Since 1928
A family standard,
three generations deep.
The trade started with our grandfathers and we're still doing it the way they would. Same patience. Same care for the wood. Better tools.
Our story
Hardwood is the only flooring you can refinish four times. That's why we do this.
Kovich & Savard Hardwood Flooring is a three-generation family business based in North Easton, MA 02356, founded in 1928. Tim Savard and Steve Kovich, the current owners, run every estimate and lead every install across Massachusetts. Combined hands-on experience exceeds 66 years. We are owner-led, fully insured, rated 5.0 across reviews, and we answer our own phone.
When we walk into a 1920s home in Wellesley and see original quarter-sawn red oak under 90 years of carpet glue, we see something almost no other floor could become: a floor that, refinished once more, will last another forty years.
That's the bet on real wood. It's why we keep doing this work the way our fathers and grandfathers did. The tools have improved, water-based finishes cure cleaner, HEPA dust-containment is dramatically better than even ten years ago, our staining chemistry is more honest. But the actual craft hasn't changed: read the subfloor, rack the boards, let the wood acclimate, sand patiently, finish three coats with intercoat abrasion. There's no shortcut for any of it.
We're a small team on purpose. Tim and Steve run every estimate, lead every install, and pick up the phone when you call. We turn down work in towns that'd stretch us thin. We say no to projects where we can tell the client wants something we can't honestly deliver. The five-star reputation is earned one floor at a time, and we intend to keep it that way.
The shop sits in North Easton, MA 02356, the same town three generations of the family have lived in. The trucks roll out from there at the same hour every morning, the wood deliveries come into the same garage, and the phones still ring through to Tim and Steve directly. Massachusetts homeowners, not a national franchise: that distinction matters when the floor needs a follow-up five years after install and you want the same hands on it.
We do not advertise on radio or television, we do not run lead-gen funnels that book twenty estimates a week for a sales closer, and we do not buy installer crews from out of state. Almost every job we take comes from a homeowner who saw a finished floor in a neighbor's house, a referral from an interior designer who has watched our work hold up over years, or a search-engine result that brought the right person to the right page on this site. The pipeline stays small on purpose because the crew stays small on purpose, and the only way to keep the work at the standard three generations of family have held to is to refuse to grow past what two owners can directly run.
The timeline
98+ years, four generations.
- 1928
The trade begins.
Our grandfathers picked up sanders in the post-war Massachusetts boom. Subfloors were rough, finishes were varnish, and a floor was expected to outlast its first owner.
- 1965
The second generation.
Sons take the trucks. Polyurethane comes onto the market. The shop expands from refinishing into full installation work across Bristol and Plymouth counties.
- 1996
Tim and Steve start.
Steve started refinishing in 1996, learning from his father. Tim apprenticed three years later. Both grew up watching their fathers do the work the right way.
- 2024
Kovich & Savard, today.
Three generations on, we run the same standards with modern tools, HEPA dust containment, water-based finish chemistry, and digital project tracking. The work itself hasn't changed.
The team
Tim & Steve.
Two owners, one crew, a combined 66 years of hardwood floor experience between them. Both grew up in the trade.
Co-Founder & Lead Craftsman
Timothy Savard
Tim runs every job site. With 28 years of hands-on hardwood experience, he brings a craftsman's eye to subfloor prep, board layout, and finish work, the details most installers cut corners on.
Co-Founder & Refinishing Specialist
Steve Kovich
Steve has nearly four decades on the sander. His refinish work is the reason century-old homes across Massachusetts have floors that look better than the day they were laid.
Standards
What it means to hire us.
Owners on every job
Tim or Steve runs every site, every day. No site managers. No subbed-out crews.
No corner cuts on prep
Subfloor first, wood second. Patience here is the difference between 5 years and 50.
Insured & bonded
$2M general liability. Workers' comp. COIs furnished on request.
Lifetime workmanship guarantee
If something we did fails, we come back. We stand behind every floor we touch.
How we work
What three generations of doing this taught us.
Hardwood is unforgiving in a way that other floors aren't. A vinyl plank floor will look almost the same in five years whether it was installed by a craftsman or a chain. A hardwood floor will tell on its installer at year three, year fifteen, year forty. The cup that telegraphs poor acclimation, the click at the doorway from a sloppy transition, the lifted nail at the perimeter from rushed prep, those are the kind of details that show up later and don't go away on their own. We do this work the way we do because we plan to be answering the phone for the same floor in twenty years.
Subfloor before wood. Every job we do, regardless of scope, starts with reading the subfloor: probe-meter moisture readings, level checks with a straightedge, screw-down of any loose plywood, replacement of any rotted section. We treat this as the single most important hour of the project because it is. A perfectly chosen wide-plank white oak floor laid over a moisture-elevated subfloor will cup in its first winter regardless of how beautifully the wood was milled. The subfloor decides everything that comes after.
Acclimation as discipline. Raw boards sit in your home for five to seven days minimum before any nail goes in, so the moisture content of the wood matches the room it will live in. Pre-finished plank still needs three to five days. We schedule this into every install rather than treating it as a delay, because skipping acclimation is the single most common cause of post-install cup, gap, and crown across the industry.
Sanding sequence and finish chemistry. Three-pass sanding (40, 80, 120 grit) plus edge sander plus buffer is the only sequence that produces a uniformly flat sanded floor without belt marks or swirl. We use HEPA dust-containment sanders so the dust load in your home stays below the level from a normal week of cooking. Finishes are Bona Traffic HD, Loba, or Rubio Monocoat depending on the job; never bargain-tier polyurethane regardless of price pressure. Three coats with intercoat abrasion is standard, not an upcharge.
Owner-led estimating and pricing. Tim or Steve drives to your home and looks at your actual subfloor and lighting before any number gets written. We don't quote from photos, we don't quote sight-unseen, and we don't send a salesperson who marks up the actual installer's pay. The written proposal lands in your inbox within 48 hours of the visit with line-item pricing, schedule, materials, and a fixed completion date in plain English.
Saying no when we should. We turn down projects where the budget can't support what the homeowner is asking for, and we say so directly. We say no to refinish jobs where the remaining tongue depth is gone and replacement is the honest answer. We say no to engineered floors over radiant where the specific product would void warranty. The five-star reputation is earned one floor at a time and we intend to keep it.
FAQ
About Kovich & Savard.
How long has Kovich & Savard been in business?
Three generations, since 1928. Our grandfathers started the trade in the post-war Massachusetts hardwood boom, our fathers expanded it from refinishing into full installation across Bristol and Plymouth counties, and Tim and Steve have been running the shop since the late 1990s. Combined hands-on experience between the two current owners exceeds 66 years on the floor.
Where are you based?
We are based in North Easton, Massachusetts 02356, and we serve homeowners and businesses across Eastern Massachusetts: Greater Boston, the South Shore, MetroWest, and Cape Cod. Drive-time-wise, we work freely inside Route 495 and east of Worcester. For projects outside that envelope, call us; we'll travel for the right job.
Are you licensed and insured for Massachusetts work?
Yes. $2,000,000 general liability and full workers' compensation. Certificates of insurance furnished on request, including additional-insured endorsements for condo associations or property managers that require them. We also carry the appropriate Massachusetts contractor registration.
Do you do commercial work as well as residential?
Yes. We work nights and weekends for restaurants, retail, and office tenants so the business stays open. Commercial-grade fast-cure waterborne polyurethane (Bona Traffic HD or equivalent) walks in under 24 hours. COIs, lien waivers, and W-9s on request.
What's your service area?
29+ named towns across Eastern Massachusetts. The full list is on the service-area page and each town has its own page with local details. If your town is not on the list, call us; we likely cover it.
Will you take on small jobs like a single-room refinish or a board repair?
Yes. We do not impose a minimum-job pressure that forces small repairs into rooms you didn't need redone. A single-board replacement, a closet floor patch, or a 200 sq ft entryway refinish is a real job to us, not a loss-leader for a larger sell.
Honest expectations
What hiring us actually means, in plain English.
Hiring Kovich and Savard means an owner drives to your home, an owner measures, an owner reads the subfloor, an owner writes the proposal, an owner shows up the morning the job starts, and an owner is the one you call if a board cups three winters later. The crew that supports the install is trained and consistent, but the responsibility for the work sits with Tim or Steve on every project. It is the difference between a contractor and a craftsman, and it is the reason the business is still going after 98 years and three generations.
It also means we will not be the cheapest quote you get. We say no to corner-cutting on subfloor prep, on acclimation, on stain panels, on finish chemistry, on dust containment, and on warranty paperwork. Each of those is a place where a lower bid becomes a future regret on the floor itself; we have seen enough redo work after other contractors to know exactly where those regrets come from. If price is the only deciding factor, there is almost certainly someone in the area who will quote less. If the floor lasting four decades is the deciding factor, the math works out differently.
And it means honest answers at the estimate, even when the honest answer is not the most profitable one. Sometimes the floor wants a refinish, not a replacement, and we will say so. Sometimes a single problem board is the right scope, not a whole-room redo. Sometimes the species or finish you have your heart set on is not the right call for your subfloor or radiant setup, and we will explain why and recommend an alternative you will be happier with in five years. The conversation matters as much as the work.
Reviews
Five stars, five times out of five.
We don't pay for reviews. We don't ghostwrite them. Every single five-star review on Thumbtack, Google, and Facebook came from a real Massachusetts homeowner who hired us.
Want to be the next one? Contact us
