Petska's Hardwood Floors

Mike showed up every morning and was able to do all the work while our family was in the house. His professionalism, craftsmanship, knowledge and love for what he does were obvious; all the cuts he made were perfect. We wound up with very little waste and were able to return 6 boxes of flooring that we did not need for an additional savings.

They are so beautiful. Mike and his co-worker Tom are master's. They were efficient, on time, careful, considerate and hard working. They even let me leave my dog home before they began to stain. He liked them and vice versa. The floors are now a nice chocolate, not shiny (which is my preference) and still make me say 'ahhhh ' when I walk in. He patched a spot in my living room and matched the wood perfectly. I had a half wall removed (old late 50's ranch) at the entrance, and there was no oak floor under it. I've told all my friends and family to call Mike if they need this service, they won't be disappointed.

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Excellent. Great to work with. The floors look beautiful. He finished within the timeframe he told us. Very thorough - it is apparent he has been in this business a long time and is extremely knowledgeable.

It went very well. Mike Petska has been in the business for over 30 years. He is very professional and explains what he is doing every step of the way. We had to stay out of our house during the days, but he was very considerate to let us know when we could come in and get something from the inside. He was on time everyday and finished up about the same time. He made it an easier transition for us to move in and out of the house everyday. We were worried that the new flooring wouldn't match up to the original flooring. He hand picked the wood to get us the best match and really was one of the most reasonable contractors that we interviewed. He also put a wood medallion in that we purchased and he put it in for no extra labor money. I would recommend this company to anyone that wants wood restoration done. Great workers and great to work with them!

Mike is a craftsman.When a barber wants his haircut, where does he go?I am the son of a Sweedish floor sander.My dad had me setting nails and puttying oak floors when I was ten.Cutting sandpaper,learning to run the edgar, scraping corners,eventually knowing the process of wood floors,which is always changing[water based finishes of today]So when I read about Mikes customer with the Maple floor, I knew this guy could handle my job with ease.The floor laying job came out great[prefinished hickory] The soft wood pine sanding job is one of the best looking ive seen.Mikes waterbased finish,keeps the pine or fir floor from getting that orange look that poly or varnish would have done.If you have a wood floor you want sanded, call Mike.And if you want a new wood floor, he can do that too.Mr. Burt

I searched for literally years to find a hardwood flooring craftsman who could handle the challenges presented by the maple floors in my 1888 home. I had three rooms of scuffed vintage maple floors with a warm golden patina adjacent to two rooms with newer maple floors in a much lighter tone. I wanted the all the floors to be refinished in a consistent warm, golden tone. This seemed like an impossible dream because all the literature indicates maple is difficult/impossible to stain. Furthermore, several floor refinishers I interviewed judged my old floors to be unable to take another sanding. I suspected these opinions were self serving rather than accurate, so I continued to do research by poring over online reviews and articles, and by talking to other old home owners. One such owner had a beautiful vintage maple floor that looked like new. I got a referral to the company that did the original work, which led me to Mike Petska at Petska's Hardwood Floors, who had taken over the company at which he'd learned his craft. It turns out that Mike had extensive experience with vintage maple, having worked for many years on bowling alleys in the Chicago area. Since my job was sizable, Mike was willing to drive in to Park Ridge from Spring Grove to take a look at my project. Of the dozen or so flooring "experts," I interviewed, Mike was the only one who (1) took the trouble to remove a floor grate to examine the depth of the old floor surface (getting a side-view at the vent perimeter), and (2) he was the only one to notice the slight elevation of one room versus the adjacent rooms, and determined that a thin-milled (3/8" versus the standard 3/4") floor had been placed over an older floor many years ago. That particular floor could truly not support another sanding -- we would have to replace it. Mike determined that the other two old floors could easily handle another sanding, or even two. Some Google searches turned up a Michigan manufacturer of thin milled flooring that arrived two days after it was ordered. Beautiful stuff, clear and pre-sanded, with slightly beveled edges. Mike had no qualms about applying a stain to a maple floor -- he did some sample pieces to confirm the color. The stain gave a beautiful vintage tone to the maple. Mike then applied two coats of emulsion, followed by two coats of "Street Shoe." A note about finishes: I picked up the Street Shoe at a local supplier, and was told that this was the best product -- used in commercial applications such as Gurnee Mills. It's more costly than other alternatives, but is truly worth it. Oh, let me also mention that under the thin-milled floor, we found the original pine boards (painted green) that were in place in 1888. Before installing the new floor, Mike sanded the pine to make it as level as possible, and screwed in all the loose boards -- which removed all the squeaks. I didn't ask Mike to do that -- he just did it because it was the right thing to do. He is truly a craftsman, who knows only one way to do the job -- and that is the right way. No corner cutting. .. Whew... sorry for the long story, but this truly was an old house saga with the best possible result. If you want to hear the truth about your floor situation, and want a true craftsman who is undaunted by "problems" that others shake their heads at, you can't do better than Petska's Hardwood Flooring.