Hardwood Floor Installation in Centennial, CO and the Denver Metro
Already have hardwood that looks worn or dated? Ask about hardwood floor refinishing before replacing it.
Hardwood is still the floor most people picture when they imagine the house they want, and for good reason. It’s warm, it looks better as it ages, and a well-installed wood floor can last for generations. A lot of our customers in Centennial and around the Denver Metro are pulling up old carpet or worn laminate and switching to real wood, and it’s one of the upgrades buyers notice when a house goes on the market. It’s also not a weekend project. The subfloor has to be flat and solid, the wood has to acclimate to your house, and the boards need the right fasteners and expansion gaps. Get any of that wrong and you can end up with gaps, cupping or buckling a few months later. That’s why the prep gets as much of our attention as the install itself.
Hardwood Floors Installed by Our Own Crew
We help you pick the species, color and finish in our showroom, measure the rooms, and then our own crew installs the floor. Before we start, you’ll know which installation method we’re using and why, because the right method depends on the product and what’s underneath it.
Solid Hardwood Flooring
Solid hardwood is milled from one piece of wood, usually 3/4 inch thick. It can be sanded and refinished several times over its life, which is why a solid oak or hickory floor can last as long as the house. It’s best on main and upper floors over a wood subfloor, not below grade.
Floating Installation
Floating floors aren’t nailed or glued to the subfloor. The boards lock or glue together at the edges and sit on an underlayment. Many engineered hardwood products can be floated, which is handy over concrete or an existing hard floor. The subfloor still has to be flat, or the floor will feel hollow and move underfoot.
Glue-Down Installation
With glue-down installation the boards are bonded straight to the subfloor with flooring adhesive. It’s the usual choice for engineered hardwood over concrete slabs, including basements. A good glue-down floor feels solid and quiet, but it takes careful prep, a moisture test on the slab and the right adhesive for the product.
Nail-Down Installation
Nail-down is the traditional method for solid hardwood over a plywood or OSB subfloor. Each board is nailed or stapled at an angle through the tongue, so the fasteners are hidden. It gives the solid, quiet feel people expect from a wood floor and is still the standard for most solid hardwood.
Solid Hardwood vs Engineered Hardwood Planks
Before getting into the installation process itself, it helps to understand what you’re actually putting down. Solid hardwood flooring is exactly what it sounds like: a single piece of wood cut from whatever species you choose. Oak, walnut, maple, hickory, and white oak. These floors can be refinished multiple times over their lifespan because there’s enough material to sand down and start fresh whenever scratches and wear accumulate.
Engineered hardwood consists of a real wood veneer on top with layers of plywood or composite materials underneath. The construction makes it more stable in spaces where humidity fluctuates, like basements or rooms over concrete. Depending on veneer thickness, you can still sand and refinish engineered wood, just not as many times as solid. Both options have their place depending on your room layout, the existing flooring situation, and what kind of durability you need for your household traffic.
What Happens During the Installation Process
So the crew shows up. Now what? The first thing any experienced team does is assess the subfloor. If you’ve got old carpet being removed, there might be staples, adhesive residue, or moisture issues hiding underneath. Plywood subfloors need to be level and structurally sound. Concrete requires a vapor barrier to prevent moisture from seeping up into the wood over time.
Once the subfloor checks out, the flooring materials need time to adjust to your home’s environment. Wood expands and contracts based on temperature and humidity, so letting the planks sit in the space for several days to a couple weeks prevents warping after installation. The first row gets set along the longest, most visible wall, and installers work outward from there. Depending on the method, they might use a flooring nailer for tongue and groove boards, a brad nailer for tighter spots, or face nail the final row where a standard nailer can’t reach.
Expansion gaps along the walls are non-negotiable. Wood needs room to breathe as seasons change, and skipping this step leads to buckling floors that push against your walls. The next row staggers the joints so seams don’t line up, which gives the floor a natural look and adds structural integrity. Hand tools come out for the tricky cuts around doorframes and corners. And yeah, there’s usually some wood putty involved to fill nail holes before the finishing touches.
Choosing the Right Wood Species for Your Space
This is the fun part. The wood types you pick affect everything from color and grain pattern to how well the floor holds up against pets, kids, and heavy furniture. White oak has been trending hard lately because of its durability and neutral tone that works with almost any design direction. Hickory runs on the harder side, so it resists dents better than softer species. Walnut gives you those rich, darker tones if that’s the desired aesthetic you’re going for. Maple lands somewhere in between with a clean, consistent grain.
You can see samples of the hardwood we carry in our Centennial showroom, which saves a lot of guessing compared to small online swatches. Seeing the wood in person under actual lighting conditions makes the decision way easier.
What Affects Installation Costs
Nobody loves talking about money, but installation costs vary pretty significantly based on a few factors. Square footage is the obvious one. A small bedroom costs less than redoing an entire main floor. The condition of your existing flooring matters too. If there’s carpet to remove, old tile to demo, or subfloor repairs needed, that adds labor and potentially dump fees for hauling away debris. The wood species you select plays a role since exotic hardwoods cost more than domestic options like oak or maple. Room layout complexity factors in as well. A perfectly straight rectangular space installs faster than a room with lots of angles, closets, and transitions to other flooring types. And if your floor joists need reinforcement or your subfloor isn’t level, those repairs happen before any hardwood goes down. That’s why we measure first and give you a written, itemized quote before any work begins, with the material, labor, removal, subfloor work and trim listed separately.
Why Professional Installers Make the Difference
Some homeowners do install their own hardwood, and some of those floors turn out fine. The difference with an experienced crew is mostly in the details: a nailer set to the right depth, a subfloor that gets fixed instead of covered up, clean cuts around door jambs and stairs, and knowing what to do with the awkward corner by the fireplace. Most hardwood manufacturers also require installation to their guidelines to keep the warranty valid, and a crew that installs floors every week already has the nailers, saws and moisture meters the job calls for.
Keeping Your Hardwood Floors Looking Fresh
After all that effort getting the floors installed, maintenance matters. Felt pads under furniture legs prevent scratches when chairs slide. Regular sweeping or vacuuming keeps grit from grinding into the finish. Spills get wiped up quickly because standing water and wood don’t mix. And when the time comes, sanding and refinishing brings everything back to life without replacing the entire floor. Take care of it and hardwood will last for decades, picking up a patina that a lot of people love. If you’re in Centennial, Aurora, Parker or anywhere in the Denver Metro and thinking about hardwood, start by coming in to look at samples or asking us to measure. We’ll tell you which wood and installation method make sense for your rooms.
Thinking About Hardwood?
Stop by the showroom on Smoky Hill Road to see samples, or call us to schedule a free measurement. You’ll get a written quote that spells out the wood, the installation method, the prep and the trim before you decide anything.
Front Range air is dry most of the year, and in winter, with the furnace running, indoor humidity can drop into the teens. Wood gives up moisture and shrinks when that happens. That’s why a lot of Denver-area floors show thin gaps between boards in January that close up again by summer. A little seasonal movement is normal. Wide gaps, cupping or crowning usually mean the wood wasn’t acclimated or nobody checked moisture before it went down.
Before we install, we check the subfloor and the flooring with a moisture meter and let the wood acclimate in your home for as long as the manufacturer calls for. After the install, keeping indoor humidity somewhere around 30 to 50 percent with a humidifier does most of the work. Wide planks move more than narrow ones, so for a wide-plank look in Colorado a good engineered plank is often the safer choice. Our hardwood thickness guide and dry-climate care guide go into more detail.
Basements, Concrete Slabs and Stairs
Solid hardwood doesn’t belong below grade. For basements and other concrete slabs we use engineered hardwood, glued down or floated, after a moisture test on the concrete. If the slab tests too wet for wood, we’ll tell you so and show you luxury vinyl options that can handle it.
Stairs are a big part of our hardwood work, as you can see in the photos below. We install hardwood treads and risers to match a new floor so the staircase doesn’t end up as the one thing in the house that didn’t get updated. More on that on our stair flooring page.
Hardwood You Can See in Our Showroom
Our Centennial showroom has solid and engineered hardwood samples, including Sheoga and Portercraft, in a range of species, colors and plank widths. You’re welcome to take samples home and look at them in your own light before deciding.
Recent hardwood project:prefinished hardwood in a Denver home, glued and nailed over a sanded subfloor with a moisture barrier, finished with new baseboards.
Hardwood Installation FAQ
How long does hardwood floor installation take?
Once the wood has acclimated, a few rooms or a typical main floor usually takes a few days to install. Removing the old floor, subfloor repairs and stairs add time. Your written quote includes a schedule, so you know what to expect before we start.
Should I choose solid or engineered hardwood in Colorado?
Both work on main and upper floors over a wood subfloor. Engineered hardwood is more stable through Colorado’s humidity swings and is the right choice over concrete and in basements. Solid hardwood can be refinished more times over its life. We’ll recommend one based on your rooms, not on what’s easier to sell.
Can you remove my old carpet, tile or laminate first?
Yes. Removal and haul-away of the old floor is listed as its own line on the quote. Carpet and laminate come up quickly. Tile takes more time, especially when it’s set in a mortar bed.
Do I need to move out during the installation?
Usually not. The rooms we’re working in need to be cleared, and you’ll want to stay out of them while we work. Glue-down installs and site-finished floors take some cure time, and we’ll tell you how long before you walk on them or move furniture back.
Can new hardwood be matched to the floors I already have?
Sometimes. Matching is easiest with common species like red or white oak, especially when the old and new floors are sanded and finished together. Prefinished floors from a discontinued line are harder to match. We’ll be upfront about how close we can get before you commit.
Do you install hardwood on stairs?
Yes. We install hardwood treads and risers and can match them to a new floor or refinish existing stairs to match.
Recent Hardwood Flooring Projects
A few real hardwood flooring projects completed for homeowners across the Denver Metro area.
