Hardwood Flooring in Gates, NY

Hardwood Flooring in Gates is mostly a refinishing job. The town grew from 7,925 residents in 1950 to 26,442 in 1970, and it has held between roughly 28,000 and 30,000 people since 1980. That means a large share of the houses in Gates went up in a twenty-year burst. Homes from those years often have oak floors that have been carpeted, worn down in the halls, or refinished once a long time ago. Bringing them back is usually faster, cleaner and less disruptive than replacing them.

A stable town with long-term owners

About 73.8% of Gates homes are owner-occupied, and 90.7% of residents were living in the same house a year earlier. Owners who plan to stay tend to care about doing the floor once and doing it right. That shapes how we work: we sand evenly so the floor stays flat, fill nail holes and minor cracks with matched filler, and put down enough finish coats to hold up for years of traffic rather than the minimum.

Typical problems in Gates houses

• Carpet tack strip and staple holes around the room edges
• Gray, worn traffic paths from the front door to the kitchen
• Dark rings where potted plants or pet bowls sat
• Boards that squeak or have lifted near a heating register
• A patch of newer flooring where an old wall or closet was removed

Most of these are handled as part of a standard refinish. Black stains that go deep into the wood usually mean cutting out and replacing those boards first.

How we handle a refinish, step by step

We move what furniture you want moved, seal doorways and returns to keep dust out of the rest of the house, and sand in progressive passes with finer grit each time. Edges and corners get a separate edger pass and hand scraping where machines cannot reach. If you want a stain, we put test patches on your actual floor so you can see the color on your wood under your light. Then the finish coats go on with light abrading between coats. We go over the cure time before we leave, including when rugs and furniture can go back.

Winter, salt and the side door

Winters around Rochester average about 102 inches of snow, much of it from Lake Ontario, and a January daily mean of 26.2°F. Gates sits along I-490 and I-390, and the salt laid on those roads and on local streets ends up on boots and then on floors. The few feet inside a side or garage entry usually show it first as dull, scratched finish. A good mat, a boot tray and a recoat before the finish wears through will add years to a refinished floor.

Lead paint and trim

Gates did most of its growing before 1978, the cutoff for the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule on work that disturbs lead-based paint. We look at painted baseboards and shoe molding during the estimate and plan the sanding so it stays on the wood floor.

Repairs, stairs and new floors too

Beyond refinishing, we replace damaged boards, refinish or replace stair treads, and install new solid or engineered hardwood where a room never had it. Call (585) 632-6150 or

Get a Free Estimate

and we will set a time to see the floor.