Three to five days for a standard first floor: one day of sanding, one for stain if you’re staining, then coats with drying time between them. Larger homes and heavy repair work take longer. We give you the day-by-day schedule with your quote, and we don’t start a job we can’t finish on time.

Usually not. Because we sand with a dustless system, most families stay in the house and just avoid the rooms we’re working in. You will need to keep pets and kids off the floor while the finish cures, and you’ll want a plan for where to sleep if we’re doing bedrooms. We’ll walk through the logistics at the estimate.

Our sanding equipment connects to a sealed vacuum containment system that pulls dust off the machine as it’s created and traps it outside your house. It captures the large majority of what traditional sanding would put in your air. It isn’t literally zero dust — no system is, and any contractor who tells you otherwise is overselling — but the difference in your home is dramatic.

Usually yes, and it’s a lot of what we do. Old-growth pine and early oak floors are often thinner than modern flooring and sometimes have cut nails, gaps, or previous sanding history, so they need a lighter hand and more patience. We check thickness before we quote and tell you honestly if a floor has been sanded one time too many already.

In most cases, yes. We put sample stains directly on your floor and let you look at them in your own light before committing, because the same can of stain reads completely differently on red oak, white oak, maple, and pine. Perfect matches across different species and ages of wood aren’t always possible, and we’ll say so upfront rather than surprise you at the end.

Water-based finish dries faster, has far less odor, and stays clear over time, which keeps white oak looking light and modern. Oil-based costs less, ambers as it ages, and gives a warmer, traditional look that suits a lot of older New England homes. Both are durable when applied properly. We’ll show you samples of each and explain the trade-off for your specific floor.

Not solid hardwood — it moves too much with moisture. For basements and slabs we recommend engineered hardwood or luxury vinyl plank, both of which handle humidity properly. We test the slab for moisture before recommending anything, because that step is exactly what gets skipped on jobs that fail two winters later.

Yes. Luxen Construction Inc. is a registered Home Improvement Contractor with the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (Reg. #000000) and carries general liability and workers’ compensation insurance. We’ll send you the certificates before work begins. You can verify any Massachusetts contractor’s registration on the state’s website — we’d encourage you to check ours and everyone else’s.

No. Estimates are free, there’s no obligation, and we don’t do high-pressure closing. We’ll come out, measure, and give you a written price you can compare against other bids. If photos are easier to start with, text or email them and we’ll give you a ballpark before scheduling a visit.

It depends on the season — spring and fall book out fastest, and a lot of homeowners want floors done before the holidays. We’re usually scheduling two to four weeks out. If you’re closing on a house or moving in on a fixed date, tell us at the estimate and we’ll be straight with you about whether we can hit it.

Yes. We do turnovers for landlords and property managers across Essex County, plus offices, retail, and small commercial spaces. Tell us your deadline — turnover work is usually about the schedule as much as the floor.