Getting there
The shop is in Cokato, so there is no drive to speak of. Anywhere in town or out in French Lake township is minutes away, and Dassel is next door. If a crew has a gap in the afternoon, a small repair or a buff and coat in Cokato is the job that fills it.
Cokato's housing stock and what the floors need
Cokato is a mix. Downtown along Highway 12 and the blocks around it have older homes, some with original maple or oak strip flooring under layers of carpet and vinyl. Out from town there are farmhouses that have been in the same family for generations, 1970s to 1990s ramblers and split levels on an acre or two, and newer builds on acreage and around Cokato Lake. The old in-town floors want a careful full sand and often a few board replacements where a wall came out or a radiator leaked. The farmhouses often have softer floors and a hundred years of paint around the edges, and some of them are worth restoring rather than covering. The 1980s and 1990s houses tend to have builder-grade oak that is due for its first refinish. The newer homes are where we do installs, including engineered hardwood in walkouts and over in-floor heat.
Small jobs are easy to say yes to in Cokato
A contractor an hour away has to think twice about a one-room repair. We do not, because the truck is already here. A water-stained patch by the dishwasher, a few boards split by a dropped pan, a buff and coat on a kitchen that has gone dull, squeaks and a loose threshold. These are half-day jobs for a Cokato address and we slot them between the bigger ones. The same goes for the follow-up a wood floor needs over its life. A maintenance coat every several years, before the finish wears through, costs a fraction of a full sand and keeps the wood from ever going gray. Living nearby means we can keep that schedule with you. If you are not sure whether what you are looking at is a repair, a recoat or a refinish, send a photo or have us stop by on the way through town.
See the wood before you choose it
The shop keeps sample boards and full planks of the species we install, so a Cokato or Dassel homeowner can come by, by appointment, and look at white oak next to red oak next to hickory under real light, in plank widths, with different finishes on them. That is worth a trip even from farther east, because a small chip at a big box store tells you little about how a wide plank floor reads across a room. We can also lay a few boards on your subfloor at the house before you order. Winter is the time to be careful out here. Houses with forced-air heat and no humidifier run very dry in January, and a new solid floor needs to acclimate in the house with the heat on before it goes down. Engineered hardwood is what we recommend in walkouts and over radiant heat around Cokato Lake and on the acreage builds.
Refinishing hardwood floors in Cokato
Hardwood floor refinishing is the service most Cokato calls end up being, from the in-town maple to the 1990s oak on the acreage. The refinishing page explains the full sand, the buff and coat, and how we decide which one your floor needs. How a refinish runs, start to finish.
Around Cokato
- Downtown Cokato on Highway 12
- Cokato Lake
- Dassel
- French Lake township
Hardwood services we bring to Cokato
- Floor refinishing
- Floor repair
- Buff and coat
- Floor Installation
- New Construction Flooring
- Water damage repair
Every hardwood service, on one page.
Questions from Cokato homeowners
Can I come to the shop in Cokato and look at flooring samples?
Yes, by appointment. We keep sample boards and full planks of the species we install, in the common widths and with several finishes on them, so you can see a floor at full scale instead of on a small chip. Call ahead so someone is here to walk you through them. Bring a cabinet door if you are matching.
Do you do small hardwood repairs in Cokato, or only full jobs?
We do small repairs, and Cokato is the easiest place for us to do them. Replacing a few damaged boards, fixing a squeak, patching a water stain near an appliance or recoating a single room are half-day jobs we fit between larger projects. Because the crews start the day here, there is no travel to justify.
My farmhouse near Cokato has old painted wood floors. Can they be brought back?
Often yes, and it is some of the most satisfying work we do. We look at the species, the thickness left and how the boards are fastened, then test a small area under the paint. Old softwood floors sand differently than oak and need a lighter touch. If the boards are too thin, we will say so.
How soon can you get to a buff and coat in Cokato?
Usually quickly, because a buff and coat is a one-day job and a Cokato address lets us fill a gap in the schedule with it. We do not promise a set turnaround, since builder work books our weeks, but local recoats are the jobs we move first when a day opens up. We will give you a real date.
Nearby
We also work in Delano and Buffalo. Everywhere we work.