Hardwood floor installation in NYC and Long Island

What we install

• Solid hardwood — classic strip and plank; nail or staple to a proper plywood subfloor.
• Engineered hardwood — real wood wear layer over a reinforced core; more stable with humidity swings; nail, glue, or float; better fit for below-grade, concrete, and radiant heat when the product allows. Learn more in our All About Hardwood Flooring guide.
• Patterns & extras — strip flooring, parquet, herringbone; borders, medallions, mouldings. For patterned rooms and matching stairs, see herringbone and parquet layouts.
• Prefinished or unfinished — factory finish ready after install, or unfinished then stain (optional) and polyurethane on site. We recommend low-odor, fast-drying, environmentally friendly acrylic polyurethane.

How hardwood floor installation works in Brooklyn

1. Free consultation & estimate — Species, grade, width, prefinished vs unfinished, pattern, and method (nail / glue / float). Start with the Instant Preliminary Estimate for planning, then free on-site measure for a firm install quote.
2. Material plan — Oak is our go-to for most homes; other domestics and exotics available. Match samples before ordering.
3. Removal (if needed) — Tear-out of existing floor materials and efficient disposal.
4. Subfloor — Inspect and prepare so the new floor goes down smooth and lasts. Floating systems: cushioning underlayment when the subfloor is less than level.
5. Install — Tongue-and-groove boards laid from one end of the room; nailed or glued to the subfloor, or floated and joined on top of underlayment depending on the system.
6. Finish (unfinished jobs) — Stain if desired, then polyurethane. Prefer low-odor water-based / acrylic systems for occupied homes; oil-based available when you want that look and accept longer dry times. Related: hardwood floor refinishing.
7. Walkthrough — Care notes and when furniture and traffic are OK.

Timeline

Job-specific factors — square footage, tear-out, repairs, pattern complexity, unfinished finish coats, and building access — change the schedule and are confirmed on estimate.

Engineered hardwood over radiant heat

Engineered hardwood for radiant heat is the wood we usually discuss, because solid expands and shrinks more.

Glue down engineered hardwood over radiant heat is used only when both the product and the heat system allow adhesive.

Radiant heat under hardwood is confirmed against the manufacturer's limits before we fasten or glue anything. We do not invent a temperature setting on this page.

Radiant heat under wood floor jobs get that same product check, then the install method that the subfloor allows.

Hardwood floors over radiant heat Brooklyn apartments are scheduled only after that approval is in hand.

Radiant heat hardwood floors NYC projects follow the same rule across the boroughs we serve.

Many NYC and Long Island jobs sit over radiant heat. Engineered hardwood is usually the better wood choice than solid when the product allows it — stable core, real wood wear layer, and install methods (nail, glue, or float) matched to the subfloor and the heat system. We confirm species, thickness, and fastening on the estimate so the floor and the radiant setup work together. Planning the heat too? Read about radiant floor heating installation.

Solid vs engineered (quick chooser)

More detail: solid vs engineered education.

Co-op & elevator building rules

Elevator building flooring install NYC work needs a booked car, hallway protection, and the hours the house allows.

Building approved flooring installer NYC is the paperwork side of that job: insurance certificates before the board will let us start.

Co-op flooring contractor NYC scheduling starts with those house rules, not with a guess from the street.

Condo flooring contractor NYC scheduling works the same way. Share the house rules when you request the estimate.

Can you refinish engineered hardwood after it is down? Often, if the wear layer is thick enough to sand. A thin wear layer may allow only a light recoat, or it may mean replacement. We check the product on site before we promise a full sand.

• Licensed & insured; can supply insurance paperwork co-ops and condos ask for.
• Plan elevator bookings, work hours, hallway protection, and certificate rules up front.
• Prefinished or low-odor on-site finish helps occupied apartments.
• Share building house rules early — floor installation NYC co-ops often limit noisy work to set windows.

We plan this up front for Manhattan co-op and condo buildings and Brooklyn walk-ups alike.

Warranty

5-year workmanship warranty. Covers our installation workmanship as stated on the job — not product manufacturer defects beyond their warranty, flooding, or later abuse/modifications. Ask on the estimate for what’s in writing.

Who this is for: Brooklyn brownstones, apartments & co-ops

• Homes & brownstones — new hardwood or engineered throughout, pattern floors, stairs (stairs as separate scope on estimate when needed). Recent installs include wide-plank floors in Bed-Stuy and red oak in Brooklyn Heights.
• Apartments & co-ops — careful tear-out, subfloor prep, building-friendly scheduling.
• Commercial — offices and shops. Gemini works residences and businesses of all sizes.

We also install in Nassau homes from our Freeport shop, including Merrick and Valley Stream.

Commercial flooring for offices and stores

Retail store flooring contractor Brooklyn work is measured for access, hours, and whether hardwood belongs in the space. This page is the hardwood side of commercial flooring.

Restaurant flooring installation NYC is scoped the same way. A wet kitchen may be better in waterproof vinyl, which we will say after we see the room.

Showroom flooring installation NYC is a commercial hardwood or engineered install when the showroom wants a wood floor, with the hours and insurance paperwork the building asks for.

Gemini Floor Services is a commercial flooring contractor Brooklyn teams call for offices, stores, and small commercial spaces — not only epoxy. We install solid and engineered hardwood, patterned wood, and related commercial hardwood flooring across NYC, and we stage Long Island commercial jobs from Freeport.

• Offices — durable hardwood or engineered installs that stand up to daily traffic, with building-friendly scheduling and insurance paperwork when the landlord asks.
• Stores & shopfronts — store flooring that matches the brand look, with careful tear-out, subfloor prep, and finish choices suited to foot traffic.
• Beyond epoxy — epoxy and polished concrete remain available for slabs and garages; commercial hardwood and wood-look installs cover the rooms where soft flooring or bare concrete is not the goal.

Licensed and insured with a 5-year workmanship warranty. Tell us access windows, after-hours needs, and product preferences on the free estimate.

Finishing the edges: baseboards, shoe molding and quarter round

Quarter round installation hardwood trim is one way to cover the expansion gap at the wall.

Shoe molding hardwood floors is the slimmer trim along the baseboard, and we can include it when you want that profile.

A transition strip hardwood floors meet at a doorway is separate trim between two surfaces. The estimate lists only the profiles the job needs.

A new floor is only as clean as its edges. Hardwood needs an expansion gap at the walls, and trim is what covers it. We can remove and reinstall existing baseboards or install new ones, and add shoe molding or quarter round along the base so the gap is hidden and the floor meets the wall neatly. Shoe molding is slimmer and sits lower; quarter round is a fuller, rounder profile — either can be painted or stained to suit the room. Trim scope is confirmed on the estimate.

As a hardwood floor installer for Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk, Gemini Floor Services handles moulding installation with new floors, including baseboards, shoe molding and quarter round. The cost of hardwood floor installation depends on the species, square footage, subfloor work and the mouldings you choose, and the free estimate lists each one.

What affects the cost

Every installation quote is built from your rooms and your material choice, so we confirm it after a free on-site measure. The main factors:

• Solid vs engineered hardwood; species, grade and board width
• Prefinished vs unfinished (site-finished floors add stain and finish coats)
• Square footage and layout
• Pattern: strip or plank vs herringbone, parquet, borders, medallions, stairs
• Tear-out and disposal of the old floor
• Subfloor repairs, levelling and underlayment
• Fastening method: nail-down, glue-down or floating
• Baseboards, shoe molding or quarter round, if included
• Access: walk-ups, elevator booking, co-op work windows

For a planning number before the visit, get an instant preliminary estimate

Install methods

Nail down hardwood installation Brooklyn is the usual way to fasten boards over a wood subfloor.

Glue down engineered hardwood NYC is the common approach on concrete, when the product allows adhesive.

Prefinished hardwood installation NYC means the factory finish is already on the board, so we are not sanding the whole floor on site.

Site finished hardwood floors Brooklyn are sanded and coated after the boards are down.

Hardwood floors installation Long Island is scheduled from the Freeport shop, using those same methods.

Hardwood floor installation Manhattan co-ops and condos includes elevator time and the paperwork the building asks for.

Hardwood stair installation Brooklyn can be new treads and risers, or a match to a floor we are installing in the hall. Stairs are their own line on the estimate.

Species and plank width

Red oak hardwood floors Brooklyn bring a classic warmer grain.

White oak hardwood floors Brooklyn are the clearer grain many apartments ask for.

Maple hardwood floors NYC are harder and usually lighter before any stain.

Wide plank hardwood floors Brooklyn need a stable subfloor so seasonal movement stays in check.

Wide plank flooring NYC is that same width conversation, settled with species and grade on the estimate rather than from a photo.

Subfloor repair and levelling

Plywood subfloor repair comes first when the panels under a new wood floor are soft, delaminated, or loose.

A concrete subfloor hardwood Brooklyn install needs a flat, dry slab and the nail, glue, or float method that product allows.

Subfloor leveling Brooklyn prep is only the repair the site actually needs, not an automatic pour on every job.

Subfloor repair Long Island is that same check, scheduled from the Freeport shop before hardwood goes down.