Big Bro Hardwood Hardwood Floor Installation & Refinishing
4.9 5.0

Monday - Saturday: 8 AM - 7 PM

Chicago
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(630) 418 4139

Dustless Hardwood Flooring Sanding and Refinishing Contractors in Chicago

Red Oak floors stained with Espresso Color, applied with Pallmann X Power
View of the kitchen with hardwood flooring
Room with big windows and new refinished hardwood flooring

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Big Bro Hardwood is a hardwood floor refinishing company in Chicago, IL, run by its owner and specializing in floor sanding. We sand and refinish hardwood and engineered wood floors in homes and condos across the city and suburbs, bringing back floors that are dull, scratched, gray or water-damaged.

Wood Floor Refinishing Service Across Chicago Neighborhoods

Our hardwood floor sanding services cover every Chicago neighborhood.

  • North and Northwest Sides: Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Square, North Center, Edgewater, Rogers Park, Logan Square, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Portage Park and Jefferson Park.
  • Downtown: Gold Coast, Streeterville, South Loop and West Loop.

Hardwood Floor Refinishing Services Cost in Chicago, Illinois

Sanding and finishing most oak floors over 1,000 sq ft starts at $3–$4 per sq ft, so 1,000 sq ft of oak starts at about $3,000 to $4,000. Nationally, the cost to refinish hardwood floors runs $3–$8 per sq ft. Our prices stay affordable and competitive without cutting corners: Dan (Donatas), the owner, works on every job and treats each floor the way he would treat his own.

Floor or ServiceStarting Price*
Full Sand & Refinish, Oak (1,000+ sq ft)$3.0–$4.0 / sq ft
Mid-Size Floors, Oak (300–1,000 sq ft)$5.0–$7.0 / sq ft
Small Areas (≤300 sq ft), $1,500 Project Minimum$8–$10 / sq ft
Prefinished / Aluminum-Oxide Floors$7.0–$8.0 / sq ft
Maple / Exotic, Clear Coat$4.4–$5.0 / sq ft
Maple / Exotic, Color Change$5.25–$6.0 / sq ft
Sandless Refinishing (Buff & Recoat), on Its Own or With Other Work$1.50–$2 / sq ft
Color Change on OakAdd $1–$2 / sq ft
Third Coat of Finish, Whole FloorAdd $1 / sq ft

*Starting ranges for our professional hardwood floor refinishing service, with labor and standard finish included. Every quote is itemized line by line, so it is easy to compare with other local hardwood floor refinishers, and carpet removal is its own line: ask which prep you can safely do yourself. For a rough number, try our floor refinishing cost calculator or book a free hardwood floor estimate.

Add-ons:

$1.75–$2.00 / sq ft

Wax finish removal (older floors)

$80–$100 / tread

Stairs (treads only)

Per inspection

Full staircase / handrails & balusters

Refinish, Recoat, Fix Boards or Replace?

Most floors can be saved with hardwood floor repair and refinishing. If you’re deciding whether to refinish or replace hardwood floors, keeping your floor is usually the more affordable choice: for new floors, labor alone runs $3.00–$9.50/sq ft, before the new wood, and $1–$3/sq ft to remove the old floor.

Refinished hardwood floors in Chicago
What You See on Your FloorWhat It Usually NeedsHow Often
Dull finish or light scratches, no bare or gray woodBuff & recoat (sandless), also called screen and recoatAbout every 5 years
Deep scratches, gray or worn spots, or you want a new colorFull sanding down to bare wood and new finish coatsAbout every 10 years, sooner with large dogs
A few cracked or loose boards, or marks that soaked in deepBoard replacement as part of the refinishing jobAs needed
Nail heads or tongues showing, boards cupped through or rottedNew hardwood flooring; we tell you honestly when a floor can’t take another sandingNot applicable

Ready to give your hardwood floors a new life? Schedule an appointment today!

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Refinishing Hardwood Floors in Chicago Homes

Finishing and refinishing hardwood floors in Chicago often means old finishes, thin oak, lead paint or concrete slabs, and each can add steps, cost or days. We check for all of them before quoting.

  • Pre-war bungalows, greystones and two-flats. The city’s Bungalow Belt holds about 80,000 bungalows built from 1910 to 1940. Chicago also has about 30,000 greystones, and most two-flats went up between 1900 and 1920. Their original oak and parquet often still carry decades-old wax, shellac or varnish that a new finish won’t bond to, so we test the old finish and add removal steps before sanding.
  • Lead paint in older homes. Chicago’s health department finds lead hazards in about 99% of homes built before 1978, and those homes make up most of the city’s housing. In them, our prep follows EPA RRP lead-safe practices with containment and HEPA cleanup.
  • Original oak sanded over a century. Floors from the 1910s to the 1930s may have been sanded and refinished several times already. We check how much wear layer is left before any machine runs. A lot of that oak still has plenty of wood; if it’s thin, we suggest a gentler pass instead of a full sand.
  • Oak under old carpet. When carpet comes up in a vintage two-flat or condo, the oak underneath may have pet or water marks. Before sanding, we show you which marks will lift and which boards need replacing.
  • Engineered floors on concrete in high-rises. Downtown condo floors sit on concrete slabs, often with engineered hardwood glued down. Engineered boards can be sanded and refinished only if the veneer is thick enough, which we measure before quoting.

Our Professional Hardwood Floor Refinishing Process and Timeline in Chicago

You can usually stay home during the work. Up to about 300 sq ft takes 1 to 2 days, and a one-day refinish may be possible. About 1,000 sq ft takes 3 to 4 days, since each coat must dry before the next.

  1. Before Day 1: Estimate and Inspection

    We measure the floor, check wear, damage, loose boards and squeaks, and go over color, sheen and what’s included. Buying a home? We can do a free estimate before you close, so the floors are done before the furniture moves in. Clearing the rooms is up to you: we can help move a single sofa and recommend a moving company when a whole floor needs emptying.

  2. Day 1: Protection and Rough Sanding

    We cover walls, cabinets and transitions and run an Atomic Dust Containment System with HEPA-filtered Festool vacuums, which captures 95% or more of the dust at the source, though edges and corners always leave some fine residue. Professional floor sanding starts in a controlled grit sequence across the field. Sanding is loud, so plan work-from-home days around it.

  3. Day 2: Sanding

    We detail edges and corners so the whole room looks even, fix damaged boards and small gaps, and clean the surface so color takes evenly.

  4. Day 3: Stain

    After hardwood floor sanding, we test stains right on your floor and apply the color you pick. On red oak, lighter browns bring out the red and darker colors show scratches more easily, and a perfect match with older or discontinued wood isn’t always possible. Without a color change, this day goes to finish coats.

  5. Day 4: Finish Coats

    We apply 2 coats of finish as standard, or 3 if you choose the extra coat. Our low-VOC water-based finishes give off far fewer fumes than oil-based polyurethane, which often means planning how long to stay out of the house after refinishing. Bona (GREENGUARD Gold) and Loba (EMICODE EC1) products are safe for families and pets once cured.

  6. After the Last Coat: Walkthrough and Moving Back In

    We walk the floor with you, do touch-ups and leave care instructions: knowing how to maintain hardwood floors keeps the new finish looking good longer. Light foot traffic is usually fine after about 24 hours, and pets can come back after 24 to 48 hours. Furniture goes back after 3 to 5 days and rugs after 5 to 7 days, because how long polyurethane takes to dry sets the pace for each stage. Put felt pads under furniture legs and lift pieces into place instead of dragging them.

Why Chicago Homeowners Choose Big Bro Hardwood as Their Floor Refinishers

Chicago condo and apartment buildings each set their own rules for contractors, and we plan around them before the first day of work.

Our professional wood floor refinishing crew is led by Dan, the owner, with Valdas (20+ years in hardwood flooring) and Slavek (37 years of stair and finish carpentry). We follow NWFA technical guidelines, our finish carries a 5-year warranty against peeling, and more than 80% of new clients come through referrals.

Building Rules First

Before scheduling, we get your building’s contractor rules: approved days, work hours and quiet hours. In one 25th-floor downtown condo, work was allowed only from 9 AM to 4 PM.

Insurance Paperwork

We are fully insured and send the certificate of insurance your management asks for.

Elevator and Loading

We book the elevator and loading times the building requires, since every tool and every bag of debris goes through them.

Protection of Shared Areas

Hallways and elevators are covered before we bring anything in, and our dust-control process is documented in writing.

Parking

Some buildings give our crew a parking pass; at others we find and pay for parking ourselves. That is one reason downtown jobs are priced at the in-home estimate.

No Evening Work

Chicago’s noise code bars power tools in construction work between 8 PM and 8 AM within 600 feet of homes, so sanding always happens in daytime hours.

Recent Hardwood Floor Refinishing Projects in Chicago, IL

Refinished red oak floors in living room with consistent wood grain and light tone
Refinished red oak floors in living room with large windows and even, light tone
Red oak hardwood floors refinished near windows in a downtown condo
Refinished red oak floors in hallway with clean, even tone

Red Oak Floor Refinishing in Downtown Chicago: Bona White and Fruitwood Blend

1,750 sq ft of red oak in a 23rd-floor downtown Chicago condo, sanded, stained with a custom Bona White and Fruitwood blend and sealed with two coats of Loba Invisible Protect. The lighter blend keeps the red oak from reading orange under the condo's large windows. Within the building's elevator windows and access rules, the job took 5 days.

Location
Downtown Chicago, IL
Wood
Red Oak
Color
Bona White 25% + Fruitwood 75%
Finish
Loba Invisible Protect
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Calvin Luu
Calvin Luu
17:02 11 Sep 26
Excellent work by Dan and Mike. Moved into a new home and we refinished the floors, was able to get a new great look to our white oak floors the way we wanted. Great communication all around as well. Would recommend to anyone who is looking to get their hardwood floors refinished
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Michael Mantucca
Michael Mantucca
05:21 06 Mar 26
We just had Big Bro Hardwood rip out the existing flooring in 2 rooms, tie into our existing hardwood and then had everything sanded and refinished. We could not be happier with the results. The Big Bro Hardwood team was professional, punctual, and the quality of the work was outstanding. Even the trim work was done with incredible attention to detail. My wife and I highly recommend Big Bro Hardwood to anyone looking to refinish their hardwood floors!
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Review by Justin Gruzalski
Review by Justin Gruzalski
Justin Gruzalski
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We got a few estimates and decided to go with big bro hardwood. I am including the before we moved in photo of my ugly dining room with purple walls and honey oak and then the photo of it almost fully remodeled (I am finishing painting my windows white today they are only primed in the photo). Dan did an awesome job changing my dated honey oak dining room, living room and family room floors to a beautiful Jacobean color. I also had him gel stain my stair hand rails and balcony and it all came out amazing. Dan did a great job containing dust while refinishing my floors. He used a shop vac while sanding and also zip wall to ensure dust was contained. If we decide to put more hardwood in we are definitely will use big bro hardwood.
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Kelly Oriente
Kelly Oriente
15:12 12 Mar 21
Dan and his crew just installed new floors in our living and dining rooms and they were awesome! We had existing hardwood floors that they refinished and we now have a seamless transition between rooms. Dan was patient with me when choosing the right stain color and was very knowledgeable on the products. We went with the magic oil stain and the finished product is beautiful.

The crew was on time every day and completed the project in the estimated time and at the estimated cost. They brought in the flooring a month before the installation to allow it to acclimate. This was something other companies did not mention but I have heard is important. They kept everything clean and were friendly and nice to have around. I highly recommend them!
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Joanna M
Joanna M
17:08 02 Jul 19
Dan Melnikovas with Big Bro Hardwood did a great job refinishing our hardwood floors on our entire first floor! We highly recommend him for any refinishing projects.

We are incredibly happy with his work. His pricing is competitive, he is reliable, he showed up on time and completed our work in the timeframe we agreed upon.

We wanted to transition from a mid-tone oak with red undertones to a rich dark chocolate-toned floor with no red undertones, and we achieved just that.

Dan was diligent in preparing multiple samples for us prior to starting. We narrowed down our stain choice based on the samples. Then, after sanding down our existing floor, he meticulously mixed three sample stains on our actual floor to see how the color would take since each type of wood absorbs stains differently. This was a critical step for us. We never felt rushed. We were able to observe the stain colors with various finish/sheen levels in different lighting in our home prior to making our final selection.

We are thrilled with the results! Dan is not only extremely professional and talented, but he also is AMAZING when it comes to keeping the work site clean! The dustless system Dan used ensured our home was impeccably clean during the sanding process.

Excellent work!
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Tatiana Ragula
Tatiana Ragula
21:10 25 Sep 17
BigBro, namely Donatas, did floor refinishing in our 2bd condo. Our floor was older floor with a lot of deep scratches and wide slots here and there. Donatas fixed the slots, changed some boards that now it looks like brand new floor. We have chosen white color which we knew is a risk since it is difficult color and complicate to put, however, he was able to deal with it and did an excellent job. Also, while working he was sending us pictures so we can see the results of each refinishing stage. Now we are enjoying our new bright floor. It is definitely a good value for money.
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Dark refinished hardwood floor

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Best Time of Year to Refinish Hardwood Floors in Chicago?

Any time of year works. Chicago swings from dry, heated winters to humid summers near the lake, and wood moves with it, so we keep the rooms at 60–80°F and 35–55% relative humidity through sanding and curing.

How Soon Can You Start Refinishing My Floors in Chicago?

Work usually starts 2 to 4 weeks after the estimate, depending on our schedule. Shorter jobs like a buff and recoat (1–2 days) can sometimes fit in sooner.

Can You Give Me a Price From Photos?

Yes. Photos of your floor give us enough for a rough number. The exact price comes from the free in-home estimate, where we check the wear layer, damage and the old finish more closely.

Hardwood floors in sunny room

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