Stephen and Matthew Young, owners of Young Brothers Hardwood in Denver, Colorado, started their business a little more than four years ago. Having been in the industry for four years before that, Stephen knew that starting a company was the best way to achieve his dreams, and Matthew jumped in.
“We love owning our own company,” shares Stephen. “We get a lot more say in what we do. That was a big driving force in going solo. I wanted to do parquet and next-level installations.”
While they were attending the Advanced Installation hands-on training at NWFA Headquarters in October, Stephen and I sat down to talk about education and a job they were doing where Stephen was able to fulfill his dreams of doing next-level installations.
“As business owners, we knew it was necessary to go to hands-on training and earn our NWFA Certifications,” says Stephen. “I get goosebumps being here. I truly love what I do, and I’m so excited to learn unique techniques and skills.”
The education has paid off for the Young brothers. “Although we charge more than the average installer, it by no means affects our business,” adds Stephen. “Our customers value our knowledge and trust that we will help them achieve the floor of their dreams.”
This job was no exception. “The customer for this job was a builder we work for, but this was for his home,” shares Stephen. “He’s originally from Rhode Island, where parquet is more common, so when I suggested a few different patterns, he was on board.”
During the design phase, the customer visited a home where Young Brothers Hardwood had recently installed a Monticello pattern and fell in love.
After finalizing design plans and securing the materials they’d need, Young Brothers Hardwood headed to the jobsite, where they milled everything on-site.
“We installed the Monticello pattern using full-spread glue-down, supported with nails, in the entryway of the home,” says Stephen. “The pattern consists of thirty 15″x15″ tiles, constructed using white oak for the border and walnut in the center. The tile pattern was bordered in aluminum and then walnut.”
The main floor of the home was a straight lay installation using 5″ select white oak. This section of flooring also was installed using full-spread glue-down and supported with nails.
Now to the part Stephen had waited years to do, the chevron pattern. “This was our first time doing chevron, and it was a bit challenging because we didn’t have a table saw to put a sled on. Everything was done on a miter saw,” shares Stephen. “We laid it all and then track-sawed it back.”
The chevron pattern was installed in the upstairs hallway and master bedroom of the home using the same 5″ select white oak that was installed on the main floor of the home. Young Brothers Hardwood used sausages, supported with nails, to install the chevron.
As if the 2,200 square feet of flooring wasn’t enough, Young Brothers Hardwood also did two flights of stairs.
The floors were all finished with a custom blend of Pallmann’s Magic Oil. The mixed ratio was 2:1, using two neutrals to one white. “Our Pallmann representative joined us on the job to finish the floors,” adds Stephen.
“Our customer speaks highly of our commitment to each job and to staying ahead of the curve when it comes to methods used and products available,” he shares.
“I loved the freedom of this job,” adds Young. “It’s a type of floor that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It was definitely a bucket-list-type floor.”