Solid Choice
Homeowners turn to Tall Timber Custom Hardwood Floors for a range of hardwood solutions delivered with impeccable craftsmanship.
Ask 10 homeowners to name the most desirable aspects of a home, and all 10 would likely say the same thing: “hardwood floors.”
There are many reasons why. For starters, hardwood floors are an eye-grabbing addition, but they also add tangible value to a home; some research indicates that the return on investment of installing hardwood floors can be as high as 80 percent. Of course, having hardwood installed (or refinished) in a home is no simple task. It requires old-school precision and craftmanship that few companies possess.
Just ask Matt O’Connor.
Recognizing a need to fill this gap in the marketplace, O’Connor opted to leave the contracting company he’d been working for to branch out on his own. The result: Tall Timber Custom Hardwood Floors, a Bucks County business dedicated solely to installing, refinishing, repairing, and maintaining hardwood flooring.
O’Connor, who is a military veteran, says he’s always been a go-getter—meaning he tends to set a goal and then go after it. As soon as he started to recognize a need for hardwood flooring specialization in Bucks County and surrounding areas, he took action. Although the company may be only a year old, Tall Timber has already built a solid reputation in the community.
The business focuses exclusively on hardwood work, including installation jobs for homes that have never had hardwood before. O’Connor says there’s no denying the fact that hardwood floors’ popularity continues to be driven by the value it can add to a home. It’s hardly a fad, he says, but rather a feature that is here to stay.
“One thing that homeowners really appreciate is the ability to get incredibly customized with hardwood,” he says. “We work with a local business, Quaker Hardwoods, which mills the flooring for us. If you want something that is truly one of a kind, this is the way to go. We can get any type of wood and the width as wide as 18 inches, which is really unique.”
While homeowners love hardwood for its aesthetic appeal, some who have young children or pets may have concerns about durability and maintenance. Regardless of the homeowner’s situation, Tall Timber offers solutions.
“We are starting to do more water-based finishes as opposed to oil-based finishes for this very reason,” explains Brennan Muchler, who works alongside O’Connor. “It’s an upgrade, and it costs more, but it gives you that return on investment because it makes the wood more resilient to scratches or dents. This is a desired option for lot of our clients who have pets.”
Because Tall Timber does new installations as well as refinishing work, oftentimes their clients are looking to add to existing hardwood. For instance, they might have a living room and dining room with hardwood, but also want to extend it into the kitchen. In these instances, O’Connor and Muchler both say they can refinish the existing hardwood with a stain that matches the newly installed wood so it looks seamless.
In other words, whether a home is new or old, homeowners have an abundance of options.
Craftsmanship and Professionalism
One of the most frustrating aspects associated with having hardwood floors refinished is the amount of dust the process can produce. While some companies have earned a reputation for failing to clean up after their work, O’Connor says that Tall Timber leaves the house looking as clean—if not cleaner—than when they started. It’s part of the company’s commitment to going above and beyond.
“We put a tremendous amount of effort into our dust-control efforts,” he explains. “Sanding a floor produces a ton of dust, but we are extremely diligent about not leaving it behind. I think that’s a big thing that a lot of companies fail to do—at least to the level that we do.”
In general, it’s the workmanship and professionalism that set Tall Timber apart. Mike Coyne of Coyne Remodeling in Warrington can attest to that fact. He knows O’Connor because he’s hired him to install hardwood floors for some of his remodeling jobs.
“I was very impressed,” Coyne says. “He taught me some things I didn’t even know. And he does excellent work. He’s a perfectionist, and that’s not something you always see with flooring.”
In fact, Coyne paid O’Conner the greatest compliment possible by hiring Tall Timber to do work in his own home—something that he says he has rarely ever done. After all, it’s difficult for a contractor to trust a craftsman to do remodeling work when they have intimate knowledge of the craftsman’s work, including any shortcuts they might take. Coyne says O’Connor does the job right.
“I refer business to him all of the time,” he adds. “I really don’t give out referrals to my clients unless I feel completely confident that they’re going to do a fantastic job. But that’s what Matt does. I just recently had a very complicated job, where the cabinet footprint had changed, but Matt feathered the wood in and made the client extremely happy.”
While there can be a lot of decisions involved in making the best choice for a home’s flooring, O’Connor and Muchler say that they are happy to “guide homeowners in making the best decisions possible.” At the end of the day, they just want a homeowner to be pleased with the finished result.
“By being focused on hardwood alone, we have a very in-depth knowledge of it,” says Muchler, who adds that he and O’Connor have 15 years of combined experience in this line of work. “We’re committed to giving the client all of the information that they need to make the best decision.”
The bottom line, he adds: “If you’re looking for hardwood, we’re the guys to call.”
For a free estimate from Tall Timber Custom Hardwood Floors, call (267) 884-1146.
Photography by Jody Robinson
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, November 2019.
