Flooring Contractor near Riverside in Greenwich CT
From first measurement to final plank, Riverside families get floors they love without the headaches.
Riverside is a tightly packed two square miles of colonials, Tudors, and post-war cottages, most of them built between the 1930s and 1960s. Wood floors have been underfoot in these homes for decades. Most of them have never been properly touched.
We have installed wide-plank white oak throughout a colonial on Highgate Road, replacing narrow strip flooring that had been there since the 1940s. We have refinished original red oak on Oval Avenue for a family preparing to list, and we have repaired subfloor damage on Cary Road after a slow plumbing leak had gone unnoticed for years. Riverside keeps us busy.
When Riverside homeowners need a wood floor installation service in Greenwich CT, Wood Floors of Westport is who many of them call.
Jobs Near Riverside
Homes along the streets that run toward the Long Island Sound often have original hardwood that has never been touched. Pull up the carpet and you find out what was underneath all along.
We have pulled up decades of carpet on Mortimer Drive and found 3-inch red oak underneath in near-perfect condition. We have done full installations on homes off East Putnam Avenue where owners were renovating ahead of a sale. Last fall, we completed a herringbone installation in the front hall and main living areas of a Riverside colonial that had recently changed hands.
Riverside referrals travel fast. One good job on a cul-de-sac has led to more work on the same street more than once.
Older Home Floors
Riverside’s housing mix runs from post-war cottages north of I-95 to large colonials and estates south of the highway. The work looks completely different depending on which side of the highway you are on.
The cottages often have narrow 2.25-inch strip oak installed over plank subfloors that have shifted with the seasons for 70 or 80 years. Wood Floors of Westport has refinished floors in these homes carefully, knowing that over-sanding a floor that thin removes the ability to sand it again. Down south of I-95, the colonials want something different. We have installed 5-inch and 7-inch white oak planks in rooms with 9-foot ceilings, sized to fit the scale of the space.
The architecture tells you what the floor needs. We read the building before we recommend anything.
Subfloor Conditions
Most of Riverside was built before 1960. Those subfloors have had sixty-plus years to shift, and a lot of them show it.
We have leveled subfloors on Carrona Avenue where joist sag had created a noticeable slope across the main living area. We have sistered joists and replaced damaged plywood on a home off Riverside Avenue before any finish flooring went down. Skipping that work would have produced a floor that squeaked, flexed, and looked uneven within a year.
We do not skip it. Every project starts with a look at what is underneath, and we scope that work into the bid from the beginning.
Old homes hide things. You find out what is there when you pull up the old material. We plan for that rather than pricing around it.
Wide-Plank White Oak
Wide-plank white oak is what we see most often in Riverside’s higher-end renovations right now. It photographs well for listings, holds up under foot traffic, and the matte finishes popular in this market hide wear between cleanings.
Off East Putnam Avenue last year, we installed a matte-finish 6-inch white oak floor built to sit alongside new cabinetry and a full interior repaint. Rick Shepard walked the material selection with the homeowner himself, matching stain tone to the trim before a single board went down. The wrong sheen on a floor this visible kills the whole room. For anyone searching for a flooring contractor in Greenwich CT, that kind of hands-on involvement is worth asking about up front.
Wide plank is not forgiving of subfloor problems. We make sure the foundation is right before the showstopper material goes down.
Refinishing Original Hardwood
Riverside has original hardwood sitting under carpet in more homes than most people expect. That wood is worth looking at before anyone talks replacement.
We have refinished original fir and oak floors in homes on Cary Road and off Riverside Avenue that had been covered since the 1970s. A floor that looks far gone can clean up well once the old finish is stripped and the surface is cut back properly. We have matched stain colors to existing trim, repaired moisture damage along exterior walls, and talked more than a few clients out of tearing out floors that had years of life left in them.
The homes along East Putnam Avenue prepping for sale call us for this work because refinished original floors tend to read better to buyers than new product rushed in. Some floors have another sanding left. Some do not. Wood Floors of Westport tells you which is which.
We also serve nearby Old Greenwich, Cos Cob, and the Stamford corridor.
Driving Directions from Riverside
Our Location: 606 Post Rd E #551, Westport, CT 06880
From Riverside, head west on East Putnam Avenue (Route 1) through Cos Cob, then continue northeast on I-95 toward Norwalk and Westport. Take Exit 17 and follow Route 1 east into Westport. The office is on the right at 606 Post Rd E, approximately 20 miles from Riverside and about 25 to 30 minutes without heavy traffic.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is solid hardwood or engineered wood the better choice for a colonial home near the water in Riverside, Greenwich?
For most Riverside colonials, solid hardwood works well in main living areas and bedrooms, but engineered wood is the smarter call for any space over a basement or on a slab where moisture levels fluctuate. The proximity to the Mianus River and the Sound means seasonal humidity shifts are real, and engineered products handle that movement without cupping or gapping.
2. Can original narrow-strip hardwood floors in a 1940s or 1950s Riverside home be refinished rather than replaced?
Often, yes. The narrow strip oak installed in Riverside homes from that era is typically thick enough for at least one more refinishing, sometimes two. The key is checking how many times the floor has already been sanded. We look at wear layer depth before recommending refinishing over replacement, and in most cases the original material is worth restoring.