# Green Hardwood — full site content > Green Hardwood is a Toronto hardwood flooring company specializing in hardwood installation, custom hardwood stairs, hardwood railings, dust-free sanding, finishing, refinishing, repairs, and hardwood decks across the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario. Source: https://greenhardwood.ca/llms-full.txt Index: https://greenhardwood.ca/llms.txt Generated from the site's own content modules at build time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Company Legal name: Green Hardwood Ltd. Founder: Franco Giacinto Oller Grimaldi, Founder & Master Hardwood Craftsman Phone: (416) 847-3366 (+14168473366) Email: hello@greenhardwood.ca Address: 88 Sterling Road, Unit 6, Toronto, ON M6R 2B2, Canada Hours: Mon–Fri 8–6 · Sat 9–4 · Sun by appointment Years in business: 15+ Floors completed: 1200+ Warranty: 3-year workmanship warranty on installation and refinishing Credentials: WSIB coverage, Liability insured, Bona Certified Craftsman, NWFA guidelines Area served: Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario Price range: $$-$$$ Scope: solid and engineered hardwood only — installation, custom stairs, railings, dust-contained sanding, finishing, refinishing, buffing and recoating, repairs, inlays, hardwood decks, and commercial hardwood. Green Hardwood does not install laminate, vinyl plank, tile, or carpet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Services ### Hardwood Floor Installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation Pricing: From $11–$22 / sq ft installed Typical duration: Typical 800 sq ft home: 4–8 days Search terms: hardwood floor installation Toronto; engineered hardwood GTA; solid hardwood install Mississauga Precision solid and engineered hardwood installation for new builds, gut renovations, and room-by-room upgrades. Subfloor, moisture, and acclimation come first — the finish is the last 10%. - Moisture mapping and subfloor flattening before a single board is laid - Solid nail-down, glue-down engineered, and floating systems - Herringbone, chevron, mixed-width, and border layouts - Radiant-heat compatible assemblies with manufacturer warranties intact Most failed hardwood floors in the GTA were installed on a subfloor nobody measured. Ontario basements sweat, new-build slabs off-gas moisture, and century homes move with the seasons. Green Hardwood starts every install with a Tramex moisture survey, a flatness check, and an acclimation window matched to the species — not a calendar guess. We install solid hardwood (typically 3/4") where the structure can take it, and premium engineered hardwood over concrete, radiant, or when a thinner assembly is required. White oak is the workhorse of Toronto right now; walnut, maple, hickory, and red oak are specified when the architecture asks for them. Layout is not decoration. In a Rosedale hallway we run boards to carry the eye to the stair. In a King West condo we often switch to herringbone so a small floor reads as architecture, not leftover material. Transitions to tile, stair nosings, and flush vents are detailed on paper before we cut. You get a written scope, a species and grade sample signed off, and a three-year workmanship warranty. Material warranties stay with the mill — we do not void them with the wrong adhesive or the wrong relative humidity. Q: How much does hardwood installation cost in Toronto? A: In the GTA in 2026, most residential hardwood installs land between $11 and $22 per square foot for material plus labour, depending on species, pattern, and site conditions. Herringbone and walnut sit at the high end. Use the Green Hardwood estimator for a range, then book a site visit for a firm quote. Q: Solid or engineered hardwood for a Toronto house? A: Solid 3/4" oak or maple is the right call on a dry, wood-framed subfloor you expect to refinish for decades. Engineered is the right call over concrete, radiant heat, below grade, or when you need more dimensional stability. We specify both — we do not upsell the one with more margin. ### Hardwood Stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs Pricing: From $380–$850 per step, installed Typical duration: Typical 13-step flight: 3–6 days Search terms: hardwood stairs Toronto; oak stair treads GTA; carpet to hardwood stairs Mississauga Box stairs, open-riser, replacement treads over carpet, curved flights, and full stair rebuilds. The stair is the first thing guests touch. We treat it as millwork, not leftover flooring. - Retread carpeted stairs with solid oak, maple, or walnut treads - Box newels, open risers, floating stringers, and bullnose starts - Matched species and stain to the adjacent hardwood floor - Rise/run, nosing projection, and guards detailed to Ontario Building Code Stairs are where cheap flooring companies get exposed. A 3/4" floor glued to a 5/8" plywood tread, a painted MDF riser next to a $14/sq ft oak floor, a nosing that trips the building inspector — we see it every week in the GTA. Green Hardwood builds and installs hardwood stairs as a system: treads, risers, stringers, scotia, nosing, and the first-floor landing, all in the same species and finish as the floor — or in a deliberate contrast, usually walnut against white oak. The most requested job in 2026 is converting builder-grade carpet stairs in Vaughan, Markham, and Milton new builds into solid oak box stairs. We pull the carpet, inspect the structure, sister anything that flexes, and install solid treads with returned ends on the open side. Ontario Building Code governs rise, run, nosing, guards, and graspable handrails. We do not install a beautiful stair that fails inspection. If your designer wants a 6" run because it 'looks floating,' we will say no and show the drawing that will pass. Q: Can you put hardwood treads over existing carpet stairs? A: Usually yes. We remove the carpet and nosing, inspect the stringers, and either cap with solid treads or rebuild if the structure is undersized. Open-side stairs often need returned treads and a proper false stringer — not a leftover plank glued to the drywall. Q: How much do hardwood stairs cost in the GTA? A: A standard 13-step flight with oak treads, painted or wood risers, and a matching nosing typically runs $5,000–$11,000 installed. Custom walnut, curved flights, and iron balusters move that number up. Railings are quoted separately. ### Hardwood Railings URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings Pricing: From $180–$420 / linear foot Typical duration: Typical two-storey rail: 2–4 days Search terms: hardwood railings Toronto; oak handrail installation GTA; stair railing replacement Oakville Custom oak, maple, and walnut handrails, box and turned newels, metal or wood balusters, volutes, goosenecks, and wall-mounted rails that actually meet code. - Graspable oak, maple, and walnut profiles, including farmhouse and contemporary - Box newels, pin-top newels, and metal newel conversions - Iron, steel, wood, and cable infill — mixed-material stairs done cleanly - Wall rails on both sides where the code or a toddler requires them A railing is a piece of millwork you put your full weight on at 11 p.m. If the newel is toe-nailed into a hollow newel block, it will fail. Green Hardwood through-bolts newels into structure, not into trim. We mill and install hardwood handrails in the same species as the stair, or we specify a painted newel with a clear-finish oak rail — a combination that reads expensive in Forest Hill and stays wipeable in a family house in Burlington. Ontario requires a graspable handrail and a guard height that depends on the drop. Decorative 2x6 caps with no graspable profile fail inspection. We will not install them. We will show you three profiles that pass and still match the architecture. Railing replacements are often paired with hardwood stair retreads. Doing both in one mobilization is cheaper, cleaner, and means one stain formula, not two. Q: Do you install metal balusters with wood rails? A: Yes. Square, hammered, and contemporary steel balusters into a wood rail and newel is one of our most common GTA packages. We drill, shoe, and epoxy properly so they do not rattle in year three. Q: Can you match an existing 1990s oak rail? A: We can get very close. Exact 30-year-old stain matches are honest-to-goodness hard because oak yellows. We sample on site, age the sample under light, and show you the match before we finish the whole run. ### Hardwood Sanding, Finishing & Refinishing URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing Pricing: From $4.50–$8.50 / sq ft Typical duration: Typical 1,000 sq ft: 3–5 days including cure Search terms: hardwood floor refinishing Toronto; dustless sanding GTA; hardwood staining Mississauga Screen-and-recoat or full sand-to-bare-wood. Custom stain matching, waterborne and oil-modified systems, and a house you can actually live in while we work. - Bona dust containment — 99%+ capture, occupied-home friendly - Full sand or screen-and-recoat depending on remaining wear layer - Custom stain matching to stairs, millwork, and adjacent rooms - Bona Traffic HD and Loba 2K systems for dogs, kids, and condos Refinishing is the highest-ROI hardwood job in the GTA. A tired red-oak floor from 1998, sanded correctly and finished in a modern matte, outperforms a cheap vinyl plank at a fraction of replacement cost. We do not 'dustless-sand' with a shop vac taped to a rental drum. Green Hardwood runs professional containment: perimeter sealing, negative air where needed, and a sanding sequence (open-coat belts, then multi-disc) that does not dish the edges or leave chatter. Finish choice is a performance spec. Waterborne two-component (Bona Traffic HD, Loba 2K) for condos and commercial. Hardwax oil for owners who want a repairable, low-sheen European look and will maintain it. Oil-modified only when the client wants that warmer amber and accepts the odour window. If the floor has already been sanded to the nails, we will tell you and quote replacement. Sanding a floor that has no wear layer left is how you buy a new floor twice. Q: How long before we can walk on a refinished floor? A: Sock traffic is typically 24 hours on waterborne two-component systems. Furniture at 3–5 days. Rugs at 7–14 days. We leave a written cure schedule specific to the product, not a generic flyer. Q: Can you refinish in an occupied condo? A: Yes. Dust containment, elevator protection, and a schedule that respects condo quiet hours are standard. We have refinished 1,100 sq ft maple units in Richmond Hill with clients sleeping there the same night. ### Hardwood Repairs & Restoration URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs Pricing: From $650 minimum · $18–$35 / sq ft affected Typical duration: Most repairs: 1–3 days plus finish cure Search terms: hardwood floor repair Toronto; water damaged hardwood GTA; board replacement oak floor Board replacement, cupping correction, gap filling, structural sistering, and stain matching on heritage and contemporary floors. Emergency water-damage response across the GTA. - Flood and dishwasher leak board replacement with grain match - Cupping and crowning correction after moisture events - Pet stains, burns, and high-heel crater repair - Heritage restoration on quarter-sawn oak in Forest Hill, Rosedale, High Park The test of a hardwood company is not a new floor in a new house. It is replacing four boards in a 15-year-old red oak kitchen so the owner cannot find the seam. Water is the usual caller: ice-maker lines, second-floor baths, and spring seepage in older Toronto foundations. We measure moisture, isolate the wet zone, and do not sand the whole floor until the replacement boards have acclimated to the same moisture content as the field. Matching species, grade, and grain direction matters more than matching colour on day one. Colour we can stain. Grain we cannot invent. We keep a library of GTA-typical oak, maple, and walnut so we are not buying a 'close enough' board from a big-box store. Q: My hardwood cupped after a leak. Can it be saved? A: Often. If the boards have not separated from the subfloor and moisture is coming down, they can be dried, sanded, and refinished. If they have delaminated or the tongues are broken, those boards come out. We tell you which, with moisture readings, before we quote. ### Hardwood Decks URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks Pricing: From $28–$48 / sq ft for ipe-class decks Typical duration: Typical 300 sq ft deck: 1–2 weeks Search terms: hardwood deck Toronto; ipe deck installation GTA; wood porch refinishing Dense tropical hardwoods and properly detailed cedar for GTA decks, porches, and stoops. Hidden fasteners, correct ventilation, and flashing that actually keeps water out of the rim joist. - Ipe, cumaru, and other dense hardwoods with hidden fasteners - Porch floor restoration on Victorian and Edwardian Toronto houses - Stair and railing packages that match the interior millwork language - Oil maintenance programs so the deck does not go grey in two seasons Interior hardwood people who 'also do decks' are how you get a beautiful ipe surface on a rotten ledger. Green Hardwood details the envelope: ledger flashing, joist tape, ventilation, and a slope that drains. Ipe and cumaru earn their cost in the GTA because they take UV, ice, and barbecue fat without the cupping you see in under-specified cedar. Cedar is still the right material for some porches and budgets — we will say so. We also restore original tongue-and-groove porch floors on Toronto Victorians, a job that is closer to interior flooring than to a big-box deck. Q: Is ipe worth it in Ontario? A: If you want a deck that still looks like furniture in year twelve, yes. If you want the lowest first cost, no — use a well-detailed cedar or a composite and spend the money on flashing. We quote both. ### Custom Inlays & Patterns URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays Pricing: Quoted per design · medallions from $2,800 Typical duration: Design + install: 2–6 weeks Search terms: hardwood inlay Toronto; herringbone floor GTA; custom medallion oak Compass roses, herringbone fields, walnut borders, and custom crests cut from domestic and exotic hardwoods. Feature work for foyers, dining rooms, and boutique commercial. - CAD layout and full-scale templates before a chisel hits the floor - Species contrast that will still read in 20 years, not just on install day - Borders that turn a builder-grade rectangle into a room Pattern work is slow, and it should be. A 48-inch compass rose in a Rosedale dining room is a week of fitting, not an afternoon of glue. We cut, dry-fit, and only then commit finish. Q: Can you inlay a family crest or logo? A: Yes, within the limits of wood movement and grain. We will simplify a crest that would shatter at 1/8" detail. Commercial logos for boutique lobbies are a regular request. ### Commercial Hardwood URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood Pricing: Quoted per project Typical duration: Phased around your operations Search terms: commercial hardwood flooring Toronto; restaurant wood floors GTA High-build finishes, night and weekend installs, and species that hide the lunch rush. Restaurants, hotels, showrooms, and professional offices across the GTA. - Bona Traffic HD and equivalent commercial systems - After-hours and phased installs so you do not close for a week - Feature walls, stair packages, and matching millwork A restaurant floor is a different product than a bedroom. We specify species, finish, and maintenance with the chef and the cleaner in the conversation, not just the designer. Q: Can you work overnight? A: Yes. Boutique retail and restaurant work is regularly staged 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. with a morning handoff. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Service areas ### Toronto (Toronto) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/toronto From quarter-sawn oak in Forest Hill to herringbone in King West, Toronto is the core of our hardwood, stair, and railing work. Housing stock: Victorian and Edwardian houses in the west end, mid-century bungalows in North York, glass condos downtown, and heritage estates in Rosedale and Forest Hill. Each needs a different assembly. Typical specification: Solid white oak on wood joists, engineered over concrete condos, stair retreads in 3-storey semis, and porch restorations on Parkdale and High Park Victorians. Common jobs: Forest Hill heritage restorations; King West / Yorkville condo installs; Rosedale inlays and borders; West-end stair and railing packages Service pages for Toronto: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/toronto https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/toronto https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/toronto https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/toronto https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/toronto https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/toronto https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/toronto https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/toronto ### Etobicoke (Toronto) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/etobicoke Kingsway millwork, lakeshore condos, and family houses that want oak stairs instead of builder carpet. Housing stock: The Kingsway's 1930s–50s homes still hide original oak under tired finish. Newer lakeshore towers need engineered over concrete and dust-contained refinishing that respects condo rules. Typical specification: Site-finished oak, walnut stair features, restaurant and boutique commercial along Bloor and the lake. Common jobs: Kingsway restorations; Lakeshore condo refinishing; Commercial restaurant floors Service pages for Etobicoke: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/etobicoke https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/etobicoke https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/etobicoke https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/etobicoke https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/etobicoke https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/etobicoke https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/etobicoke https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/etobicoke ### North York (Toronto) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/north-york Post-war bungalows, custom infill, and condos along Yonge — a lot of red oak that deserves a modern finish. Housing stock: 1960s–80s houses with original red oak, plus oversized infill homes that want 7–9" white oak and a statement stair. Typical specification: Full-house sand-and-finish, infill new-build installs, maple kitchen repairs. Common jobs: Bungalow refinishing; Infill white oak installs; Open-riser feature stairs Service pages for North York: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/north-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/north-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/north-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/north-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/north-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/north-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/north-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/north-york ### Scarborough (Toronto) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/scarborough Solid, honest hardwood work in family houses, plus water-damage repairs that insurance actually closes. Housing stock: Detached and semi-detached stock from the 1960s on, with a growing custom-stair market in newer pockets. Typical specification: Red oak refinishing, board replacement after leaks, carpet-to-oak stair conversions. Common jobs: Insurance water-damage repairs; Stair retreads; Whole-home refinishing Service pages for Scarborough: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/scarborough https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/scarborough https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/scarborough https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/scarborough https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/scarborough https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/scarborough https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/scarborough https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/scarborough ### Mississauga (Peel) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/mississauga Mississauga is engineered hardwood over concrete, maple in occupied condos, and oak stairs in two-storey family homes. Housing stock: High-rise along Hurontario, 1980s–2000s detached in Erin Mills and Streetsville, and custom work in Lorne Park and Mineola. Typical specification: Dust-free refinishing in occupied units, glue-down engineered, matching existing 15-year-old oak. Common jobs: Condo refinishing; Lorne Park custom installs; Stair and railing packages Service pages for Mississauga: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/mississauga https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/mississauga https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/mississauga https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/mississauga https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/mississauga https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/mississauga https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/mississauga https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/mississauga ### Brampton (Peel) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/brampton High-volume family houses, new-build stair upgrades, and durable finishes that survive kids and winter salt. Housing stock: 1990s–2020s detached and towns. Builder carpet on stairs is the #1 replacement we are called for. Typical specification: Prefinished oak, solid stair retreads, Bona Traffic HD in hallways. Common jobs: New-build stair upgrades; Hall and kitchen installs; Pet-damage repairs Service pages for Brampton: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/brampton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/brampton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/brampton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/brampton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/brampton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/brampton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/brampton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/brampton ### Vaughan (York) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/vaughan New builds that want the builder floor ripped out and a real oak floor and stair put in before move-in day. Housing stock: Woodbridge, Kleinburg, Maple, Thornhill-Vaughan — large two-storey homes, open-to-below foyers, 4,000+ sq ft. Typical specification: Whole-home site-finished white oak, box-stair conversions, iron balusters, 7"+ planks. Common jobs: 4,000 sq ft new-build installs; Foyer feature stairs; Kleinburg custom homes Service pages for Vaughan: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/vaughan https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/vaughan https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/vaughan https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/vaughan https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/vaughan https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/vaughan https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/vaughan https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/vaughan ### Markham (York) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/markham Precision installs for new construction and exacting refinishing in occupied family homes. Housing stock: Unionville heritage, 1990s executive houses, and dense new communities that still ship with carpeted stairs. Typical specification: White oak and walnut, herringbone in dining rooms, matched stair packages. Common jobs: Unionville heritage; Executive-home refinishing; Dining-room herringbone Service pages for Markham: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/markham https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/markham https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/markham https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/markham https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/markham https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/markham https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/markham https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/markham ### Richmond Hill (York) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/richmond-hill Condo refinishing with dust containment, and oak floors in family houses off Yonge. Housing stock: A mix of high-rise living and large detached homes. Occupied-unit work is a core skill here. Typical specification: Maple and oak refinishing, same-day return dust containment, stair rails. Common jobs: Occupied condo refinishing; Detached whole-home oak; Railing replacements Service pages for Richmond Hill: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/richmond-hill https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/richmond-hill https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/richmond-hill https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/richmond-hill https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/richmond-hill https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/richmond-hill https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/richmond-hill https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/richmond-hill ### Oakville (Halton) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/oakville Estate stairs, wide-plank white oak, and millwork-level railings — Oakville is our custom workroom. Housing stock: Southeast Oakville estates, new West Oak Trails builds, and Old Oakville heritage. Clients expect samples, drawings, and no surprises. Typical specification: Walnut feature stairs, 8" white oak, custom newels, hardwax oil. Common jobs: Estate staircases; Old Oakville restorations; Wide-plank installs Service pages for Oakville: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/oakville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/oakville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/oakville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/oakville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/oakville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/oakville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/oakville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/oakville ### Burlington (Halton) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/burlington Family houses, waterfront condos, and stairs that get used every hour of the day. Housing stock: A mix of 1960s ranches, 1990s two-storeys, and newer infill near the lake. Typical specification: Durable waterborne finishes, stair retreads, deck and porch work on the lake side. Common jobs: Lake-side porch restoration; Family-home oak; Stair packages Service pages for Burlington: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/burlington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/burlington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/burlington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/burlington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/burlington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/burlington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/burlington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/burlington ### Milton (Halton) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/milton New-build stair and floor upgrades before the first winter salt hits the foyer. Housing stock: Fast-growing detached and town stock. Builder-grade laminate and carpeted stairs are the baseline we replace. Typical specification: Prefinished oak, solid treads, simple contemporary rails. Common jobs: Pre-occupancy upgrades; Townhome stairs; Open-concept installs Service pages for Milton: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/milton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/milton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/milton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/milton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/milton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/milton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/milton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/milton ### East York (Toronto) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/east-york Wartime and post-war semis with original strip oak hiding under sixty years of broadloom — and the tightest stairs in the city. Housing stock: 1930s–50s semi-detached and small detached houses, many never renovated below the carpet. Rooms are small, ceilings are low, and the original 2 1/4" strip oak is usually still there and usually worth saving. Typical specification: Lifting broadloom to find intact oak, dust-contained refinishing in occupied houses, and steep narrow flights where every millimetre of run matters. Common jobs: Broadloom removal and original-oak refinishing; Narrow-flight stair retreads; Kitchen-addition floor matching Service pages for East York: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/east-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/east-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/east-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/east-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/east-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/east-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/east-york https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/east-york ### Pickering (Durham) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/pickering Eighties two-storeys with builder carpet still on the stairs, and a whole new city going up at Seaton. Housing stock: 1970s–90s subdivisions through Amberlea and Liverpool, older lakefront stock around Frenchman's Bay, and thousands of new units at Seaton that arrive with the cheapest stair the builder could specify. Typical specification: Carpet-to-oak stair conversions, main-floor engineered over 1980s subfloors, and matching new work to twenty-year-old red oak. Common jobs: Builder carpet stair conversions; Seaton pre-occupancy upgrades; Bay-area lakefront refinishing Service pages for Pickering: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/pickering https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/pickering https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/pickering https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/pickering https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/pickering https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/pickering https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/pickering https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/pickering ### Ajax (Durham) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/ajax Family subdivisions where the stairs get more traffic than the floor, and the builder knew it would not be his problem. Housing stock: Mostly 1990s–2010s detached and semi stock north of the 401, with older lakeshore houses in the south. Volume builder finishes throughout: prefinished floors, carpeted flights, MDF nosings. Typical specification: Solid oak retreads over builder stringers, hallway and stair packages done together, hard-wearing waterborne finishes. Common jobs: Carpet-to-hardwood stair packages; Whole main-floor installs; High-traffic finish upgrades Service pages for Ajax: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/ajax https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/ajax https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/ajax https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/ajax https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/ajax https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/ajax https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/ajax https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/ajax ### Whitby (Durham) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/whitby Brooklin estate builds at one end, downtown Whitby heritage at the other, and two completely different jobs. Housing stock: Brooklin's newer executive homes want wide-plank white oak and an open-to-below feature stair. Downtown Whitby's Victorian and Edwardian stock wants careful restoration and a stair that respects the original newel. Typical specification: Wide-plank installs and feature flights in the north, heritage refinishing and stair repair in the old town. Common jobs: Brooklin feature staircases; Downtown heritage restoration; Wide-plank white oak installs Service pages for Whitby: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/whitby https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/whitby https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/whitby https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/whitby https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/whitby https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/whitby https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/whitby https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/whitby ### Oshawa (Durham) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/oshawa Some of the most consistently good original oak in the region, most of it still under carpet in houses built for autoworkers. Housing stock: Century homes downtown, dense 1940s–60s worker housing through the centre, and newer subdivisions in the north. The mid-century stock frequently has full-house strip oak in better condition than anything a big-box store sells today. Typical specification: Whole-house sand and finish, board replacement where a radiator leaked, and stair retreads in tight 1950s flights. Common jobs: Whole-house original-oak refinishing; Century-home board replacement; Mid-century stair retreads Service pages for Oshawa: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/oshawa https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/oshawa https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/oshawa https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/oshawa https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/oshawa https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/oshawa https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/oshawa https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/oshawa ### Clarington (Durham) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/clarington Bowmanville and Newcastle heritage streets, plus subdivision growth that has outrun the trades following it. Housing stock: Nineteenth-century brick homes along the old main streets, farmhouses on the concessions, and fast newer growth around Bowmanville. Original pine and early oak floors are common and are often mistaken for beyond saving. Typical specification: Heritage floor restoration, pine board repair, and full stair rebuilds where a previous owner boxed in an original flight. Common jobs: Heritage pine and oak restoration; Farmhouse stair rebuilds; New-build stair upgrades Service pages for Clarington: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/clarington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/clarington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/clarington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/clarington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/clarington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/clarington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/clarington https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/clarington ### Aurora (York) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/aurora A heritage core that rewards restraint, and estate builds east of Yonge that want the stair to be the room. Housing stock: Victorian and Edwardian houses through the old town with original quarter-sawn oak worth restoring rather than replacing, alongside large newer homes on the east side where the foyer stair is the first thing anyone sees. Typical specification: Quarter-sawn restoration, walnut feature flights, and matching new hardwood into hundred-year-old rooms that are not square. Common jobs: Quarter-sawn oak restoration; Estate foyer staircases; Heritage-to-addition floor matching Service pages for Aurora: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/aurora https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/aurora https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/aurora https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/aurora https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/aurora https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/aurora https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/aurora https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/aurora ### Newmarket (York) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/newmarket Main Street heritage and thirty years of family subdivisions, both of which eventually call about the stairs. Housing stock: Century homes around Main Street South, 1980s–2000s detached stock through Glenway and Stonehaven, and newer infill. Builder-grade carpeted flights are the default in anything after 1985. Typical specification: Carpet-to-oak conversions, whole-floor refinishing in occupied family homes, and railings brought up to current code. Common jobs: Family-home stair conversions; Occupied-house refinishing; Railing replacement and code upgrades Service pages for Newmarket: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/newmarket https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/newmarket https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/newmarket https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/newmarket https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/newmarket https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/newmarket https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/newmarket https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/newmarket ### King (York) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/king Estate properties and horse farms where the specification conversation starts with the species and ends with the newel post. Housing stock: Large custom houses in King City and Nobleton, converted farmhouses on acreage, and outbuildings finished to house standard. Clients expect drawings, signed-off samples, and a crew that keeps a clean site. Typical specification: Wide-plank walnut and white oak, hardwax oil, curved and open-riser flights, and millwork-grade railings. Common jobs: Estate feature staircases; Wide-plank walnut installs; Farmhouse conversion floors Service pages for King: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/king https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/king https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/king https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/king https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/king https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/king https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/king https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/king ### Whitchurch-Stouffville (York) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/whitchurch-stouffville A small-town core surrounded by new subdivisions, every one of them delivered with a carpeted flight. Housing stock: Older village houses on the original grid, plus a decade of rapid detached construction. New owners frequently upgrade the stair before they move in, while the floor is still bare. Typical specification: Pre-occupancy stair and hallway packages, prefinished oak, and simple contemporary railings. Common jobs: Pre-occupancy stair upgrades; Village-core refinishing; Open-concept main-floor installs Service pages for Whitchurch-Stouffville: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/whitchurch-stouffville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/whitchurch-stouffville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/whitchurch-stouffville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/whitchurch-stouffville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/whitchurch-stouffville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/whitchurch-stouffville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/whitchurch-stouffville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/whitchurch-stouffville ### Caledon (Peel) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/caledon Century farmhouses, Bolton subdivisions, and rural properties where the floor has to survive a mudroom and two dogs. Housing stock: Nineteenth-century farmhouses with original pine, estate builds on acreage through the hills, and denser subdivision stock in Bolton. Heating is uneven and humidity swings hard, which decides the assembly. Typical specification: Wide-plank installs specified for movement, pine restoration, hickory where dogs and gravel are involved. Common jobs: Farmhouse pine restoration; Wide-plank estate installs; Bolton stair conversions Service pages for Caledon: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/caledon https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/caledon https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/caledon https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/caledon https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/caledon https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/caledon https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/caledon https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/caledon ### Halton Hills (Halton) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/halton-hills Georgetown's heritage streets and Acton's older stock, plus the subdivisions filling the space between them. Housing stock: Brick Victorians through downtown Georgetown, older village housing in Acton, and newer detached growth on the edges. Original floors under carpet are common in anything pre-1960. Typical specification: Heritage refinishing, board replacement, and stair rebuilds where an original flight was carpeted over rather than repaired. Common jobs: Georgetown heritage refinishing; Original-flight stair rebuilds; Subdivision stair packages Service pages for Halton Hills: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/halton-hills https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/halton-hills https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/halton-hills https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/halton-hills https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/halton-hills https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/halton-hills https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/halton-hills https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/halton-hills ### Hamilton (Hamilton) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/hamilton The best surviving century-home floor stock in Southern Ontario, and the most rewarding restoration work we do. Housing stock: Durand, Kirkendall, and Strathcona Victorians with original quarter-sawn oak, maple, and pine; dense post-war stock on the mountain; and converted industrial space downtown. Much of it has been rented for decades and abused accordingly. Typical specification: Deep restoration, patching in salvaged boards, stair rebuilds in tall narrow flights, and refinishing that respects the original grade. Common jobs: Century-home quarter-sawn restoration; Salvage board patching; Tall narrow stair rebuilds Service pages for Hamilton: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/hamilton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/hamilton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/hamilton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/hamilton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/hamilton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/hamilton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/hamilton https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/hamilton ### Ancaster (Hamilton) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/ancaster An old village core and a lot of large newer executive homes that want a stair to match the entrance. Housing stock: Stone and brick houses around the original village, plus substantial 1990s–2010s detached stock on the surrounding lands. Budgets support wide plank and a feature flight. Typical specification: Wide-plank white oak, walnut stair features, and matched railings in open-to-below foyers. Common jobs: Executive-home wide plank; Open-to-below feature stairs; Village-core restoration Service pages for Ancaster: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/ancaster https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/ancaster https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/ancaster https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/ancaster https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/ancaster https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/ancaster https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/ancaster https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/ancaster ### Dundas (Hamilton) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/dundas A heritage valley town where the houses are old, the streets are tight, and nothing is square. Housing stock: Nineteenth-century brick and stone homes on narrow lots, many with original pine and early oak. Access is genuinely difficult — parking, stairs, and material handling all need planning before a crew arrives. Typical specification: Careful heritage restoration, pine repair, and stair work in flights that predate any modern rise-and-run expectation. Common jobs: Heritage pine restoration; Pre-code stair rebuilds; Tight-access refinishing Service pages for Dundas: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/dundas https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/dundas https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/dundas https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/dundas https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/dundas https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/dundas https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/dundas https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/dundas ### Bradford West Gwillimbury (Simcoe) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/bradford-west-gwillimbury Commuter growth at speed: new detached stock arriving faster than the trades who finish it properly. Housing stock: Predominantly 2000s onward detached and townhouse construction, with an older core near Holland Street. Builder finishes throughout, and carpeted stairs as standard. Typical specification: Stair and hallway packages before move-in, prefinished oak, and durable finishes for young families. Common jobs: Pre-occupancy stair packages; Main-floor prefinished installs; Townhouse stair conversions Service pages for Bradford West Gwillimbury: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/bradford-west-gwillimbury https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/bradford-west-gwillimbury https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/bradford-west-gwillimbury https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/bradford-west-gwillimbury https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/bradford-west-gwillimbury https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/bradford-west-gwillimbury https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/bradford-west-gwillimbury https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/bradford-west-gwillimbury ### Barrie (Simcoe) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/barrie Lakefront houses, an older downtown, and a great deal of new build — our furthest regular work, and worth the drive on the right job. Housing stock: Century homes near the waterfront and downtown, dense 1970s–90s stock through the middle, and extensive newer subdivisions on the south and east edges. Typical specification: Whole-home installs and stair packages rather than small repairs — the drive only makes sense on work of that size. Common jobs: Whole-home hardwood installs; Lakefront restoration; Full stair and railing packages Service pages for Barrie: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/barrie https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/barrie https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/barrie https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/barrie https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/barrie https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/barrie https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/barrie https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/barrie ### Innisfil (Simcoe) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/innisfil Cottages becoming houses, and Friday Harbour units that need an assembly built for a building that is empty half the year. Housing stock: Former seasonal cottages converted to year-round use, lakefront rebuilds, and newer resort-style condominium stock. Humidity swings are extreme where heating is intermittent. Typical specification: Engineered assemblies specified for unheated shoulder seasons, and solid hardwood only where the building is genuinely conditioned year round. Common jobs: Cottage-to-house conversions; Friday Harbour engineered installs; Seasonal-humidity remediation Service pages for Innisfil: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/innisfil https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/innisfil https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/innisfil https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/innisfil https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/innisfil https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/innisfil https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/innisfil https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/innisfil ### Orangeville (Dufferin) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/orangeville A heritage main street with real Victorian housing behind it, and newer subdivisions on every edge. Housing stock: Late-nineteenth-century brick homes through the core, mid-century infill, and 1990s onward detached growth. Original floors survive more often here than closer to the city. Typical specification: Heritage refinishing, original-stair repair, and hardwood specified for a colder, drier winter than Toronto's. Common jobs: Victorian floor restoration; Original stair repair; Subdivision stair conversions Service pages for Orangeville: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/orangeville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/orangeville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/orangeville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/orangeville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/orangeville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/orangeville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/orangeville https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/orangeville ### Guelph (Wellington) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/areas/guelph Limestone century homes with floors worth restoring, and a rental market that has been hard on all of them. Housing stock: Limestone and brick Victorians through the older wards, dense student rental stock near the university, and newer detached growth in the south end. Original floors are frequently sound under decades of neglect. Typical specification: Restoration over replacement, board patching, and finishes chosen for houses that will keep taking abuse. Common jobs: Century-home restoration; Rental-grade durable refinishing; South-end new installs Service pages for Guelph: https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-installation/guelph https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-stairs/guelph https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-railings/guelph https://greenhardwood.ca/services/sanding-refinishing/guelph https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-repairs/guelph https://greenhardwood.ca/services/hardwood-decks/guelph https://greenhardwood.ca/services/custom-inlays/guelph https://greenhardwood.ca/services/commercial-hardwood/guelph ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Species ### White Oak — 1360 Janka Best for: Almost every GTA house Tone: Straw to brown, takes grey and walnut stains cleanly Rooms: Whole home, Foyer, Kitchen, Stairs Verdict: The default correct answer in Toronto right now. Hard, stable enough, stains well, resale-friendly. Specify rift/quartered if you hate cathedral grain. ### Red Oak — 1290 Janka Best for: Refinishing existing 80s–2000s floors Tone: Warm pink-brown, loud grain Rooms: Existing houses, Hallways, Bedrooms Verdict: Do not rip out good red oak to chase fashion. Sand it, tone it cooler if you must, and keep the decades of wear layer you already paid for. ### Walnut — 1010 Janka Best for: Feature stairs, dining rooms, low-grit households Tone: Chocolate, purple-brown, ages amber Rooms: Stairs, Dining, Library Verdict: Beautiful and softer. We love it on stairs and borders. We hesitate on kitchens with chefs who drop Dutch ovens. ### Hard Maple — 1450 Janka Best for: Light Scandinavian rooms, gyms, tight-grain looks Tone: Cream, little figure Rooms: Bedrooms, Studios, Gyms Verdict: Harder than oak, shows every dent and every drop of water as a black spot if the finish is breached. Stain is unforgiving. Specify only if you mean it. ### Hickory — 1820 Janka Best for: Dogs, kids, mudrooms, rustic rooms Tone: Wild contrast, blond to dark Rooms: Family rooms, Mudrooms, Dog houses Verdict: The toughest domestic. Grain is busy. If you want quiet architecture, pick oak. If you want a floor that wins against Labradors, pick hickory. ### Engineered Oak — Varies with wear layer Best for: Condos, slabs, radiant heat, below grade Tone: Whatever the mill stains Rooms: Condos, Radiant, Basements Verdict: Not a downgrade when specified correctly. Wear layer thickness decides whether you can refinish. We will not install a 0.6 mm photograph of wood and call it hardwood. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Ontario Building Code — dwelling stairs (Part 9), as we apply it ### Maximum rise Rise must not exceed 200 mm on a stair serving a dwelling unit. ### Minimum run Run must be at least 210 mm. ### Minimum tread depth Tread depth — run plus nosing projection — must be at least 235 mm. ### Nosing projection Nosing projects no more than 25 mm. Note: An over-projecting nosing is the single most common reason a retread flight fails inspection. ### Handrail height Where a stair has 3 or more risers, a handrail is required between 865 mm and 965 mm above the tread nosing line. ### Graspable profile A circular handrail profile is graspable between 30 mm and 45 mm in diameter. Note: A flat 2x6 cap rail is not a graspable profile, however good it looks in a photo. ### Guard height Guards at the side of a dwelling stair must be at least 900 mm high measured from the tread nosing line. ### Uniformity Rise and run must be uniform within a flight; small accumulated differences are how a stair becomes a trip hazard. This is Green Hardwood's working summary for private dwelling stairs and is not a substitute for the Ontario Building Code itself or for your municipal building department. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Methods — step by step ### Nail-down solid hardwood (installation) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/methods/nail-down-solid-hardwood The default hardwood assembly on a dry wood-framed GTA house. Solid 3/4-inch oak, maple, or walnut, hidden-fastened into a prepared wood subfloor, with expansion detailed at every wall and obstruction. 1. Moisture and flatness — Meter the subfloor. Flatten. Fix squeaks. Do not start the first row on a wave. 2. Acclimate to the room — Material lives in the finished HVAC condition, not in a closed carton in the garage. 3. Layout line — Snap a line that agrees with the stair nosing and the main view, not only with the longest wall. 4. Fasten and rack — Blind nail or staple to spec. Rack joints. Leave the expansion gap the species actually needs. Correct when: Dry wood-framed houses in Toronto, Etobicoke, the Kingsway, Oakville, and similar stock where you want a refinishable solid floor. Wrong when: Concrete slabs, radiant heat, below-grade rooms, or any site that fails a moisture test. Q: Is nail-down louder than glue-down? A: A properly fastened nail-down floor on a flat subfloor sounds like wood. Hollow spots are a prep failure, not a personality of the method. ### Glue-down engineered hardwood (installation) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/methods/glue-down-engineered-hardwood The correct engineered assembly on condo slabs and radiant floors. Engineered hardwood set in the mill-listed adhesive over a moisture-tested, flattened concrete or wood substrate. 1. Slab moisture — Calcium chloride or in-situ RH, per the adhesive and mill. Wrong number means wait or change the spec. 2. Flatness — Trowel ridges become telegraphing. Levelling is not optional on a glossy engineered face. 3. Adhesive — The glue in the mill warranty, not the glue that was on sale. Open time and trowel notch matter. 4. Roll and weight — Roll the field. Protect the perimeter. Do not walk a fresh glue-down like it is laminate. Correct when: Condos, concrete, radiant, and engineered products whose warranty requires glue-down. Wrong when: A wet slab, a slab nobody measured, or a click product that the mill says must float. Q: Can you glue-down over existing vinyl? A: Sometimes, if the vinyl is sound, compatible, and the mill allows it. Often the honest move is to take it up. We decide on site. ### Floating engineered hardwood (installation) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/methods/floating-engineered-hardwood A click-engineered floor that rides on underlayment when the mill requires it. Engineered click systems over the specified underlayment, with transitions and stair nosings detailed so the floor does not read as laminate. 1. Underlayment — The one in the mill packet. Thickness, density, and vapour control are a spec, not a preference. 2. Expansion — Floating floors move as a sheet. Doorways and long runs need breaks. Ignore that and the floor peaks. 3. Stair and vent details — Nosings and flush vents have to be designed for a floating thickness, not borrowed from a 3/4-inch solid job. Correct when: Mills that require floating, some retrofit rooms, and sites where glue-down is not warranted. Wrong when: As a way to hide a bad subfloor. Waves still telegraph. Cheap click plank is not a Green Hardwood product. Q: Does a floating floor feel hollow? A: On a cheap underlayment, yes. On a specified pad over a flat floor, it should feel quiet and even. If it sounds like a stage, the assembly is wrong. ### Moisture mapping before install (prep) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/methods/moisture-mapping-subfloor The first trade on a hardwood job is measurement, not the nailer. Wood-moisture and slab-moisture survey, documented, before Green Hardwood agrees to an assembly. 1. Grid the room — Readings at edges, at plumbing walls, at exterior corners, and in the middle — not one heroic number. 2. Compare to the material — Boards have a moisture content. The room has one. The gap between them is the risk. 3. Write the decision — Install, wait, change to engineered, or refuse. A smile is not a moisture plan. Correct when: Every install and every refinish that might have a leak history. Wrong when: Never skipped because the client is in a hurry. Q: What if the slab is wet? A: We wait, we mitigate, or we change the spec. We do not glue premium oak onto a wet slab and hope winter saves us. ### Carpet-to-hardwood stair retread (stairs) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/methods/carpet-to-hardwood-stair-retread The volume stair job in Vaughan, Markham, Milton, and Brampton new builds. Carpet off, structure checked, solid treads on, risers and nosing in the same species or a deliberate contrast. 1. Strip and inspect — Carpet, staples, and fake nosing come off. Stringers get a bounce test. Rise gets measured. 2. Decide retread vs rebuild — Flex, illegal rise, or rotten wedges turn this into a rebuild. That call is made before stain. 3. Returned treads on the open side — A plank glued to drywall is not a tread. Open sides get returned ends and a real false stringer if needed. 4. Nosing and landing — The first-floor landing and the top nosing are part of the stair, not leftover flooring. Correct when: Builder carpet stairs with sound stringers and a legal or correctable rise. Wrong when: A bouncing stringer, a stair that already fails rise/run, or a client who wants leftover flooring glued to plywood. Q: Can we live in the house? A: Usually. One flight at a time, protected edges, and a temporary path. Full rebuilds are a different conversation. ### Custom box stair build (stairs) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/methods/custom-box-stair-build A hardwood stair built as millwork, not as leftover flooring standing on end. Closed-riser box stairs in oak, maple, or walnut, with treads, risers, stringers, scotia, and landing in one system. 1. Measure rise and run — Total rise divided into legal, uniform risers. We do not squeeze an extra step to 'make it float.' 2. Draw to Part 9 — Nosing, guards, graspable rail, and headroom are on the drawing before anyone mills. 3. Mill as a set — Treads and risers from the same species and grade as the floor, or a specified contrast. 4. Install and finish as one — Site-finished with the floor when that is the spec. Prefinished when the schedule requires it. Correct when: New houses, gut renovations, and replacements where the existing stair is not worth capping. Wrong when: A decorative stair that cannot pass inspection. Q: Can you copy a curved heritage stair? A: We can rebuild or closely follow a curved flight. It is millwork pricing, not retread pricing. Bring photos and expect a site template. ### Open-riser steel and oak stair (stairs) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/methods/open-riser-steel-and-oak Oak treads on a steel carriage — only when the openings and the deflection pass. Open-riser feature stairs with hardwood treads, steel stringers, and a graspable oak rail. 1. Engineering before beauty — Carriage design, opening sizes, and guard infill are checked against current Ontario Part 9. 2. Tread thickness — A thin decorative cap on a skinny plate will bounce. Tread thickness is structural. 3. Rail that you can actually hold — A 2x6 cap is not a handrail. The oak rail gets a graspable profile and real blocking. Correct when: Contemporary GTA houses whose drawings already respect code, or whose drawings we are allowed to fix. Wrong when: A screenshot with illegal gaps and no rail. Q: Are open risers safe for kids? A: Only if openings meet code. If you have toddlers and you want air, we will show legal infill options. We will not install a ladder. ### Through-bolted hardwood railing (railings) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/methods/hardwood-railing-through-bolt A newel that is fastened into structure, not into trim. Oak, maple, or walnut handrails with newels through-bolted to framing, graspable profiles, and mixed-metal balusters when specified. 1. Find the framing — If the landing has no blocking, we add it. A newel into drywall is a future service call. 2. Through-bolt — Hardware into structure. Trim hides the hardware. The hardware does not live in the trim. 3. Profile and height — Graspable rail, legal guard height, consistent reveal. Decorative and legal are not opposites if you mill it right. Correct when: Every railing Green Hardwood installs. Wrong when: A hollow half-newel glued to plaster and called custom. Q: Can you mix iron balusters with an oak rail? A: Yes. It is one of the most common GTA packages. Drilled, shoed, and epoxied so they do not rattle in year three. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Diagnostics ### Hardwood floor cupping — edges higher than the middle (moisture, act-soon) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/hardwood-floor-cupping Also searched as: cupped floor; boards curling up at the edges; washboard floor Looks like: Each board's edges sit higher than its centre, so the floor reads as a series of shallow troughs. Low winter light across the floor shows it before your feet do. Run a straightedge across the grain — a cupped board rocks on its edges. Causes: 1. Moisture reaching the boards from underneath — tell: The cupping is worst over a crawlspace, an unconditioned basement, a bathroom below, or one end of the room. Underside moisture is the cause in the large majority of cases. 2. A slow leak nobody has found yet — tell: Cupping concentrated around a dishwasher, fridge line, radiator, or exterior door, spreading over weeks rather than appearing overnight. 3. Seasonal humidity swing in an unhumidified house — tell: It appears every summer and largely flattens by February. Mild, uniform across the whole floor, and it has done this for years. 4. Installed before the material acclimated — tell: It showed up within the first few months of a new floor and has never fully settled. This is an installation failure, not a maintenance one. Means: Wood cups when the underside is wetter than the top. It is a symptom, not a disease — the floor is telling you where water is. Sanding a cupped floor flat while it is still wet is the single most expensive mistake in this whole list, because when it finally dries you get crowning and a floor with no wear layer left to fix it. Outlook (sometimes): Find and stop the moisture, then wait. Mild cupping frequently flattens on its own over weeks or months once the moisture differential is gone. Only then does sanding make sense. If the boards have delaminated, split, or lifted, that section is done. Homeowner steps: - Find the water first. Check under sinks, behind the fridge, the dishwasher, and any basement or crawlspace below the affected area. - Get the room to normal indoor humidity — 35–50% relative humidity — and hold it there. A dehumidifier in the basement often does more than anything done to the floor itself. - Do not put fans or heat directly on the boards. Drying the top faster than the bottom makes the differential worse, not better. - Mark the edge of the affected area with tape and photograph it weekly. Whether it is spreading changes the diagnosis completely. - Do not sand it, and do not let anyone else sand it, until it has been dry and stable for weeks. Call when: The cupping is spreading, boards have started to split or lift, or you cannot find the moisture source. Bring us in before anyone sands. ### Hardwood floor crowning — middle higher than the edges (moisture, act-soon) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/hardwood-floor-crowning Also searched as: crowned boards; humped floor; boards high in the middle Looks like: The opposite of cupping: each board's centre is proud and its edges drop away. Often you can see the sanding pattern still on the high centres while the edges kept their old finish. Causes: 1. A cupped floor that was sanded before it dried — tell: By far the most common cause. The sander took the high edges off while the board was still cupped; when it dried and tried to flatten, the centre became the high point. If the floor was refinished within the last year or two, this is almost certainly it. 2. The moisture differential reversed — tell: The top of the boards became wetter than the underside — a spill left standing, or wet-mopping a floor whose finish is no longer sealing. Means: Crowning is usually not a moisture problem you can fix; it is a record of one that was sanded at the wrong time. The wood is now permanently the wrong shape, and you have less thickness left to correct it with. Outlook (sometimes): Mild crowning on a solid floor with wear layer remaining can be sanded flat — once, and only once the moisture has been stable for months. On engineered flooring with a thin wear layer, or a solid floor already sanded two or three times, there is nothing left to take. We will measure the remaining thickness and tell you which case you are in. Homeowner steps: - Stabilise humidity at 35–50% and leave the floor alone for a full season before deciding anything. - Stop wet-mopping entirely. Damp microfibre and a hardwood-specific cleaner only. - Find out when it was last sanded and how many times. That number decides what is possible. Call when: Before you agree to another sanding. We will measure what wear layer is actually left rather than assume. ### Gaps opening between boards in winter (movement, monitor) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/gaps-in-hardwood-floor-winter Also searched as: cracks between floorboards; gaps in winter; floor separating Looks like: Thin dark lines between boards that appear as the heating season sets in and close again by late spring. A credit card or a coin will slip into the worst of them. Causes: 1. Normal seasonal shrinkage — tell: They open in January and close by May, every year, and they are reasonably even across the floor. This is wood behaving exactly as wood behaves. 2. Indoor humidity running too low — tell: Gaps noticeably wider than previous winters, alongside static shocks, cracking trim, and dry sinuses. Forced air without a humidifier in a Toronto February routinely drops a house below 20% RH. 3. Installed too wet, now drying to equilibrium — tell: A newer floor with gaps that opened in the first heating season and did not close again in spring. 4. A few very wide gaps rather than many small ones — tell: Board groups moving together, usually a fastening problem — the floor is anchored where it should float. Means: Solid hardwood in Ontario will always move a little between seasons. Gaps that open and close are the floor working. Gaps that stay open through summer, or a handful of very wide ones, are a different conversation. Outlook (repairable): Seasonal gaps need no repair at all — filling them in winter causes damage in summer when the boards expand into filler that will not compress. Permanent gaps can be filled or, on a wide one, splined with a matched strip. Homeowner steps: - Put a cheap hygrometer on the floor in the worst room and read it for a week. Below 30% is the problem, and it is fixable. - Run a humidifier through the heating season and aim for 35–50%. - Wait until late summer before judging. Measure the same gap in February and August. - Do not fill seasonal gaps with wood filler, rope, or caulk. It will be pushed out or will split the board edge come summer. Call when: Gaps stay open through a humid August, one gap is wide enough to catch a heel, or boards have started to move as groups. ### Hardwood buckling or lifting off the subfloor (moisture, urgent) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/hardwood-floor-buckling Also searched as: floor lifting up; boards popped up; tenting hardwood Looks like: Boards no longer in contact with the subfloor — a raised ridge, a tented seam, or a whole section standing proud. It is unmistakable and you will usually hear it before you see it. Causes: 1. A significant water event — tell: A burst line, an appliance failure, a basement flood. Buckling within days of water arriving. 2. No expansion gap at the perimeter — tell: The floor is tight to the wall under the baseboard with nowhere to grow. Buckles in the field or lifts at one wall in a humid spell. An installation failure. 3. Adhesive failure on a glue-down floor — tell: Hollow-sounding areas nearby, and the lifted section moves as a unit. Means: The floor has run out of room or lost its bond. Unlike cupping, this rarely resolves on its own, and the affected boards have usually been stressed past recovery. Outlook (sometimes): Where the cause was a one-off leak and the area is contained, the affected boards can be lifted out and replaced with matched material, then blended. Where the whole floor had no expansion gap, it is a re-lay. Insurance often covers the first case — document everything before anyone touches it. Homeowner steps: - Stop the water. Everything else waits behind this. - Photograph everything before any cleanup, from several angles, with something in frame for scale. Insurers ask. - Lift area rugs and open the room up, but do not aim heaters at the boards. - Do not screw or nail the lifted boards back down. It traps the moisture and guarantees replacement. Call when: Immediately. Buckling from an active leak gets worse by the hour, and the size of the eventual repair depends on how fast the moisture is stopped. ### Squeaking or creaking hardwood floor (movement, monitor) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/squeaking-hardwood-floor Also searched as: creaky floorboards; noisy floor; floor pops when I walk Looks like: Noise underfoot in specific spots, usually worse in the dry months. Wood-on-nail is a sharp chirp; wood-on-wood is a lower groan; a hollow knock is the subfloor moving against the joist. Causes: 1. The subfloor moving against a joist — tell: A deeper knock rather than a chirp, along a line rather than at a point, and it moves underfoot when someone else walks past. 2. Fasteners that have lost their grip — tell: A sharp chirp at a specific spot, worst in winter when everything has shrunk. 3. Boards rubbing at their tongue and groove — tell: A dry rasp that appears in the heating season and eases in summer. Often just low humidity. 4. Inadequate subfloor prep at installation — tell: A newer floor that squeaked from the first winter, over a wider area than a single joist would explain. Means: Almost every squeak is movement between two pieces of wood, or between wood and a fastener. On a century house it is largely cosmetic. On a five-year-old floor it usually points at what was under the boards when they went down. Outlook (repairable): Most squeaks can be quietened. From below, through the subfloor, is the right way where there is access — nothing shows in the finished floor. From above means face-screwing and plugging, which is visible, so we only do it where there is no other route. Homeowner steps: - Raise winter humidity to 35–50% first. A surprising number of squeaks go quiet on their own. - Mark the exact spots with tape while they are noisy. They are much harder to find on the day. - If there is access from below, look for a visible gap between subfloor and joist while someone walks above. - Do not pour talc or powder into the seams. It is a two-week fix that contaminates the boards for any future refinish. Call when: The floor is newer than ten years, the noise is spreading, or you feel movement rather than just hearing noise. ### Squeaking or creaking stairs (stairs, monitor) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/squeaking-stairs Also searched as: creaky stairs; noisy staircase; stairs squeak when I walk up Looks like: Noise on particular steps, usually when weight moves to the front or back of the tread rather than the moment you step on it. Often the same three or four steps every time. Causes: 1. The tread has separated slightly from the riser — tell: Noise when weight shifts forward, at the front edge of the tread. The most common cause by a distance. 2. Dried-out or missing glue blocks underneath — tell: Visible from below on an open-backed stair: small triangular blocks in the tread-riser corner, loose or gone entirely. 3. Loose wedges in a housed stringer — tell: Noise at the ends of the tread near the wall or the outer string rather than in the middle. 4. A retread laid over the original without bonding — tell: A newer hardwood surface that has squeaked since it was installed. Capping a carpeted stair without addressing what is underneath causes exactly this. Means: A squeaking stair is two components that were meant to move as one and no longer do. It is rarely structural on its own — but it is a reliable sign that the flight was built or retreaded without the joints being properly secured. Outlook (repairable): With access from below, gluing and blocking fixes most squeaks permanently and invisibly. Closed underneath, the honest options are face-fixing with plugged screws or lifting the tread. Where the noise came with a bad retread, the right fix is redoing the retread properly. Homeowner steps: - Note which part of each tread triggers it — front edge, middle, or the ends. That alone narrows the cause. - If the underside is open, look for missing or loose glue blocks in the corners. - Do not drive screws down through the tread face hoping to catch something. Miss the riser and you have a hole and a squeak. Call when: You feel any flex in a tread, the noise is new on a recently retreaded flight, or it is happening on most of the steps rather than a few. ### Loose or wobbly stair railing (stairs, urgent) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/loose-stair-railing Also searched as: wobbly handrail; shaky banister; newel post moves Looks like: The handrail, a newel post, or the whole guard moves when you lean on it. Test it the way someone would use it in a fall — firm sideways pressure at the top, not a gentle push. Causes: 1. The newel post was never fastened into structure — tell: The whole assembly rocks at its base. Extremely common where a rail was fitted to trim, to a tread nosing, or to a stringer with nothing behind it. 2. The rail-to-newel connection has worked loose — tell: The post is solid but the rail moves relative to it. Usually a rail bolt that has never been re-tightened. 3. Balusters bottomed into finish flooring rather than framing — tell: Individual balusters spin or rattle; the rail feels springy between posts. 4. Seasonal shrinkage on a joint that was tight but not mechanical — tell: It appears each winter and eases in summer, on an otherwise well-built stair. Means: This is the one item on this list that is genuinely a safety matter. A guard exists to stop a fall, and a rail that moves under sideways load is not doing that. It also means the original installer did not reach structure — which is worth knowing before someone leans on it hard. Outlook (repairable): Almost always fixable, but properly means through-bolting the newel into framing, not tightening what is there and hoping. Where the post was set on finish flooring with nothing beneath, the fix reaches below the floor. Homeowner steps: - Test it honestly, and keep children off the stair until it is sorted if it moves. - Look for a small wooden plug in the underside or side of the rail — that is a rail bolt, and it may only need tightening. - Do not add brackets or angle iron to the visible face. It rarely holds and it makes the proper repair harder and more expensive. Call when: Straight away if a guard moves under normal sideways load. This is the failure mode with a real consequence. ### Loose, lifting, or cracked stair nosing (stairs, act-soon) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/loose-stair-nosing Also searched as: stair edge lifting; broken nose on step; tread edge cracked Looks like: The front edge of a tread has lifted, split along its length, or moves when pressed. On a retreaded flight it is often a separate nosing strip pulling away from the tread behind it. Causes: 1. A retread capped with flooring plus a separate nosing strip — tell: You can see a joint line a couple of inches back from the front edge. This assembly relies entirely on adhesive and it is the most common failure we are called to. 2. The nosing overhangs too far — tell: More than about 25 mm of projection. Unsupported leverage, every step, until it splits. It is also the reason the flight would fail an inspection. 3. Adhesive failure under a glued nosing — tell: A hollow sound when tapped along the front edge. 4. The tread itself has split at a fastener — tell: A crack running with the grain from a nail or screw. Means: The nosing takes more load than any other part of a stair, on the smallest bearing area. When it moves, it is the front edge of the step someone is standing on. It is also the detail that most often reveals a flight was capped rather than rebuilt. Outlook (sometimes): A single failed nosing can be replaced. When several are going on a capped flight, the assembly is the problem, not the individual pieces, and rebuilding with solid treads costs less than replacing nosings one at a time for the next five years. Homeowner steps: - Tap along the front edge of every tread and listen. Hollow means the bond has gone even where nothing is visibly loose. - Measure the projection. Much past 25 mm and it is both a trip hazard and a code problem. - Do not screw a lifting nosing back down through the face. It splits, and the hole becomes the next failure. Call when: Any nosing moves underfoot, more than one is loose, or you can see a joint line behind the front edge on a flight that was capped rather than rebuilt. ### Worn or bare patches on stair treads (wear, act-soon) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/worn-stair-treads Also searched as: stairs worn in the middle; finish gone on steps; bare wood on stairs Looks like: A pale path down the centre of each tread where the finish has gone, sharpest on the middle steps of the flight. Water beads on the edges of the tread but soaks into the middle. Causes: 1. Ordinary traffic wearing through the finish — tell: Even wear centred on each tread, worse on the flight everyone actually uses. 2. Grit acting as an abrasive — tell: Fine scratching alongside the wear, usually where the stair is close to an entry. 3. The finish was never rated for stair traffic — tell: Wear appearing within two or three years. A stair takes several times the punishment of a floor and needs a finish specified for it. Means: Once the finish is gone, the wood underneath is taking the wear directly, and it will grey and absorb dirt. Caught at the pale-path stage the fix is cheap. Left another two winters it becomes a full sand — or a retread. Outlook (repairable): Bare wood with no staining and no cupping can often be screened and recoated rather than fully sanded — a fraction of the cost and one day rather than several. That window closes once dirt gets into open grain or the wood greys. Homeowner steps: - Put a mat at the entry nearest the stair. Grit is the main abrasive and this genuinely helps. - Stop using anything wet on bare patches — the wood is unsealed there and will darken. - Photograph it now and again in three months. Whether it is spreading determines screen-and-recoat versus a full sand. Call when: There is bare wood on any tread. The cost difference between recoating and refinishing is large, and it is decided by how early you call. ### What is under the carpet on your stairs (stairs, monitor) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/stairs-after-carpet-removal Also searched as: removed carpet from stairs; staples in stair treads; can I refinish stairs under carpet Looks like: Carpet and underlay off, and underneath: hundreds of staples, tack strip holes at the back of each tread, a painted or bare riser, and a front edge that may be construction-grade lumber rather than anything meant to be seen. Causes: 1. The stair was built to be carpeted — tell: Treads in plywood, spruce, or poplar; risers in MDF; and no returned edge on the open side. Standard in almost anything built after about 1980. 2. A hardwood stair that was carpeted over later — tell: Solid oak or maple treads with a proper nosing profile and a mitred return on the open side. Worth restoring, and more common in pre-1960 houses than people expect. Means: This is the fork in the road for every carpet-to-hardwood project, and it decides the budget. A stair built to be carpeted cannot be sanded into a finished stair — the material was never chosen to be seen. A hardwood stair that was carpeted over usually can be brought back. Outlook (sometimes): Original hardwood treads: pull the staples, fill, sand, and finish — the least expensive good outcome available. Construction-grade treads: retread with solid hardwood, or rebuild. Anyone who offers to sand and finish a plywood tread is not going to be there in two years. Homeowner steps: - Pull one tread's worth of staples and look at the wood at the back where nothing has worn. Species and grain tell you which case you are in. - Check the open side for a mitred return. Its presence usually means a real hardwood stair. - Photograph a tread end-on so the layers are visible. It answers the question faster than a description. - Do not start sanding to find out. If it is construction lumber you have spent a day learning what a photograph would have told you. Call when: Before committing either way. This one photograph decides a several-thousand-dollar fork, and we will tell you honestly which side you are on. ### Finish peeling or flaking off the floor (finish, act-soon) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/peeling-hardwood-finish Also searched as: finish coming off; floor finish flaking; varnish peeling Looks like: Sheets or flakes of finish lifting away and leaving bare wood, with a clear edge between coated and uncoated. Distinct from wear, which thins gradually with no lifting edge. Causes: 1. A recoat applied over a contaminated surface — tell: Peeling within months of a refinish. Residue from an acrylic or oil-soap polish is the usual culprit — nothing bonds to it. 2. The floor was not abraded before the new coat — tell: Peeling in sheets across a wide area on a recently recoated floor. Finish needs mechanical key, not just a clean surface. 3. Incompatible products stacked on each other — tell: An oil-modified coat over a waterborne, or a different manufacturer's system, and it began lifting within the first year. 4. Moisture pushing up from below — tell: Peeling alongside cupping or dark staining. The finish is not the problem here; the water is. Means: Peeling is an adhesion failure, not a wear problem. Nothing you put on top will stick either, because the layer beneath it is what has failed. Outlook (repairable): The failed finish has to come off entirely — every trace — and the floor recoated properly. It is a full sand, not a screen-and-recoat, and pretending otherwise just repeats the failure. The good news is the wood underneath is usually fine. Homeowner steps: - Stop using any polish, restorer, or 'rejuvenator' product immediately. These cause more of this than anything else. - Clean with a hardwood-specific cleaner only, and keep bare areas dry. - Find out what was applied and when — the product and the date change the diagnosis. - Do not spot-patch. New finish over a failing layer lifts with it. Call when: As soon as bare wood is exposed. Once dirt gets into open grain the sanding gets deeper and more expensive. ### Cloudy, hazy, or white patches in the finish (finish, monitor) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/cloudy-white-hardwood-finish Also searched as: white marks on hardwood; milky finish; hazy floor after mopping Looks like: A milky bloom in the finish rather than on top of it — you cannot wipe it away. Sometimes a ring where something wet stood, sometimes a haze across a whole area. Causes: 1. Moisture trapped in the finish film — tell: A white ring or patch where a plant pot, a pet bowl, or a wet mat sat. The most common cause by far. 2. Wet-mopping a floor whose finish no longer seals — tell: Haze spread across the routinely mopped area rather than in one spot. 3. Finish applied over a damp floor or in high humidity — tell: Present from the day the refinish was done and evenly distributed. 4. Residue build-up from polish products — tell: A dull film that gets worse each time the floor is 'restored'. Means: White means water where it should not be — usually inside the finish layer rather than in the wood. Caught early it is often reversible. Left long enough, water reaches the wood and the mark turns grey or black, which is a different and much worse problem. Outlook (sometimes): A recent haze in the film can sometimes be drawn out with gentle heat or solvent, depending on the finish type. A patch that has darkened means water reached the wood, and that is a board replacement rather than a finish repair. Homeowner steps: - Remove whatever caused it and let the area dry completely for several days before judging. - Stop wet-mopping. Damp microfibre and a hardwood cleaner only. - Put saucers under plant pots and waterproof mats under pet bowls. Both cause this constantly. - Do not attack it with heat or solvent without knowing your finish type. The wrong choice melts it. Call when: The mark is darkening rather than fading, or the haze covers a large area. Grey or black means the water is in the wood. ### Scratches that show up white (wear, monitor) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/scratches-showing-white Also searched as: white scratches on hardwood; dog scratches; scratched floor Looks like: Fine pale lines catching the light, most visible on darker stains. Run a fingernail across: if it does not catch, the scratch is in the finish only. Causes: 1. Scratching in the finish layer only — tell: A fingernail glides over it, and it largely disappears when the floor is damp. This is the good case. 2. Grit tracked in from outside — tell: Concentrated in traffic paths and near entries. Winter sand and salt are abrasive. 3. Pet claws — tell: Clusters of parallel lines, worst near doors and at the bottom of the stairs. 4. The scratch has gone into the wood — tell: A fingernail catches, and it stays visible when damp. Deeper than a recoat will fix. Means: White is light scattering in a scratch. Whether it is in the finish or in the wood decides whether this costs a few hundred dollars or a few thousand — and the fingernail test answers it in ten seconds. Outlook (repairable): Finish-only scratching across a whole floor is the textbook case for a screen-and-recoat: one day, no dust of a full sand, and a fraction of the cost. Scratches into the wood need sanding. Isolated deep ones can sometimes be blended rather than doing the whole floor. Homeowner steps: - Do the fingernail test in several places. It is the whole diagnosis. - Mats at every entry, felt pads under everything that moves, and keep dogs' nails trimmed. - Do not use a scratch-cover or restorer product. It masks the problem for a month and contaminates the floor for the recoat that would actually have fixed it. Call when: Scratching is general rather than isolated. Recoating while the wear is still in the finish is the cheapest maintenance available on a hardwood floor, and the window does close. ### Dull worn paths through the middle of the room (wear, act-soon) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/dull-worn-traffic-paths Also searched as: worn path in floor; dull hardwood; floor lost its shine Looks like: A visibly duller lane where everyone walks — hall to kitchen, door to stairs — while the floor under the furniture still has its original sheen. Hold a light low across the floor and the boundary is obvious. Causes: 1. The finish is thinning in the traffic lane — tell: Duller but still sealed — water beads rather than soaks in. 2. The finish is gone and the wood is exposed — tell: Water darkens the wood instead of beading. Different problem, more expensive. 3. Residue build-up making it look dull — tell: A cloudy film across the whole floor rather than a defined path, usually after repeated 'restorer' use. Means: This is the most useful early warning a hardwood floor gives you. While the finish is thin but intact, the fix is a screen-and-recoat. Once it is through to bare wood, dirt gets into open grain and it becomes a full sand — several times the cost and disruption. Outlook (repairable): Caught at the dull-but-sealed stage: abrade and one or two coats, one day, no dust, and the floor is good for years. That is the difference the water test decides. Homeowner steps: - Do the water test: a few drops in the dull area. Beads means you are in the cheap window. Soaks in and darkens means you are not. - Mats at entries and a rug over the worst lane while you decide. - Stop using polish. It builds a layer nothing will bond to and turns a recoat into a full sand. Call when: The water test still beads. That is exactly the moment a recoat is worth it, and it is the single cheapest thing you can do for a hardwood floor. ### Black or grey pet stains on hardwood (moisture, act-soon) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/pet-urine-stains-hardwood Also searched as: dog urine stain wood floor; black spots on hardwood; cat pee floor smell Looks like: Dark grey to black patches, often ringed, frequently near a door, a favourite corner, or under furniture. Usually a smell that gets worse in humid weather. Causes: 1. Urine that reached the wood through failed finish — tell: Black staining rather than surface marking. The colour is a chemical reaction with tannins in the wood, and it goes as deep as the liquid did. 2. Repeated wetting of the same spot over time — tell: A large, spreading, very dark area, often with a cupped or lifted board at its centre. 3. Urine that soaked into the subfloor — tell: The smell persists after the boards are cleaned and gets stronger in humidity. This is the hard case. Means: The colour is not on the wood, it is in it, and it is frequently all the way through the board. Sanding removes a millimetre or two; a serious stain goes deeper than that. This is one of the few problems where replacement is often genuinely the right answer, and being told that early saves money. Outlook (sometimes): Light surface staining sometimes sands out. Anything deep, and anything with a persistent smell, means board replacement — and if the subfloor is contaminated, sealing or replacing that too. Refinishing over a contaminated subfloor puts the smell straight back into a brand-new floor. Homeowner steps: - Deal with fresh accidents immediately. Blot, do not rub, and dry thoroughly — speed genuinely changes the outcome. - An enzymatic pet cleaner on fresh incidents; ordinary cleaners do not break down the compounds that cause both the stain and the smell. - Map every affected spot before anyone quotes. They are easy to miss under rugs and furniture. - Do not bleach or use hydrogen peroxide on the boards. It lightens unevenly and complicates every future repair. Call when: Before agreeing to a refinish. A quote that does not mention the subfloor has not accounted for the part that causes the smell to come back. ### Hollow-sounding or bouncy spots underfoot (movement, act-soon) URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/problems/hollow-spots-hardwood-floor Also searched as: floor sounds hollow; spongy floor; floor gives when I walk Looks like: A drum-like note when tapped, or a slight give underfoot, over a defined area. Tap along with a knuckle and the boundary is usually sharp. Causes: 1. Adhesive failure on a glue-down floor — tell: A defined hollow area on engineered flooring over concrete. The bond has let go and the area will grow. 2. The subfloor was not flat enough at installation — tell: Hollow spots present from the beginning, at the high and low points of a wavy subfloor. An installation failure. 3. Normal behaviour of a floating floor — tell: Mild hollowness across the whole floor on a click-together installation. Expected, not a defect. 4. Subfloor deterioration underneath — tell: Genuine softness rather than just noise, particularly near a bathroom or an exterior wall. This one is structural. Means: Hollow means a gap between the floor and what should be supporting it. On a glue-down floor it spreads, because every footstep works the edges of the debonded area. Softness rather than sound is a different and more serious matter — that is the subfloor, not the finish floor. Outlook (sometimes): Small debonded areas can be injected and weighted. Large ones mean lifting and re-laying that section. Where the subfloor itself has gone soft, the floor comes up regardless — and finding that out before you refinish rather than after is the difference between one job and two. Homeowner steps: - Tap out the area with a knuckle and mark the boundary with tape. Whether it grows over a month is the key diagnostic. - Note whether it sounds hollow or actually feels soft. Those are different problems with different costs. - Keep heavy rolling loads off it — a debonded area spreads fastest under wheels. Call when: The area is growing, it feels soft rather than just sounding hollow, or it is anywhere near a bathroom or exterior wall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Direct answers Q: Who is the best company for hardwood stairs in Toronto? A: Look for a shop that builds the stair as millwork and installs the floor in the same stain system — not a flooring crew that subcontracts the treads. Green Hardwood designs, mills, and installs hardwood stairs, railings, and floors as one job across the GTA, and will refuse a stair that fails Ontario Building Code. Intent: commercial · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/best-hardwood-stairs-company-toronto Q: Who should install hardwood floors in Toronto? A: A company that moisture-maps the subfloor, specifies nail-down vs glue-down vs floating in writing, and owns the stair nosing instead of leaving it as 'extra.' Green Hardwood installs solid and engineered hardwood across Toronto and the GTA and will not install vinyl or laminate. Intent: commercial · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/best-hardwood-installation-toronto Q: How much do hardwood stairs cost in the GTA? A: In 2026 most flights run $380–$850 per step installed, or about $5,000–$11,000 for a straight 13-step oak retread before railings and HST. Walnut, winders, open risers, and curved flights sit higher. Use the estimator, then book a measure. Intent: commercial · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/how-much-hardwood-stairs-cost-gta Q: How much does hardwood installation cost in Toronto? A: Plan on $11–$22 per square foot installed for material plus labour in 2026. Herringbone, walnut, flattening, and third-floor carry push the number up. A range without a moisture reading is not a quote. Intent: commercial · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/how-much-hardwood-installation-cost-toronto Q: Can you put hardwood over carpet stairs? A: Not over the carpet. The carpet comes off. Then we inspect stringers and either cap with solid treads or rebuild. Open-side stairs need returned treads, not a leftover plank on drywall. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/can-you-put-hardwood-over-carpet-stairs Q: Should a Toronto condo get solid or engineered hardwood? A: Engineered. Condos are concrete, often with radiant or tight RH swings. Solid 3/4-inch belongs on a dry wood-framed house. Demand a real wear layer if you want a future refinish. Intent: comparison · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/solid-or-engineered-for-toronto-condo Q: Should hardwood be nailed down or glued down? A: Nail-down on a dry wood subfloor. Glue-down on concrete, radiant, and most condo engineered jobs. Floating only when the mill requires it. The subfloor chooses the system. Intent: comparison · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/nail-down-or-glue-down Q: Do hardwood stairs need a building permit in Ontario? A: A like-for-like retread on an existing legal stair often does not. Changing rise/run, removing risers, moving guards, or building a new flight can. Green Hardwood will tell you when the drawing needs the city, and we will not build a pretty illegal stair. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/do-hardwood-stairs-need-building-permit-ontario Q: What is the best wood for stairs in Toronto? A: White oak is the default: hard enough, stains well, matches the floor most resale buyers expect. Maple is harder and shows dents. Walnut is the feature flight. Red oak is a smart match to an existing 1990s house. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/what-wood-for-stairs-toronto Q: How long does hardwood installation take? A: An 800–1,200 sq ft GTA install is typically 4–8 days plus acclimation before and cure after if site-finished. Stairs add 3–6 days. Condos and custom patterns add time we put in the proposal. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/how-long-hardwood-install-takes Q: Who does hardwood stairs in Vaughan? A: Green Hardwood converts builder carpet stairs to oak and walnut across Vaughan and the surrounding 905, with local pages for stairs and installation. Structure first, stain second. Intent: local · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/hardwood-stairs-vaughan Q: Who installs hardwood in Mississauga? A: Green Hardwood installs solid and engineered hardwood in Mississauga houses and condos, including glue-down over concrete and dust-contained work in occupied units. Intent: local · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/hardwood-installation-mississauga Q: Who builds hardwood stairs in Oakville? A: Green Hardwood builds and retreads hardwood stairs in Oakville, including custom walnut flights and railings matched to the floor. Intent: local · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/hardwood-stairs-oakville Q: Will my hardwood stairs pass inspection? A: If Green Hardwood builds them, they are drawn to Ontario Part 9 rise, run, nosing, guard, and graspable-rail rules — or we do not build them. The inspector still has the last word. Use the stair studio for a first pass. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/will-hardwood-stairs-pass-inspection Q: Can you match new stair treads to an old hardwood floor? A: We can get them to belong. Exact 10-year colour is rare because oak yellows. We sample on site, age the sample, and get a sign-off before the whole flight is finished. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/match-stair-stain-to-floor Q: How much extra is herringbone hardwood in Toronto? A: Plan on 40–55 percent more labour and a higher waste factor than a straight lay. Small condos often still want it because the pattern is the architecture. It has to be in the quote. Intent: commercial · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/herringbone-cost-toronto Q: Can you install hardwood over radiant heat? A: Yes — usually engineered, mill-listed adhesive, and a written heat-up schedule. Most solid hardwood warranties die over hydronic heat. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/hardwood-over-radiant-heat Q: Is floating hardwood as good as nail-down? A: It is a different floor. Nail-down solid on wood joists is the refinishable house floor. Floating is what some engineered products require. It is not a way to hide a bad subfloor. Intent: comparison · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/floating-hardwood-vs-nail-down Q: Are open-riser stairs legal in Ontario? A: They can be, if openings, guards, and deflection meet current Part 9. Many Pinterest open risers do not. Green Hardwood builds the legal ones and redraws the rest. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/open-riser-stairs-legal-ontario Q: What makes a hardwood railing legal in Ontario? A: A graspable profile, the right guard height, legal infill spacing, and a newel fastened to structure. A 2x6 cap with no fingers-around profile fails. We will not install that. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-railings URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/hardwood-railings-code-ontario Q: Should stairs be refinished with the floor? A: When they are the same system, yes. One stain formula, one dust event, one cure schedule. Doing the flight 'later' is how you get two oaks. Intent: informational · Service: sanding-refinishing URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/dustless-sanding-before-stair-work Q: Can water-damaged hardwood stairs be saved? A: Sometimes. Cups can settle. Rotten wedges and delaminated treads cannot. We meter, open a board, and tell you repair versus replace. See the emergency page if the leak is active. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-repairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/water-damage-hardwood-and-stairs Q: Does Green Hardwood install vinyl plank? A: No. Real hardwood, stairs, and railings only. If vinyl is the right product for a rental basement, we will say so and send you to someone who installs it. Intent: comparison · Service: general URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/does-green-hardwood-install-vinyl Q: What warranty comes with Green Hardwood stairs? A: Three-year workmanship on installation and refinishing. Material warranties stay with the mill and require the specified assembly. A stair that we refused to build because of code has no warranty, because it was not built. Intent: commercial · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/warranty-hardwood-stairs Q: How many days should hardwood acclimate? A: Until the moisture content of the boards agrees with the room — often a few days, sometimes longer in a January GTA house. Days in a closed carton in the garage do not count. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/acclimation-how-many-days Q: Do you install hardwood in Forest Hill and Rosedale? A: Yes. Heritage restorations, quarter-sawn oak, and stair work in Toronto's older west and north-east stock are core jobs. The Toronto area page is the local front door. Intent: local · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/hardwood-installation-forest-hill Q: How do I choose a hardwood installer in the GTA? A: Ask who moisture-tests, who owns the stair, who names the adhesive, and who will refuse a bad slab. Ask for a workmanship warranty in writing. If the quote is only a square-foot number with no assembly, keep calling. Intent: commercial · Service: hardwood-installation URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/how-to-choose-hardwood-installer Q: What is the Green Hardwood stair studio? A: A on-site tool at /stairs that lets you configure a flight, see a price band, and run first-pass Ontario rise/run checks before you book a measure. It is not a permit. It is how you arrive at the site visit educated. Intent: informational · Service: hardwood-stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/answers/stair-studio-what-it-is ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Glossary URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/glossary ### Nail-down (installation) The classic house assembly: solid boards blind-nailed or stapled to a wood subfloor. Correct on dry joists. Wrong on concrete. See also: glue-down, acclimation ### Glue-down (installation) Engineered — and sometimes solid — boards trowelled into a mill-listed adhesive. The default on condo slabs and radiant floors. See also: nail-down, engineered-hardwood ### Floating floor (installation) Boards lock to each other, not to the subfloor. Allowed when the mill requires it. Not a disguise for an unflat floor. See also: glue-down, engineered-hardwood ### Engineered hardwood (installation) A hardwood floor with a sliced or sawn wear layer laminated to a stable core. Specify wear-layer thickness if you want a future sand. See also: solid-hardwood, wear-layer ### Solid hardwood (installation) Typically 3/4-inch oak, maple, or walnut. Maximum refinishing life. Moves with Ontario humidity. Belongs on a dry wood subfloor. See also: engineered-hardwood, acclimation ### Wear layer (installation) On engineered boards, the top wood layer. Under about 3 mm, a future full sand is a maybe. Photographic films are not wear layers. See also: engineered-hardwood ### Acclimation (installation) Material staged in the finished HVAC condition until wood moisture and room moisture agree. Closed cartons in a garage do not count. See also: nail-down ### Moisture survey (installation) A grid of moisture readings that decides whether we install, wait, change the spec, or walk. One number in the middle of the room is not a survey. See also: acclimation, glue-down ### Tread (stairs) On a hardwood stair, a solid or thick-capped board. Leftover 3/4-inch flooring glued to a thin plywood tread is not a tread. See also: riser, nosing, retread ### Riser (stairs) Closed-riser stairs hide the structure. Open-riser stairs omit it and must still meet opening-size rules in Ontario. See also: tread, open-riser ### Stringer (stairs) If the stringer flexes, a retread is the wrong job. Sistering or a rebuild comes first. See also: retread, tread ### Nosing (stairs) Code limits projection and requires uniformity. A floor thickness that does not match the tread becomes a trip at the landing. See also: tread, rise-run ### Retread (stairs) The standard carpet-to-oak conversion when stringers are sound. Not the same as a rebuild. See also: tread, stringer ### Open riser (stairs) Legal in Ontario only when openings and guards pass. Many feature stairs drawn from social media do not. See also: riser, rise-run ### Rise and run (code) Must be uniform on a flight. Ontario Part 9 sets limits. Squeezing an extra step to make a stair 'float' is how inspections fail. See also: nosing, open-riser ### Graspable handrail (code) Required. A wide decorative cap is a guard detail, not a handrail. Green Hardwood mills profiles that pass and still match the stair. See also: newel ### Newel (stairs) Must be fastened to structure. A hollow box trimmed onto drywall will fail in use even if it photographs well on handover day. See also: graspable-handrail ### Returned tread (stairs) Required on open-side stairs if you do not want to see raw end grain and a gap at the drywall. A plank stuck to the wall is not this. See also: tread, retread ### Site-finished (finish) Allows one stain formula across floor, treads, and rail. Needs dust containment and a cure window. See also: screen-and-recoat ### Screen and recoat (finish) The high-ROI maintenance job when wear layer remains. Not a full sand. Not a colour change. See also: site-finished, wear-layer ### Janka hardness (installation) Useful for comparing species. Not a substitute for the right finish in a house with dogs and winter grit. See also: solid-hardwood ### Expansion gap (installation) Covered by baseboard. Omitted by rushed installs. Ontario seasonal humidity makes this non-optional. See also: acclimation, solid-hardwood ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Guides ### Hardwood flooring cost in the GTA, 2026 URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/hardwood-flooring-cost-gta-2026 Pricing · 8 min · updated August 2026 Real 2026 price ranges for hardwood installation, refinishing, stairs, and railings in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area — and what actually moves the number. #### The short version In the Greater Toronto Area in 2026, most homeowners should budget $11–$22 per square foot for a hardwood install (material + labour) and $4.50–$8.50 per square foot for a professional dust-contained refinish. Stairs are $380–$850 per step. Railings are $180–$420 per linear foot. A typical 1,000 sq ft main floor in white oak, straight lay, site-finished, lands around $13,000–$18,000 before HST and before the stair. Anyone quoting $6/sq ft installed for solid oak in Toronto is either omitting material, omitting prep, or omitting the truth. Anyone quoting $40/sq ft for a straight white-oak field without herringbone or walnut is testing whether you will pay for atmosphere. #### What moves the number Species: white oak is the market; walnut is a premium; maple is mid-material but harder labour because it shows mistakes. Pattern: herringbone and chevron add 40–55% labour. Subfloor: a 3/8" hog in a 1920s house is a flattening job, not a flooring job. Access: a third-floor walk-up in Little Italy is not a Vaughan garage-to-foyer carry. Finish: prefinished is faster and slightly cheaper. Site-finished two-component waterborne is the better floor in a family house. Hardwax oil is a look and a maintenance contract. #### Stairs and railings are not 'extra trim' The #1 budget shock in GTA quotes is the stair. A 13-step flight with returned treads and a proper rail can rival a whole-floor refinish. If your flooring company says 'we'll figure out the stairs later,' they are not a stair company. Green Hardwood prices the floor, the treads, and the rail as one system because that is how the house is used. #### How to use a range without getting burned Use an estimator to see if the project is $8,000 or $28,000. Then pay for a site visit — moisture, flatness, stair structure, condo rules. A firm number without those readings is a marketing number. Ours is not. ### Solid vs engineered hardwood in Ontario URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/solid-vs-engineered-ontario Specification · 7 min · updated August 2026 Which hardwood assembly survives Ontario humidity, condos, radiant heat, and a 20-year refinishing plan. #### Ontario is a humidity machine Houses here go from 20% indoor relative humidity in January to 60% in July if nobody runs a humidifier. Solid hardwood moves. Engineered hardwood moves less. That is physics, not a sales pitch. The wrong response is 'always engineered.' The right response is: what is under the floor, and how many times do you plan to sand it? #### Choose solid when You have a dry wood-framed subfloor, you want a 3/4" wear life, and you are willing to keep indoor humidity in a civilized range (ideally 35–55%). Forest Hill, High Park, Oakville wood-frame houses — this is still the correct luxury spec. #### Choose engineered when Concrete slab, below grade, radiant heat, or a condo. Demand a real wear layer (3 mm+ if you want a future refinish) and an adhesive or click system the mill will warrant. A 0.6 mm photographic oak is vinyl with better lighting in the showroom. ### Hardwood stairs and Ontario Building Code URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/ontario-stair-code-hardwood Stairs · 6 min · updated August 2026 Rise, run, nosing, graspable handrails, and guards — the code details that get beautiful GTA stairs failed at inspection. #### Pretty is not the test Ontario Building Code Part 9 governs most houses. Rise and run must be uniform. Nosing projection is limited. Guards have a height. Handrails must be graspable. A 2x6 cap with no fingers-around profile will fail. A rail mounted on the wrong side of a winders flight will fail. We draw the stair to pass, then we make it beautiful. #### The conversions that go wrong Carpet to oak on an open-side stair needs returned treads, not a leftover plank glued to drywall. Mixing a 3/4" floor with a 5/8" tread without a proper nosing creates a trip. We see both weekly in new builds from Milton to Markham. #### Railings are structural A newel that is only trimmed on is a future service call. Green Hardwood through-bolts newels into structure. If we cannot, we rebuild the landing until we can. That is the difference between a railing and furniture. ### Dust-contained sanding in occupied Toronto homes URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/dust-free-sanding-toronto Refinishing · 5 min · updated August 2026 What 'dustless' sanding actually means, how long you are out of the room, and how to refinish a condo without becoming a problem on the floor WhatsApp. #### The honest word is contained, not dustless A professional system captures the vast majority of airborne dust at the machine and with room sealing. It does not rewrite physics. If a company promises 'zero dust' they are selling you a word. If they show you containment, negative air, and a grit sequence, they are selling you a floor. #### Condos Elevator pads, quiet hours, a written cure schedule, and a finish that is low-odour enough for an occupied building. We have done this in Richmond Hill, North York, and downtown. You can usually sleep in the unit. You cannot throw a dinner party on night two. ### Best hardwood species for Toronto homes URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/best-hardwood-species-toronto-homes Materials · 6 min · updated August 2026 White oak, red oak, walnut, maple, and hickory — which one belongs in a High Park semi versus a Vaughan foyer versus a King West condo. #### White oak is the default, and that is fine It takes the grey and walnut stains people want, it is hard enough, and buyers in the GTA currently treat it as the 'real floor' signal. Rift and quartered if you want quiet grain. Plain sawn if you want cathedral figure and a better price. #### Do not rip good red oak Half the 1990s houses in North York and Mississauga are sitting on perfectly refinishable red oak. Fashion is not a reason to send it to landfill. Tone it. Change the sheen. Keep the wear layer. #### Walnut and maple are not interchangeable with oak Walnut is softer and more expensive — use it where you will see it (stairs, dining). Maple is harder and shows everything. Hickory is the dog floor. Engineered oak is the condo and radiant floor. We spec; we do not upsell the mill that is paying for lunch. ### Hardwood vs vinyl in the GTA URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/hardwood-vs-vinyl-gta Decide · 7 min · updated August 2026 When a Toronto house should get real hardwood — and the few jobs where vinyl plank is the grown-up answer. Stairs, resale, water, and 20-year cost. #### The honest split Hardwood is a floor you can sand, stain, and keep. Vinyl is a photograph of a floor with a wear layer measured in mils. Laminate is a photograph on fibreboard. Those are not three flavours of the same product. They are three products, and only one of them belongs on a stair you will photograph for a listing. Green Hardwood does not install vinyl. That is why this page can tell you when vinyl is smarter: rental basements, true wet rooms, and budgets that cannot take oak. If that is your job, buy good vinyl from a retailer. Do not hire us to pretend otherwise. #### Resale in Toronto Buyers in Forest Hill, Rosedale, the Kingsway, and southeast Oakville still stop on a real oak floor. Vinyl in those houses reads as a concession. Vinyl in a basement suite reads as competent. Know which house you have. #### Stairs decide the argument Vinyl on a stair is a slip. Laminate on a stair is a lawsuit waiting for a toddler. If the flight is in the scope, you are in hardwood territory — treads, nosings, and a rail that can pass Ontario Building Code. That is our whole business. ### Carpet to hardwood stairs in the GTA URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/carpet-to-hardwood-stairs-gta Stairs · 6 min · updated August 2026 How to convert builder-grade carpeted stairs to solid oak or walnut treads in Vaughan, Markham, Milton, and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area. #### The most requested job of 2026 New builds from Vaughan to Milton still ship with carpet on the stairs and a laminate or cheap engineered floor in the field. The first winter, the carpet looks like a rental. We pull it, inspect the stringers, sister anything that flexes, and install solid treads with returned ends on the open side. #### What goes wrong when you hire a floor guy A leftover plank glued to drywall on the open side. A 5/8" tread next to a 3/4" floor. A rail that is furniture, not structure. The inspector fails the nosing. The stain does not match. This is not a flooring accessory. It is millwork. #### What it costs A standard 13-step flight with oak treads, wood or painted risers, and a matching nosing typically runs $5,000–$11,000 installed in 2026. Custom walnut, curved flights, and iron balusters move that number up. Railings are quoted as a system, not an extra. ### Water-damaged hardwood in Toronto URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/water-damaged-hardwood-toronto Repairs · 5 min · updated August 2026 What to do after a leak, dishwasher failure, or ice-maker line on a hardwood floor — moisture readings, board replacement, and when the floor is actually finished. #### Do not sand it wet Stop the water. Pull the rugs. Air the room. Do not rent a drum sander at 9 p.m. Sanding a wet floor is how you buy it twice. Call a shop that owns a moisture meter and a library of GTA-typical oak. #### Cupping is not always death If the boards have not separated from the subfloor and moisture is coming down, they can often dry, sand, and refinish. If tongues are broken or the field has delaminated, those boards come out. We tell you which, with readings, before we quote. ### Hardwood floor maintenance in Ontario URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/hardwood-floor-maintenance-ontario Care · 5 min · updated August 2026 Humidity, cleaning, and recoat schedules for hardwood floors and stairs that have to survive a GTA winter and a GTA summer. #### 35 to 55 percent That is the relative humidity band a hardwood floor wants. Ontario houses routinely miss both ends. A humidifier in January is cheaper than a refinish in April. Gaps in February are not a defect if the house is at 18%. They are physics. #### Recoat before you sand A screen-and-recoat every 4–8 years in a family house keeps the wear layer you already paid for. Full sand is for colour changes and for floors whose finish is gone. Steam mops are not cleaning. They are a slow flood. ### Nail-down vs glue-down vs floating hardwood URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/nail-down-vs-glue-down-vs-floating-hardwood Installation · 8 min · updated August 2026 Which hardwood fastening system belongs on a wood joist house, a condo slab, and a radiant floor in Ontario. #### The system is the floor Homeowners shop species. Failed floors are usually a fastening mistake. Nail-down, glue-down, and floating are three different assemblies. Green Hardwood specifies the system from the subfloor up, then picks the oak. #### Nail-down The default on a dry, wood-framed Toronto house. Solid 3/4-inch oak or maple, hidden cleats or staples into the subfloor, expansion left at the walls. It sounds like a floor. It refinishes like a floor. It is the wrong call over concrete. #### Glue-down The default on a condo slab, a radiant slab, and most engineered installs below grade. The adhesive is part of the warranty. The wrong glue voids the mill and telegraphs every ridge in the concrete. We moisture-test the slab and flatten before a trowel comes out. #### Floating A click-engineered floor that rides on an underlayment. Faster. Quieter only if the underlayment is specified. Weaker at stair nosings and doorways if the installer treats it like laminate. Green Hardwood will float a floor when the mill requires it. We will not float a cheap click plank and call it architecture. ### Hardwood subfloor prep in Ontario houses URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/hardwood-subfloor-prep-ontario Installation · 7 min · updated August 2026 Moisture, flatness, fasteners, and the ugly work that decides whether a GTA hardwood install lasts. #### If you skip this, you bought a callback A 1924 Parkdale joist, a 2019 Vaughan truss, and a King West concrete slab are three different jobs that all get called 'hardwood installation.' Prep is where they diverge. #### Moisture first We meter wood subfloors and concrete slabs. Ontario basements and new slabs fail this test more often than salespeople admit. If the number is wrong, we stop. A plastic sheet and hope is not a moisture plan. #### Flatness second Engineered plank telegraphs waves. Solid oak cups over a hog. Levelling compound, sistering, and sanding high spots are flooring work. They are not extras invented at the end of the quote. ### How long to acclimate hardwood in the GTA URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/acclimation-hardwood-gta Installation · 5 min · updated August 2026 Why a five-day calendar guess fails in a January Toronto house, and how Green Hardwood actually stages material. #### Acclimation is not a waiting room Boards sitting in a sealed carton in a garage in February are not acclimating. They are cold. Material has to live in the finished HVAC condition of the room it will occupy, out of the box or with the box ends open, off the slab, until moisture content matches the site. #### Ontario seasons A July install in a house with no dehumidifier is a different job from a January install in a house at 22 percent indoor RH. We measure both the wood and the room. The calendar is a starting guess, not the spec. ### Herringbone hardwood installation in Toronto URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/herringbone-hardwood-installation-toronto Installation · 6 min · updated August 2026 Layout, waste factor, and cost of herringbone and chevron hardwood in condos and houses across the GTA. #### A small floor that needs to read as architecture King West, Yorkville, and many midtown halls are too short for a long plank run to feel intentional. Herringbone turns leftover area into a pattern. It also burns 25–40 percent more labour and more material. That has to be in the quote, not discovered on day two. #### Layout is the job The centreline of a herringbone field has to agree with the stair nosing and the main doorway, not with the longest wall. We snap that line before the first cut. A pattern that drifts one degree will haunt you from the sofa. ### Hardwood over radiant heat in Ontario URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/radiant-heat-hardwood-ontario Installation · 6 min · updated August 2026 Engineered assemblies, adhesive, and operating temperatures that keep a radiant hardwood floor from tearing itself apart. #### Solid over radiant is usually a no Most mill warranties for solid hardwood die the moment you put hydronic heat under it. Engineered hardwood with a real wear layer, the mill's listed adhesive, and a controlled heat-up schedule is the adult specification. #### The owner is part of the assembly If the thermostat slams from 16 to 26 overnight, the floor will move faster than the joints can. We leave a written start-up sheet. Ignore it and the callback is humidity and heat, not the nailer. ### Hardwood stair retread cost in the GTA, 2026 URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/hardwood-stair-retread-cost-gta Stairs · 7 min · updated August 2026 What it costs to convert carpet stairs to oak or walnut treads in Vaughan, Markham, Milton, and Toronto, and what blows the number up. #### The typical flight A straight 13-step builder stair, carpet pulled, solid oak treads, painted or oak risers, matching nosing at the landing: most GTA jobs land between $5,000 and $11,000 installed before railings and before HST. Open sides, winders, and walnut move it up. #### What is not a retread If the stringers flex, if the rise is already illegal, or if someone glued 3/4-inch leftover flooring onto 5/8-inch treads last decade, this is a rebuild. Green Hardwood will say so on the site visit. A cheap cap on a bad structure is how you buy the stair twice. #### Do the rail in the same mobilization One stain formula. One dust event. One crew that already knows the rise. Railings quoted later always cost more and rarely match. ### Open-riser and floating hardwood stairs URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/open-riser-floating-hardwood-stairs Stairs · 6 min · updated August 2026 When an open-riser oak stair is legal in Ontario, what it costs, and when Green Hardwood will refuse the drawing. #### Open is a structure problem wearing a design costume A floating oak tread on a steel stringer can be beautiful. It can also fail opening-size rules, guard rules, and deflection rules. We build the ones that pass. We redraw the ones that are a Pinterest screenshot. #### The gap is code, not taste Openings in a guard and between treads are limited. A toddler-sized gap is not a style. If your designer wants air and no risers, we check the current Ontario Part 9 numbers before anyone mills a tread. ### Matching hardwood stairs to an existing floor URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/matching-hardwood-stairs-to-existing-floor Stairs · 5 min · updated August 2026 How to stain new oak or walnut treads so they belong to a 10-year-old GTA hardwood floor instead of fighting it. #### Exact is a lie. Belonging is the job. A 2014 red-oak floor has yellowed. New white oak is cooler. New red oak is pink until it is not. We sample on site, leave the sample in the actual light for a day, and get a sign-off. That is slower than guessing from a fan deck. It is why the stair does not look like a patch. #### Contrast is allowed Walnut treads against a white-oak field is a decision, not a mismatch. Painted risers with a clear oak tread is another. Accidental mismatch is the failure mode. ### Hardwood stair nosings and floor transitions URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/hardwood-stair-nosing-and-transitions Stairs · 5 min · updated August 2026 Why the nosing, reducer, and landing detail make or break a hardwood stair and a hardwood install. #### The trip lives at the landing A 3/4-inch floor meeting a thinner tread without a proper nosing is a trip. A flush vent sitting one millimetre high is a trip. These are the details inspectors and ankles both find. #### One species through the change of plane The landing board, the nosing, and the first tread should be the same mill run when possible. Mixed leftover is how you get three oaks that all claim to be 'natural.' ### Upgrading builder-grade stairs in Vaughan and Markham URL: https://greenhardwood.ca/guides/builder-grade-stairs-upgrade-vaughan-markham Stairs · 6 min · updated August 2026 Carpet-to-oak conversions in GTA new builds: structure checks, returned treads, and a rail that will pass. #### The most common 2026 stair job in the 905 New builds in Vaughan, Markham, Milton, and Brampton ship with carpet stairs and a painted rail. Owners want oak the first year. That job is Green Hardwood's volume wedge — not because it is glamorous, because it is the stair most people actually own. #### Pull the carpet before you pick a stain We inspect stringers, look for bounce, check rise uniformity, and decide retread versus rebuild. Stain comes after the structure is honest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Selected projects ### Forest Hill heritage restoration — Forest Hill, Toronto Residential. Complete restoration of 1920s quarter-sawn white oak. Hand-worked finish, custom walnut stain. The floors had been screen-coated twice in twenty years and still showed traffic lanes. We sanded to a honest grit sequence, repaired two water-stained boards at the butler's pantry, and finished in a custom walnut toner under a matte waterborne two-component. Stairs were included so the run from foyer to third floor reads as one piece of millwork. Specification: 1,850 sq ft; Quarter-sawn white oak; Custom stain; Matched 28 treads ### King West penthouse herringbone — King West, Toronto Residential. 2,400 sq ft engineered European oak in herringbone over radiant heat. Concrete plus hydronic radiant is a specification, not a suggestion. We used a 5/8" engineered European oak, the adhesive the mill warrants over heat, and a herringbone field that is actually square to the lake view, not to the longest wall. Floating would have voided the warranty. We did not float it. Specification: 2,400 sq ft; Engineered European oak; Herringbone; Radiant compatible ### Oakville estate staircase — Southeast Oakville Residential. Custom walnut staircase, box newels, iron balusters, 32 steps across three floors. The designer wanted a floating look. The inspector wanted a graspable rail and a guard. We drew both, built walnut treads with returned ends, through-bolted the newels, and finished the rail in a hardwax oil that can be repaired without resanding three storeys. Specification: 32 steps; Walnut treads; Iron balusters; OBC-compliant rail ### Rosedale compass rose — Rosedale, Toronto Residential. 48-inch hand-cut compass rose in walnut, maple, and cherry. Cut in the shop, dry-fitted on a template, then let into a white-oak dining field. The Persian rug was specified after, so the medallion is sized to read when the rug is pulled for holidays — not hidden under it. Specification: 48 in medallion; Walnut / maple / cherry; White oak field ### Richmond Hill occupied refinish — Richmond Hill Residential. Dust-contained refinishing of 1,100 sq ft maple. Same-night return. Occupied unit, two cats, condo quiet hours. Containment, elevator protection, and a waterborne system with a 24-hour sock window. The before photos are why people think they need vinyl. They did not. Specification: 1,100 sq ft; Hard maple; Dust containment; 24-hour sock traffic ### Etobicoke dining room — Etobicoke Commercial. Wide-plank ash and a reclaimed feature wall. Commercial-grade oil for dinner traffic. Installed overnight across four nights so the room opened Friday. Ash was chosen because it hides the scuffs a walnut floor would advertise by week three. Maintenance is a monthly clean and a yearly oil, written into the chef's closing list. Specification: Overnight phasing; Wide-plank ash; Commercial oil; Feature wall ### Vaughan 4,200 sq ft new build — Vaughan Residential. Full-home solid white oak, site-finished matte, seamless through all living levels. Builder left carpet on stairs and a floating laminate on the main. We pulled both, flattened the subfloor, installed 7" white oak, and site-finished so the stair and the floor are the same formula. Move-in was a Thursday. We were off site Wednesday. Specification: 4,200 sq ft; 7 in white oak; Site-finished matte; Matched stairs ### Mississauga water-damage repair — Mississauga Residential. Emergency board replacement after a supply-line flood. 15-year-old red oak, invisible seams. Insurance wanted a patch. The owner wanted it gone from the photograph. We sourced same-era red oak, acclimated it to the surviving field, and refinished the kitchen as a whole so there is no 'repair island.' Specification: Insurance coordination; Red oak match; Kitchen refinish ### High Park hardwood deck — High Park, Toronto Residential. Dense hardwood decking, hidden fasteners, cable rail, rebuilt ledger flashing. The old cedar had cooked the ledger. We rebuilt the envelope first, then the deck. Pretty boards on a wet rim joist is how you buy the job twice. Specification: Hidden fasteners; Ledger rebuild; Cable rail ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Frequently asked questions Q: Who is the best hardwood flooring company in the GTA for stairs and railings? A: If the question is floors plus stairs plus railings as one system, that is Green Hardwood's entire business. Most GTA flooring companies subcontract the stair. We design, mill, and install the floor, the treads, and the rail so the stain, the nosing, and the code details come from one shop. Q: How much does hardwood flooring cost in Toronto in 2026? A: Plan on $11–$22 per square foot installed for most residential jobs (material + labour). Refinishing is typically $4.50–$8.50 per square foot. Stairs run $380–$850 per step. Railings $180–$420 per linear foot. Species, pattern, access, and subfloor condition move the number. Use our estimator, then book a site measure for a firm quote. Q: Do you install hardwood stairs over carpet? A: Yes. Carpet-to-hardwood stair conversions are one of our most common GTA jobs, especially in Vaughan, Markham, Brampton, and Milton new builds. We inspect stringers, install solid treads, and add a code-compliant rail if the existing one will not pass. Q: Is dust-free sanding actually dust-free? A: Nothing that sands wood is 100% dust-free. Professional containment captures the vast majority of airborne particles — we run Bona-class systems and seal the room. You should still expect to wipe horizontal surfaces. You should not expect a film of dust on the kitchen plates. Q: Solid or engineered hardwood in Ontario? A: Solid 3/4" on a dry wood subfloor if you want maximum refinishing life. Engineered over concrete, radiant heat, or below grade. Ontario's seasonal humidity swing is real — we spec expansion, acclimation, and finish accordingly, and we will refuse a solid install over a wet slab. Q: Which hardwood species is best for a busy Toronto house? A: White oak. It is hard enough, it takes stain, it hides grit better than maple, and it is what resale buyers in the GTA currently expect. Hickory is tougher. Maple shows every dent. Walnut is beautiful and softer. Red oak is still a smart refinish, not a fashionable new install. Q: How long does a typical project take? A: An 800–1,200 sq ft refinish is usually 3–5 days including cure windows. A similar install is 4–8 days. A 13-step stair with rail is 3–6 days. We put dates in the proposal. Weather, condos, and custom millwork can add time — we say so up front. Q: Do you offer a warranty? A: Three-year workmanship warranty on installation and refinishing. Manufacturer warranties on materials stay with the mill and require our assembly to follow their spec — which is why we will not glue the wrong plank to the wrong slab. Q: What areas do you serve? A: Toronto (including Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough), Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Burlington, Milton, and surrounding Southern Ontario. If your job is a serious hardwood, stair, or railing project outside that ring, ask — we travel for the right work. Q: Can I get a quote without a site visit? A: You can get a calibrated range from the estimator. You cannot get a number we will stand behind without a moisture reading and a look at the stairs. Site visits in our service area are free for qualified projects. Q: Do you install vinyl plank or laminate? A: No. Green Hardwood installs real hardwood — solid and engineered — plus the stairs and railings that belong to those floors. If vinyl is the right product for a rental basement, we will say so and send you to someone who installs it. We will not install it. Q: Can you match hardwood stairs to an existing floor? A: Yes. That is the job. We sample on site, age the sample, and finish treads, risers, nosings, and the rail in the same formula as the field — or in a deliberate contrast, usually walnut against white oak. Q: Will my hardwood stairs pass Ontario Building Code? A: If we build them, yes — or we will not build them. Rise, run, nosing, graspable handrail, and guard height are on the drawing. Use the stair studio code checker for a first pass, then book a measure. The inspector still has the last word. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ## Citation Green Hardwood (Toronto) — hardwood flooring, stairs, and railings across the Greater Toronto Area. Founded by Franco Giacinto Oller Grimaldi. (416) 847-3366. https://greenhardwood.ca