WOOD FLOOR REFINISHING · WINNETKA, IL
Hubbard Woods is the north end of Winnetka, with its shops along Green Bay Road, the park next to the Metra station and older homes set among the ravines. We sand and refinish the hardwood floors inside those homes.
01 / HUBBARD WOODS
Hubbard Woods sits at the north end of Winnetka, where Green Bay Road runs past the Hubbard Woods Metra station and Hubbard Woods Park toward the Glencoe line. The neighborhood takes its name from Gilbert Hubbard, one of the village’s founders, and it saw Winnetka’s first large building boom in the 1870s.
The housing around the business district is a mix of eras. A few Italianate houses from the 1870s still stand along Old Green Bay Road, and the side streets add Victorian, Colonial, Arts & Crafts and Tudor houses from the late 1800s and early 1900s, plus later homes. Many of them still have their original oak floors, often sanded several times over the decades.
This page is about wood floor refinishing in and near Hubbard Woods. It covers the parts of the neighborhood, the kind of floors you find there, finishes that suit these houses, and what to watch for when the floor is old and has been sanded before.
If your floors look dull, scratched or orangey, we are glad to come out and look at them. The in-home estimate is free, and you get a detailed written estimate before any work is scheduled.
02 / MAP
Our crew is based in Hoffman Estates, about 30 miles from Hubbard Woods, and we work in Winnetka regularly.
03 / AROUND HUBBARD WOODS
These are the streets and places around Hubbard Woods, and the homes and floors that are typical in each.
The shops along Green Bay Road sit in Tudor Revival and other early 1900s buildings, and the district reaches right up to the Glencoe line. The streets behind it are lined with older homes where narrow oak strip floors are common.
This is where Winnetka’s 1870s building boom started, and a few Italianate houses from that time still stand. Floors in houses this old have often been patched, sanded many times or covered for years.
North of Tower Road the land breaks into wooded ravines, and Tower Road Beach sits on the lake at Sheridan Road. Homes near the lake and the ravines see more seasonal humidity, which shows up as gaps in winter and tight boards in summer.
Tower Road runs from the lakefront west to the Skokie Lagoons, the forest preserve dug by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Homes along the way range from early 1900s houses to postwar and newer builds, with oak floors in all of them.
Following the North Shore up along the lake, we also refinish floors in older Lake Forest homes. See our page on floor refinishing around Market Square in Lake Forest.
To the northwest, away from the lake, Lincolnshire has mostly newer subdivisions with large open main levels. Our page on refinishing near Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire covers those homes.
04 / SERVICES IN WINNETKA
For older Hubbard Woods homes we handle the whole floor, not just the finish: loose boards, squeaks, old repairs that never matched and patches where walls or radiators were moved. One small team does the work, so nothing is handed off between trades.
Most floors here are original oak that has been sanded before, so we check how much wood is left before we plan anything. Then we sand, stain with samples on your own floor and apply a durable waterborne finish.
When a room was carpeted, tiled or damaged, we install new solid red or white oak and weave it into the old floor so it matches. That often comes up in kitchens and additions of older houses.
Many older Winnetka houses have a front staircase that gets as much wear as the hall below it. We refinish treads, risers, railings and posts to match the floors, and we replace worn treads when sanding is no longer enough.
RECENT PROJECT · WINNETKA, IL
Winnetka, IL
In Winnetka we refinished about 2,800 square feet of existing hardwood throughout the home. The floors were sanded, then sealed with one coat of Loba EasyPrime primer and finished with two coats of Loba Supra A.T.
The job took five working days.
05 / HUBBARD WOODS
In older homes like these, the usual question is about original oak floors that are tired rather than ruined. The finish is worn gray in the hallways, the color has turned orangey or honey, or a buyer or seller wants the floors to look like new before a move. Some homeowners pull up old carpet and find oak that has not been seen in years.
Because people live in these homes during the work, we sand with dust extraction and protect cabinets and doorways. Our page on dust containment during floor sanding explains how. When the wood is sound and only the finish is dull, buffing and recoating may be enough, and we will tell you if it is.
06 / HUBBARD WOODS
07 / HUBBARD WOODS
Hardwood in a house that is 80 to 150 years old has usually been refinished several times. Each full sand removes some wood, and the floor can only take so many. In older homes we also see face-nailed boards, earlier patches in a different species, and spots where the wood above the tongue has worn thin.
Before we plan a full sand, we look closely at the floor, check the edges at vents and thresholds, and tell you honestly what it can take. Sometimes a careful sand is fine. Sometimes a few boards should be replaced first, and sometimes a recoat is the smarter choice for now. Peter Dudzik has over 30 years of hands-on experience with floors like these.
OUR WORK
Photos from Access Wood Flooring projects around the North Shore and northwest suburbs.
HOW IT WORKS
We come to your Winnetka home, look at the floors with you, measure with a laser and send a detailed written estimate.
If you want a new color, we apply samples about 12 by 12 inches on your own wood so you choose in your light.
We sand with Oneida Vortex DCS or Bona Portable DCS 2.0 equipment and wrap cabinets and doorways in plastic.
We apply the finish system we agreed on, then walk you through drying times, furniture and floor care.
WHY A LOCAL FLOOR TEAM
We apply about 12 × 12-inch samples right on your floor, so you choose the color in your own light, not from a store chip.
We sand with dust-extraction systems and protect kitchen cabinets and doorways with plastic and tape.
Peter Dudzik and the same small crew handle your floor from the estimate to the final walkthrough.
WINNETKA QUESTIONS
Have a question about your floor? We can review it during your free estimate.
(847) 781-0100Usually yes, but it depends on how much wood is left above the tongue. Floors in houses from the late 1800s and early 1900s have often been sanded several times. At the free in-home estimate we check the boards at vents, thresholds and other spots where you can see their thickness. If the floor can take another full sand, we plan it carefully. If some boards are too thin, we replace them first. If the wood is worn but the finish is the real problem, a buff and recoat may be the better choice for now.
Homes close to the lake and the wooded ravines tend to see bigger swings in indoor humidity between summer and winter. Wood takes on moisture and gives it back, so you may see small gaps between boards in winter that close up in summer. That is normal for solid oak. We look at the floor before we sand, and we explain the conditions the finish needs while it cures. Keeping indoor humidity steady through the year helps the floor and the new finish.
We talk about colors at the consultation, then apply samples about 12 by 12 inches right on your floor during the project. You see each one in your own rooms and light before deciding. This matters with red oak, which can look orange, pink or yellow under a stain that looked brown in the store. Many owners of older homes choose a natural or mid-tone brown, and some move to a lighter, white-oak look. We will tell you honestly how each color will look on your wood.
Often, yes. We sand with dust-extraction systems and protect cabinets and doorways with clear plastic and blue tape. You will need to stay off the floor while the finish dries, and we plan the order of rooms with you so you can still use the kitchen, bedrooms or stairs where possible. Light foot traffic is usually possible after about two hours, and furniture can go back after about two days. We explain ventilation and when each room can be used.
Calls are answered directly or returned within about an hour, and we set up the free in-home estimate at a time that suits you. Urgent projects can usually start within about a week.
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR HOME
Tell us about your floors and we will set up a free in-home estimate in Winnetka.