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From Just $3/sq ft
17+ Years of Local Expertise
Certified Pet- & Family-Safe Finishes
Dust-Controlled Sanding
Solid and Engineered Floors
Big Bro Hardwood is an employee-owned hardwood flooring company serving Highland Park and the surrounding North Shore 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 – restoring original oak in mid-century ranches and split-levels, refinishing wide-plank hardwood in older lakefront estates, and installing engineered flooring over aging subfloors in Highland Park’s traditional brick colonials and Tudors.
You get the same small crew from the first measurement to the last coat – no rotating subcontractors, ever. Every estimate is priced line by line, so you know exactly what you are paying for. We use vacuum-assisted sanding that captures 95% or more of dust, and we finish with Bona and Loba products that are kid- and pet-safe once cured. Call or email us and we will come out to Highland Park for a free estimate within 24 hours.
Premium Results From $3/sq ft
Beautiful hardwood floors in Highland Park do not have to come with an overwhelming price. Our refinishing services start at just $3, and installation pricing is straightforward with no hidden line items. Use our hardwood floor cost calculator to get a quick ballpark before we even walk through your door. We keep pricing honest and easy to understand from the very first conversation.
Serving Highland Park and Nearby Suburbs
We work with homeowners across Highland Park and 30-plus suburbs throughout the local area. You get the same small, experienced crew on every job – not a rotating pool of subcontractors pulled from a regional network. That means consistent workmanship, clear communication, and a team that knows your project from the first visit through the final coat.
Free In-Home Estimate Within 24 Hours
We come to your home, walk the floors, check actual conditions, and deliver a free estimate within 24 hours. That lets us catch things a phone quote never would – uneven subfloors, old finish layers, moisture concerns common near Highland Park’s ravines and lakefront lots. You get a scope built around your specific space, not a generic per-square-foot guess.
Complex Projects Planned, Not Improvised
Older Highland Park homes bring real complexity – original plank subfloors, humidity movement from basement spaces, mixed species between rooms, and staircases that need to tie everything together. We plan the full sequence before work starts: subfloor prep, acclimation, materials, stain selection, and finish details. Fewer surprises mid-project means a cleaner result and less disruption to your home.
Floors and Stairs Under One Scope
We handle installation, sanding and refinishing, staining, repair, and stair work through one coordinated team. That makes it straightforward to match species, stain, and sheen from room to room and from the main floor up through the staircase. Everything stays consistent because the same crew makes every decision throughout the project.
GREENGUARD-Certified, Pet-Safe Finishes
We use Bona and Loba products on every finish job – GREENGUARD-certified and low-VOC, so kids and pets can be back on the floors once the finish has fully cured. These are the same professional-grade products trusted by flooring crews across Highland Park and the surrounding area, applied by hand by the same experienced team that prepped and sanded your floors.
From the older wood-frame colonials near Ravinia to newer builds along the lakefront bluffs, we handle every hardwood flooring need Highland Park homeowners bring us.
We’re a hardwood floor company based in the Highland Park 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+ Highland Park-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
Highland Park's mix of lakefront estates, mid-century ranches, and newer infill construction means every project starts with a close look at what the home actually needs - not a one-size approach.
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Older Homes (Pre-1940)
Many Highland Park homes in neighborhoods like Ravinia and East Highland Park were built in the early 1900s with solid oak or maple strip floors that have decades of life left. We sand them back, check each board, and refinish with low-VOC Bona or Loba coatings. For any home built before 1978, we follow EPA Lead RRP protocols – proper containment, HEPA vacuuming, and clearance verification before we leave.
2
Mid-Century Ranches and Split-Levels
The 1940s through 1960s brought a wave of wood-frame ranches and split-levels to Highland Park’s interior lots. These homes typically have traditional joist systems and plank subfloors that are well suited to nail-down solid hardwood. If the original floors are still in place, we assess them board by board before recommending refinishing or replacement.
3
Additions and Whole-Home Rehabs
Blending new wood with existing floors is one of the trickier parts of a renovation. We source species and grades that match what is already down, then sand and stain everything together so the addition reads as one continuous floor rather than two different eras.
4
Newer Construction and Infill Builds
Higher-end new construction near the ravines and lakefront often calls for wider-plank engineered hardwood. Before any install, we check subfloor flatness and take moisture readings. If the subfloor is not within NWFA tolerances, we correct it first so the floor performs the way it should long-term.
5
Ravine and Lakefront Humidity
Proximity to Lake Michigan and Highland Park’s ravine lots means seasonal humidity swings are real and significant. We acclimate all wood on site before installation and advise keeping indoor humidity between 30-50% year-round. That one habit prevents most of the cupping and gapping we see in homes where the HVAC is not managed through winter.
In many Highland Park 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.
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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 worked on a mid-century split-level in Highland Park where the original boards had taken years of wear - deep scratches, scuffs, and a finish so dull the wood had lost all its character. We sanded everything back, repaired the damage, and refinished the floors from scratch - same wood, no replacement needed. 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 does, and we plan for it. Highland Park has a lot of late-19th and early-20th century wood-frame homes, plus a big mid-century stock from the 1940s through 1960s. Older subfloors can be uneven, and homes built before 1978 may have lead-based paint under existing finishes. We follow EPA Lead RRP protocols on every pre-1978 project – proper containment, HEPA vacuuming, and verification – so your family stays safe throughout the work.
Lakefront and ravine lots in Highland Park can run noticeably more humid than inland properties, especially in summer. That extra moisture causes cupping and seasonal gapping if it isn’t managed. We acclimate every board on-site before installation and recommend keeping indoor humidity between 30-50% year-round. A stable HVAC system makes a real difference here. We’ll flag any moisture concerns during your free estimate before a single board goes down.
Almost always, yes. Mid-century oak and maple floors in Highland Park homes are often thick enough to be sanded multiple times and still have plenty of life left. Refinishing costs a fraction of replacement and brings back the character that newer flooring simply can’t replicate. We check board thickness and condition during our in-home visit and give you an honest assessment – no pressure either way.
For many Highland Park homes, yes. Wider-plank engineered hardwood handles seasonal humidity swings better than solid wood at those widths, and it installs well over the older plywood and plank subfloors common in this area. It also works in spaces above basements where moisture from below is a factor. We assess your subfloor flatness and moisture levels before recommending any product, following NWFA guidelines to make sure the install lasts.
Refinishing starts at $3 per square foot, and we offer flat-rate pricing for homes under 1,200 square feet. Every estimate is itemized line by line so you know exactly what you’re paying for. For a quick starting point before your in-home visit, try our cost calculator. New clients also receive 10% off. Your free estimate is confirmed within 24 hours of reaching out.
The honest answer depends on board thickness, the extent of damage, and what you’re trying to achieve. If your floors are structurally sound and have enough wood left to sand, refinishing is almost always the smarter investment. We replace floors when boards are too thin, warped beyond repair, or when a homeowner wants a completely different species or width. We’ll tell you which makes more sense for your situation – not whichever costs more.
Refinishing a single floor typically takes two to three days including drying time. Full installations vary by scope but most Highland Park projects wrap within a week. You can usually stay in the home, though the finished rooms need to stay clear while coats cure. We use vacuum-assisted dustless sanding that captures 95% or more of dust, which makes living around the project much more manageable than traditional sanding.
We use Bona and Loba waterborne finishes as our primary products – both are low-VOC and safe for kids and pets once fully cured. We also work with Pallmann and DuraSeal depending on the project. These finishes are durable, look great on the species common in Highland Park homes like oak and maple, and don’t off-gas the harsh fumes associated with older oil-based products. We’ll walk you through sheen levels and options at your estimate.
Tell us what you need — we’ll help you figure out the best way to get it done.
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