

Carpet out.
Hardwood in.

Upstairs, the work began with carpet and underlay removal. Preparing the exposed substrate and installing engineered hardwood with full-spread adhesive brought a new finish to the bedrooms and landing.

BEFORE · MASTER BEDROOM

The master bedroom with its original carpet.
The master bedroom with its original carpet.

AFTER · MASTER BEDROOM

The same bedroom furnished over the new hardwood.
The same bedroom furnished over the new hardwood.

03 / THE LANDING · HANDRAILS & NOSINGS

Bring the pieces
together.

We handled handrail removal, restaining and reinstallation, as well as nosing staining. Coordinating that work with the new upstairs floor brought the landing, stair edges and handrail into the same darker colour direction.

BEFORE · UPSTAIRS LANDING

The original handrail beside the carpeted landing.
The original handrail beside the carpeted landing.

AFTER · UPSTAIRS LANDING

The restained and reinstalled handrail beside the new hardwood.
The restained and reinstalled handrail beside the new hardwood.

BEHIND THE FINISHED FLOOR

The preparation
behind the transformation.

Laser assessment, mechanical grinding, controlled leveling and preparation for staining shaped the work. Explore the photographs and decisions behind the finished rooms.

Explore the preparation and finishing details

04 / BENEATH THE FLOOR · PREPARATION

The result starts
below the boards.

The finished rooms tell only part of the story. Laser and straightedge checks helped map the uneven substrate upstairs, informing where to grind high areas and build up low areas before installation.

Assessing the substrate with a laser and straightedge.
Assessing the substrate with a laser and straightedge.
During the master-bedroom pour · Leveling compound spreads across the mechanically prepared substrate.
During the master-bedroom pour · Leveling compound spreads across the mechanically prepared substrate.

WHY THE PREPARATION MATTERS

Flatness, with the
whole home in mind.

Flooding everything to the highest point would have affected the surrounding transitions. The preparation plan instead combined mechanical grinding with controlled pours, accounting for both local unevenness and the different elevations between rooms.

Mechanical preparation and freshly trowelled adhesive in the same view.
Mechanical preparation and freshly trowelled adhesive in the same view.

UPSTAIRS · GLUE-DOWN INSTALLATION

Prepared below.
Bonded above.

The grinding marks remain visible beside the adhesive. This close-up shows the preparation beneath the new engineered hardwood, just before the next boards are laid.

The stair opening and surrounding surfaces masked off for nosing staining.
The stair opening and surrounding surfaces masked off for nosing staining.

NOSING STAIN PREPARATION

Protect the surroundings.
Focus on the finish.

Masking isolates the exposed wood at the stair opening while protecting the surrounding flooring and staircase during the staining work.

YOUR HOME, NEXT

See the potential.
Plan the details.

Considering refinishing, new hardwood, or a combination of both? We’ll help you assess the existing floors and the preparation your project needs.

Request an estimate ↗