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From Just $3/sq ft
17+ Years of Local Expertise
Serving Chicago & 30+ Suburbs
Dust-Controlled Sanding
Repairs Before Refinishing
Big Bro Hardwood is an employee-owned hardwood flooring company serving Glenview and the surrounding suburbs. We install, sand, stain, refinish, and repair solid and engineered wood floors, starting around $3 a square foot. In 17+ years, we have completed 500+ floors across the area – bringing original red oak strip floors back to life in Glenview’s mid-century brick ranches and split-levels, uncovering hardwood hidden under decades of carpet in older neighborhoods like Swainwood, and gluing down engineered plank over concrete slabs in newer builds around The Glen.
You get the same small crew from the first measurement to the last coat – no rotating subcontractors, ever. We price every job line by line so nothing is vague, use vacuum-assisted equipment that captures 95% or more of sanding dust, and finish with Bona and Loba products that are kid- and pet-safe once cured. Call us and we will come out to your Glenview home with a free estimate within 24 hours.
Premium Results From $3/sq ft
Beautiful hardwood floors in your Glenview home do not have to come with an inflated price. Our refinishing services start at just $3, and installation pricing is straightforward with itemized, line-by-line estimates so you always know what you are paying for. Use our hardwood floor cost calculator to get a quick sense of your project before we even step through the door.
Owner-Led From Start to Finish
The same small crew that measures your rooms is the crew that finishes the job. No rotating subcontractors, no handoffs, no lost details between stages. Donatas, Valdas, and Slavek handle everything together, whether that is new installation, refinishing, staining, repair, or stair work. You always know who is in your home and who is accountable for the result.
Floor Condition and Moisture Come First
Glenview’s seasonal humidity swings put real stress on hardwood. Before any work begins, we test subfloor moisture, check for flatness, and look for existing movement or damage. Proper acclimation and moisture control are not optional steps we skip to save time. Skipping them is exactly how cupping, gapping, and early failures happen, and we are not willing to cut those corners.
On-Time, No-Stress Projects
We show up when we say we will, keep your home as clean as we found it, and communicate clearly at every step. Our vacuum-assisted dust control captures 95% or more of sanding dust, so your family is not living in a construction zone. From the free in-home estimate to the final walkthrough, the entire process is handled with care and professionalism.
Serving Glenview and Nearby Suburbs
Big Bro Hardwood works with homeowners throughout Glenview and across 30-plus suburbs in the area. That reach is backed by a consistent, experienced crew, not a patchwork of regional contractors. You get the same standard of workmanship and the same direct communication on every project, regardless of where your home sits in our service area.
Finish Options Matched to Daily Use
Choosing a finish is about more than how it looks on day one. We talk through your wood species, household traffic, kids, pets, and any sensitivity to odors or fumes before recommending a Bona or Loba system. Both are low-VOC and safe for families once cured. We also walk you through furniture placement, rug timing, and cleaning so your floors stay in great shape long after we leave.
From the mid-century ranches in Swainwood to the newer builds around The Glen, we handle every hardwood flooring need Glenview homeowners run into.
We’re a hardwood floor company based in the Glenview area, with 17+ years of hands-on experience in hardwood floor installation, floor refinishing, staining, and repair services. Our team is small, focused, and takes pride in doing every job right, from the first measurement to the final product.
We’ve completed 500+ Glenview-area projects across the city and the Chicagoland area, and we work closely with every client to make sure the results match their flooring needs — no shortcuts, no guesswork. Big Bro Hardwood wood flooring contractors adhere to the industry’s National Wood Flooring Association Technical Guidelines.
Our wood flooring company believes in clear communication, the best materials, and clean, quality work. More than 80% of our new clients come from satisfied customers who recommend us to family, friends, and neighbors — and we’re genuinely proud to earn that kind of trust.
17+ years
Of experience
500+
Hardwood floor projects completed
30+
Suburbs served
1 crew
No subcontractors - the owner is on every hardwood job
Donatas
Owner
Valdas
Team member
Slavek
Team member
Glenview's mix of pre-war bungalows, mid-century ranches, split-levels, and newer construction in The Glen means the right approach changes house to house - and the local climate makes acclimation and moisture control non-negotiable.
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Pre-War and Post-War Homes (Pre-1978)
Glenview’s established neighborhoods like Swainwood and The Willows have a large share of homes built before 1978. Many still have original red oak strip floors under carpet that are worth refinishing rather than replacing. We follow EPA Lead RRP protocols on all pre-1978 work – proper containment, HEPA filtration, and verification – so your family is protected throughout the job.
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Mid-Century Ranches and Split-Levels
Ranches and split-levels from the 1950s through 1970s often sit over wood-framed floors above basements or crawlspaces. Crawlspace moisture can cause hardwood to cup or shift over time. We check subfloor flatness and moisture levels before any installation and address ventilation concerns up front so the floor stays stable season to season.
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Additions and Whole-Home Rehabs
Blending new hardwood with existing floors is one of the trickier parts of remodel work. We match species, width, and stain as closely as possible, and we sand and finish old and new sections together so the transition reads as one continuous floor rather than a patch.
4
Newer Construction and The Glen
Homes and townhomes in The Glen and other late-1990s to 2010s developments often have concrete slabs at ground level. We use glue-down or floating engineered hardwood on those surfaces, and we still confirm subfloor flatness and run moisture tests on the concrete before anything goes down.
5
Seasonal Humidity in Glenview
Glenview’s humid continental climate brings real swings between wet summers and cold, dry winters. Wood moves with those changes. We acclimate every delivery on site, and we advise keeping indoor humidity between 30-50% year-round to prevent gapping, cupping, or squeaks after the job is done.
In many Glenview homes the original wood is worth saving rather than replacing - the only way to know is to look at the subfloor and boards up close.
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Call or send the form, tell us about your floors, and we’ll set a time to come look.
2
We measure, check the wood and subfloor, talk through color and options, and leave you an itemized estimate.
3
Our crew handles prep, sanding, install, stain, and finish on a dust-controlled setup, cleaning up daily.
4
We do a final walkthrough, go over care and timing, and stand behind the work.
We recently refinished the hardwood floors in a classic mid-century ranch in Glenview, the kind of home where the original boards had been under carpet for decades and came out scratched, worn, and completely dull. We sanded them back, repaired the damage, and refinished them from scratch - same wood, no replacement. Take a look at the before and after photos below and judge the results for yourself.
Get a free in-home estimate within 24 hours. No pressure, no hidden costs — just honest advice and expert results, and no cutting corners.
Get a realistic budget range in about a minute for refinishing, new installation, replacing carpet with hardwood, or stairs. It’s a starting point, not a firm quote, and we confirm the exact figure with a free in-home estimate.
Choose what you'd like an estimate for
Not sure which one? Learn about wood types →
* This estimate is for budgeting purposes only. Actual pricing may vary based on site conditions, moisture levels, subfloor state, and access. A final quote requires an on-site inspection.
Not sure which one? Learn about wood types →
Red Oak $3–$7 / sq ft
White Oak $4–$10 / sq ft
Maple (clear coat) $4–$9 / sq ft
Maple (stained) $4–$9 / sq ft
Cherry $5–$12 / sq ft
Walnut $7–$15 / sq ft
Hickory $4–$10 / sq ft
Exotic / Other $8–$20 / sq ft
No removal needed
Remove carpet +$0.70–$1.60 / sq ft
Remove vinyl / linoleum +$1.00–$2.50 / sq ft
Remove tile +$1.50–$3.50 / sq ft
Subfloor leveling / repairs+$1.00–$3.00 / sq ft
Moisture barrier / underlayment+$0.70–$1.50 / sq ft
* This estimate is for budgeting purposes only. Actual pricing may vary based on site conditions, moisture levels, subfloor state, and access. A final quote requires an on-site inspection.
Not sure which one? Learn about wood types →
Red Oak $3–$7 / sq ft
White Oak $4–$10 / sq ft
Maple (clear coat) $4–$9 / sq ft
Maple (stained) $4–$9 / sq ft
Cherry $5–$12 / sq ft
Walnut $7–$15 / sq ft
Hickory $4–$10 / sq ft
Exotic / Other $8–$20 / sq ft
Subfloor leveling / repairs+$1.00–$3.00 / sq ft
Moisture barrier / underlayment+$0.70–$1.50 / sq ft
* This estimate is for budgeting purposes only. Actual pricing may vary based on site conditions, moisture levels, subfloor state, and access. A final quote requires an on-site inspection.
Donatas July 21, 2026
Donatas May 21, 2026
Donatas April 28, 2026
It’s one of the most common calls we get from Glenview homeowners, especially in the older ranch and split-level neighborhoods like Swainwood and The Willows. We lift a corner of the carpet and inspect the boards for thickness, cupping, staining, and structural damage. Most original red oak strip floors in this area have plenty of life left. If the wood is solid and at least 3/4 inch thick, refinishing almost always beats replacement in both quality and cost.
Yes, and it’s one of the biggest factors we watch here. Cold, dry winters pull moisture out of wood and can cause boards to gap or crack. Humid summers push them back and risk cupping. We recommend keeping indoor humidity between 30-50% year-round. A whole-home humidifier helps a lot in winter. We also acclimate every plank on site before installation so the wood adjusts to your home’s actual conditions before a single nail goes down.
Absolutely, and we do it regularly in that part of town. Engineered hardwood is the right choice over concrete – it handles moisture movement far better than solid wood. We always test the slab for moisture before we start, because a failed moisture reading means problems down the road no matter how good the wood is. Glue-down and floating installations both work well depending on the product and slab condition. We walk you through the best fit for your specific floor.
If your home was built before 1978, yes – this matters. Glenview has a large number of pre-war and post-war homes, and older finish layers can contain lead. We are EPA Lead RRP certified, which means we use proper containment, HEPA-equipped equipment, and post-work verification to keep your family safe. We don’t cut corners on this. It’s a legal requirement and just the right thing to do in homes with older finish history.
Refinishing starts at $3 per square foot, and the total depends on floor condition, number of coats, stain choices, and any repair work needed. For a quick starting point, try our cost calculator. For smaller homes under 1,200 square feet we also offer flat-rate pricing, which keeps things simple. Every estimate we provide is itemized line by line so you see exactly where every dollar goes. New clients also receive 10% off their first project.
We look at board thickness first. Solid hardwood can typically be sanded 4-6 times over its life, so if your floors haven’t been done recently, refinishing is almost always the smarter investment. New installation makes more sense when boards are too thin, too damaged, or when you’re adding hardwood to a room that never had it. We give you an honest read at the estimate – we’re not here to sell you more work than your floors actually need.
A typical refinishing job runs 2-4 days depending on square footage, number of coats, and dry time between them. Installation projects vary more based on scope. You don’t have to leave, but we do ask that the rooms being worked on stay clear of foot traffic while finish cures. Bona and Loba finishes we use are low-VOC and safe for kids and pets once fully cured – usually within 24-48 hours for light traffic and a few days for full use.
We use vacuum-assisted sanding equipment that captures 95% or more of dust at the source. Your home stays dramatically cleaner than with traditional sanding. On the warranty side, we stand behind our craftsmanship – if something goes wrong due to how the work was done, we come back and fix it. We also offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee and emergency repairs within 48 hours. Every project follows NWFA Technical Guidelines, which is the industry standard for hardwood flooring work done right.
Tell us what you need — we’ll help you figure out the best way to get it done.
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