Hardwood flooring in Isle of Palms, SC

Isle of Palms sees more humidity swings than almost anywhere else in our service area - hot, wet summers, a hurricane season that pushes moisture through the air for months, and salt that settles on everything near the water. Engineered hardwood handles those swings better than solid boards because its cross-layered core resists expanding and contracting, which is why it's what we recommend for most island homes, especially anywhere close to ground level.

That doesn't rule out solid hardwood - plenty of Wild Dunes and inland-lot homes carry it beautifully in main living areas away from exterior doors. The right call usually comes down to where the room sits relative to grade and how close it is to an exterior entrance, which we'll walk through with you during your free in-home estimate.

Installed hardwood on the island typically runs $9-16 per square foot depending on species, plank width, and whether you choose solid or engineered - engineered generally lands toward the lower end for comparable quality. Refinishing existing hardwood runs $4-7 per square foot and is often the more cost-effective move for original floors that just need to be brought back.

Those are ballpark figures - the only way to get an exact number for your home is a free in-home estimate, where we measure every room and give you a written price before we leave.

A lot of the older cottages around Front Beach and 41st Avenue still carry their original hardwood, and it's usually worth saving rather than tearing out. Decades of salt air and sun can dull a finish without damaging the wood underneath.

We sand back to bare wood, address any board-level issues we find along the way, and reseal with a finish built to handle the island's humidity and light exposure for years to come.