Hardwood Floor & Stair Refinishing in Somers, CT: Restoring the Character of a Remarkable Older Home
Every old house has details that tell you something about the people who built it.
This hardwood floor and stair refinishing project in Somers, Connecticut 06071 had one of the most interesting details we've encountered.
The floors themselves were beautiful to work with, but the staircase was what really caught our attention.
Look closely at the stairway and you'll notice something unusual.
Each stair tread has three spindles—and the spindle designs are different.
This wasn't a mass-produced staircase built from identical components. It was decorative woodworking intended to be noticed.
In an older home, elaborate details like these required additional craftsmanship, time and expense. They were the kind of architectural touches that helped distinguish a more substantial home.
And according to the history associated with this particular Somers property, the house had a connection to Alfred C. Fuller, founder of the Fuller Brush Company.
That made restoring the hardwood and staircase even more interesting.
We weren't simply sanding an old staircase. We were working around craftsmanship from another era.
Three Spindles — Three Different Designs
Today, when most stair components are manufactured, homeowners generally expect every spindle or baluster in a staircase to match.
This staircase was different.
Each tread incorporated three decorative spindles, and the differences between them created an unusual repeating detail as the staircase climbed through the house.
It's the type of feature that's easy to overlook until you stop and really study the workmanship.
Details like these are also why we're careful when refinishing older homes.
The objective shouldn't always be to make everything look brand new.
Sometimes the scratches, grain, proportions and handmade architectural details are exactly what give an old Connecticut house its personality.
Our job was to bring the hardwood back while allowing those original features to remain part of the story.
The Stairs Came Out Beautifully
Stair refinishing is considerably different from sanding a large open hardwood floor.
There are tread edges, corners, risers, walls, stringers and—as this staircase demonstrated—lots of detailed woodwork to work around.
Large sanding equipment can only do part of the job.
Much of stair restoration comes down to smaller equipment and careful handwork.
When this Somers project was completed, the staircase came out beautifully.
The restored hardwood brought the richness of the wood back, while the unusual spindle arrangement remained one of the defining architectural features of the home.
The goal wasn't to make an old staircase look new.
It was to make a beautiful old staircase look beautiful again.
The Fuller Brush Connection
The history we were given about this particular property connected it with Alfred C. Fuller, founder of the Fuller Brush Company.
Fuller's story is an interesting piece of Connecticut business history.
He established his brush business in 1906 and soon moved the operation to Hartford, where the city's large Victorian homes—with their woodwork, moldings, stair railings and other elaborate architectural details—provided an ideal market for his growing door-to-door brush business. The company eventually became one of America's most recognizable household brands.
That history made this Somers project particularly memorable for us.
Whether you're looking at an old hardwood floor, a staircase or the individual spindles surrounding it, these older homes often contain craftsmanship that simply isn't commonplace anymore.
And when it's still there, we believe it's worth preserving.
Hardwood Floor Refinishing in Somers, Connecticut 06071
Somers has exactly the kind of history that makes projects like this feel at home.
The community began as part of East Enfield, was incorporated as Somers in 1734, and became part of Connecticut in 1749. Agriculture has been an important part of the town throughout its history, including dairy, tobacco and potato farming.
Today, Somers retains much of that rural character.
Its primary ZIP code is 06071, encompassing Somers and the Somersville area.
Familiar places include Main Street and the town center, Somersville, Springfield Road, the rural areas toward Stafford and Massachusetts, and the agricultural countryside that still distinguishes Somers from more heavily developed portions of north-central Connecticut.
One of the area's best-known natural landmarks is Shenipsit State Forest-Soapstone Mountain, where Soapstone Mountain provides expansive views over the surrounding countryside.
Somers is also home to the long-running Four Town Fair Grounds. The town itself traces the Four Town Fair tradition back to 1838, when it began as an agricultural competition among local school districts.
Those connections to agriculture, old homes and traditional New England craftsmanship make Somers a particularly interesting community for the type of work we do.
Four Generations of Hardwood Flooring Experience
At Patrick Daigle Hardwood Flooring, Inc., hardwood flooring is our specialty.
Our family's hardwood flooring tradition dates to 1927, and our Connecticut business began around 1972. Today, we're the fourth generation carrying on that craftsmanship.
We're proud members of the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) and proud to be ranked #1 in Hartford County and #1 in Connecticut by BusinessRate.
Our work takes us throughout Somers 06071 and neighboring communities including Enfield, Ellington, Stafford, East Windsor, Tolland and Vernon.
Projects like this are one of the reasons we've enjoyed working in Connecticut homes for so many years.
You never know what you're going to discover.
In this Somers home, it was a beautiful old staircase with three different decorative spindles at each tread, along with the history associated with the property.
We were able to restore the floors and stairs without taking away the details that made the house interesting in the first place.
Because when craftsmanship has survived for generations, sometimes the best thing you can do is respect it.
Don't erase the character of an old home. Bring it back to life.
Patrick Daigle Hardwood Flooring, Inc.
Fourth-Generation Hardwood Flooring Craftsmanship Since 1927
NWFA Member
Ranked #1 in Hartford County and #1 in Connecticut by BusinessRate
Serving Somers, CT 06071, Enfield, Ellington, Stafford, East Windsor, Tolland, Vernon and surrounding north-central Connecticut communities.