Overview
Solid hardwood is the only flooring that can be sanded and refinished four or five times across its life. We install floors that outlast trends, mortgages, and second homes.
Hardwood Floor Installation by Kovich & Savard starts at $10/sq ft* for labor, with material quoted separately and the final number set after a free in-home estimate. We service every Massachusetts town listed below, Greater Boston, the South Shore, MetroWest, and Cape Cod, with three generations of family experience. Every job is owner-led.
Where these numbers come from: every price, timeline and job detail on this hardwood installation page is set by the owners, Tim Savard and Steve Kovich, and reflects how they price and schedule this work in 2026, except figures credited to another source where they appear.
Hardwood installation with Kovich & Savard means solid plank nailed to a prepped subfloor (the plywood or boards the finished floor is fastened to), engineered over slab, or pre-finished plank where the schedule is tight, and the right one is decided by your subfloor and moisture reading, not by preference alone. It runs in steps: (1) a free in-home visit where we measure, check moisture, and show samples; (2) 5-7 days of on-site acclimation so the wood matches the room; (3) subfloor prep, screwing down loose plywood and replacing any rot; (4) layout and install, boards laid out so the joints are staggered, then nailed at proper spacing; (5) three-pass sanding and a 3-coat finish where the job calls for it; (6) a final walk-through with a written care kit. The real choice is between three options: solid hardwood at $10/sq ft labor, which can be refinished 4-5 times and is the only floor that does; pre-finished plank at $5/sq ft labor, faster and walkable the same day but harder to refinish later; and engineered or luxury vinyl at $6-10/sq ft labor, the right call over a slab or where moisture rules out solid wood. This is not the right service if you need the floor done in days, not weeks (raw solid wood needs 5-7 days of acclimation before the first nail), or if you're on a concrete slab or a moisture-prone basement (solid nailed hardwood is the wrong spec there, engineered is), or if you're shopping for the lowest bid rather than an owner-led crew that tests moisture and preps the subfloor first. Book the free in-home estimate, get the written proposal within 48 hours, and compare it line by line against anything else you've been quoted.
We install solid plank hardwood, domestic oak (red and white), maple, hickory, ash, and walnut, across every room of the home, including kitchens and entryways. Engineered options are available where moisture or slab subfloors require them, but our standard recommendation for first-floor and above-grade installs is 3/4" solid plank, nailed down to a clean plywood subfloor.
Every install starts with the subfloor, not the wood. We pull and replace squeaky padding under the boards, cut transitions to fit, and let raw boards acclimate on-site for a minimum of 5-7 days before the first nail goes in. That patience is the difference between a floor that creaks in three winters and one that holds tight for a generation.
Layout is its own craft. We rack each board by length and grain to avoid H-joints and short-board clusters, run sightlines to the longest exterior wall, and protect millwork with rosin paper from the first delivery to the last sweep.
Deciding between the two? Our solid vs engineered hardwood guide compares refinishing, moisture, cost and where each belongs in a Massachusetts home.
Materials we work with
About this service
Hardwood Installation, the honest one-paragraph version.
Solid hardwood is the only flooring that can be sanded and refinished four or five times across its life. We install floors that outlast trends, mortgages, and second homes. We do this work across Massachusetts for homeowners, builders, property managers, and small-business owners. Labor starts at $10/sq ft*. Starting labor rate set by the owners for 2026. Material is quoted separately and varies by species, width, and finish type. Every job starts with a free in-home estimate, a written itemized proposal inside 48 hours of that visit, and a fixed completion date. Owner-led, fully insured, three generations of family craftsmanship since 1928.
Hardwood Installation is one of eight service lines we offer. Most homeowners who book hardwood installation also end up using one or two related services from the same crew on the same project, common combinations include refinishing plus custom staining, install plus board-repair on adjacent rooms, and engineered hardwood plus luxury vinyl plank for a basement transition. We coordinate all of them under one proposal so you do not have to manage multiple contractors against each other on schedule.
Three generations of doing this work across Eastern Massachusetts has taught us that the same standards produce floors that hold up for forty years regardless of which service is on the proposal. Subfloor preparation before wood, proper acclimation before installation, three-coat premium finish where the system calls for it, transitions cut to fit every doorway, daily cleanup, and an owner on every site every day. Tim and Steve are the people you talk to, and the people on your floor.
Why choose this
What you get when we do this work.
What sets our hardwood installation work apart comes down to can be refinished 4-5 times, property value uplift and heritage materials, modern tooling. Each point below is something you can check on your written hardwood installation proposal or see on the finished floor, not a slogan.
Can be refinished 4-5 times
Solid 3/4" plank can be refinished 4-5 times. Engineered, vinyl, and laminate cannot. You're buying decades, not years.
Property value uplift
MA appraisers consistently value real hardwood above LVP and engineered. The floors usually pay back at sale.
Heritage materials, modern tooling
We pair traditional craftsmanship with dust-containment sanding and water-based finishes that cure faster and cleaner than anything available even ten years ago.
How it goes
The 6-step process for this work.
Every hardwood installation job we take runs in the same 6 steps, from site visit & measure to walk-through & care kit. The owner who writes your hardwood installation proposal stays on the job through each step, and the proposal lists every step with its date.
- 01
Site visit & measure
Free in-home consultation. We measure, photograph the subfloor, check moisture content, and discuss species and finish samples on-site.
- 02
Acclimation
Wood sits in the home for 5-7 days minimum so its moisture content matches the room it'll live in.
- 03
Subfloor prep
We screw down loose plywood, replace any rotted sections, and clean to a neutral surface before paper goes down.
- 04
Layout & install
Boards are laid out so the joints are staggered, then nailed at proper spacing. Doorways and transition strips are cut to fit.
- 05
Sand, stain & finish
Three-pass sanding with dust containment, optional custom stain, then 3 coats of premium water-based polyurethane.
- 06
Walk-through & care kit
We walk every square foot with you, leave touch-up materials, and email you a written care guide.
Recent hardwood installation projects
Real photos. Real Massachusetts homes.
These are photos from our own hardwood installation jobs in Massachusetts homes, not stock images. More of our work, including other hardwood installation jobs, is on our work page, and at the estimate we can point you to finished hardwood installation floors near you.
Considerations for Massachusetts homes
What we look at before quoting hardwood installation.
Subfloor and structure: Massachusetts housing stock spans pre-1900 board subfloors laid on beams, mid-century plywood over 2x10 beams, and modern engineered I-joists (factory-made floor beams shaped like a capital I), and we adjust technique for each. Pre-1960 homes routinely have original pine plank subfloor with hardwood nailed directly to it; post-war ranches and capes show 1/2" plywood; newer builds use 3/4" tongue-and-groove OSB (oriented strand board, panels of pressed wood strands) or plywood. Each calls for different fastener length, different acclimation tolerance, and a different read on whether the subfloor needs screwing-down before any new flooring goes over it. We test moisture content with a handheld moisture meter at every job because cupping and buckling (boards curling at the edges or lifting off the subfloor) are almost always a subfloor-moisture story, not a wood-selection story.
Material specification: species (red oak versus white oak versus walnut versus hickory), board width (2 1/4" strip versus 5" plank versus 7"+ wide-plank), grade (select clear versus character versus rustic), and finish chemistry (clear, low-odor water-based polyurethane versus warmer amber oil-based versus matte hardwax oil that soaks into the wood) each move both the price and the lived experience of the floor for the next 30 years. We bring physical samples to the estimate so you see and feel the difference rather than choosing from a catalog page. Pricing scales with those choices: the same room costs several times more in wide-plank European white oak than in narrow select red oak boards.
Adjacencies and transitions: almost every hardwood installation project touches a kitchen tile threshold, an exterior door, a stair nose, and at least one HVAC register. We cut every transition to fit rather than hiding the edge under a trim strip, mill the rounded stair edges from matching wood, and blend refinish work into adjacent rooms so the new work doesn't read as a stripe of fresh wood against tired surroundings. That detail work is included in the labor rate, not added as a separate line item.
Dust, schedule, and living in the house: we run HEPA-filtered dust-containment sanders that pull dust into a sealed vacuum at the sander before it reaches the air, and we seal off adjacent rooms with zip walls. Most families stay in the house through a refinish. For an install, plan on the floors being walkable in stocking feet at day 4 and fully ready for furniture at day 7. We coordinate around your life and can work in phases when whole-house occupancy matters.
FAQ
Common questions about hardwood installation.
These are the hardwood installation questions we hear most at in-home estimates, answered in plain words by the owners who do the work. Got a question that's not here? Call (508) 962-1962 or email us. Tim and Steve answer themselves.
How long will my home be unusable?
For a typical 800-1,200 sq ft install, plan on the floors being walkable in stocking feet at day 4 and fully ready for furniture at day 7. We coordinate around your life, many clients have us work in phases so they can stay in the house.
Can you install over an existing subfloor?
Almost always, yes, provided the plywood is structurally sound and within moisture spec. If we find rot or excessive deflection, we'll show you photos and either repair the subfloor or recommend an engineered product over slab.
What about the dust?
We run HEPA-filtered dust-containment sanders and seal off rooms with zip walls. You'll have less airborne dust than from a typical week of cooking.
How long does hardwood installation take from start to finish?
For a typical 800 to 1,200 sq ft project, an install takes the floors walkable in stocking feet at day 4 and fully ready for furniture at day 7. A refinish runs 4 to 5 days end-to-end. We coordinate around your life and can work in phases when whole-house occupancy matters.
Will Tim or Steve be on-site for my hardwood installation job?
Yes. An owner is on every site, every day. Not a project manager, not a salesperson, not a subbed-out crew. The person who measured your floor is the person who runs the work and is the person you call if you have a question two years later.
What insurance do you carry for hardwood installation work?
$2,000,000 in liability insurance (it pays for damage to your home) and full workers' compensation (it covers our crew if someone is hurt). Certificates of insurance furnished on request, including additional-insured endorsements for condo associations or property managers that require them.
Do you offer a warranty on hardwood installation?
Yes. Written workmanship warranty on every job, plus the finish manufacturer's product warranty on the coating system. If something we did fails, we come back. We answer the phone for years afterward.
How quickly can you start a project?
Most projects start two to four weeks after sign-off. The on-site estimate happens within a few business days of your call, the written proposal lands inside 48 hours of that visit, and the wood acclimates on-site for 5 to 7 days before any nail goes in.
What's included
What you actually get with hardwood installation.
Included in the labor rate: in-home assessment of the subfloor and existing material, written itemized proposal within 48 hours, moisture-content testing at delivery and at install, on-site acclimation of raw boards (5 to 7 days for solid, 3 to 5 for pre-finished), three-pass sanding with HEPA dust containment (where applicable), three coats of premium polyurethane with a light sanding between coats (where applicable), transitions cut to fit at doorways and room changes, owner-led job supervision, furniture moving and protection within the work zone, daily site cleanup, and a final walk-through with written care kit. The labor rate is not stripped down to a teaser number that grows once we are on-site.
Quoted separately on top of labor: the wood or product itself (priced by species, board width, grade, and quantity); any subfloor repair we find during prep (rotted plywood, reinforcing floor beams, leveling beyond minor patching); stair treads and their front edges, and risers; custom stain blends beyond a single tone; specialty moldings and transitions we need to fabricate rather than buy stock; and after-hours scheduling for commercial work. Each line item appears on the proposal so you see the math before signing.
Not included, and we will tell you up front: any work outside the scope on the proposal. If we find something during prep that changes the scope, we stop, photograph it, email you a change-order with a real number, and wait for your sign-off before proceeding. We do not silently expand scope and present a larger invoice at the end.
Warranty: written workmanship warranty on every project, plus the finish manufacturer's product warranty on the coating system. If something we did fails (a cup, a lifted board, a finish failure that we caused), we come back. We have been doing this work since 1928 and we plan to be answering the phone for the same floor in twenty years.
Where we provide this service
Hardwood Installation across Eastern Massachusetts.
Honest expectations
What we will and will not promise on hardwood installation.
What we will promise: owner-led work from start to finish, a fixed completion date in writing, full HEPA dust containment where the service calls for it, three coats of premium polyurethane where the finish type calls for it, transitions cut to fit every doorway and room change, daily cleanup, written workmanship warranty, and a phone number staffed by an owner for the years after the job. Free in-home estimate, written itemized proposal within 48 hours.
What we will not promise: a price quoted sight-unseen, a refinish on a floor whose wear layer (the wood above the tongue that each sanding removes) is gone, a finish type that we know will yellow over the stain you chose, an install schedule that cannot accommodate proper wood acclimation, or work outside the scope on the proposal. We will tell you honestly at the in-home visit if what you are asking for is not a good fit for your floor for your situation and what we recommend instead, even when the recommendation is a smaller project than the one you called about.
Other services
You might also need…
These related services are often done alongside hardwood installation, each with its own page, starting price and process. All of them can go on the same written proposal as your hardwood installation work, so one visit and one estimate cover the whole floor.
