Hardwood Floors By Brian Ayre

This is a one-trade shop, and the trade is wood: Brian Ayre installs, sands and refinishes hardwood floors, and does not sell flooring out of a store. The company describes itself as an LLC that has worked Boston, the South Shore and Cape Cod for 26 years, run out of Whitman. What little customers have written points the same direction — refinishing done cleanly, with the finished floor and the dust control both getting mentioned, and the cost described as reasonable. Its Google page carries a 5-star average, but that rests on four ratings, and only a couple of written reviews exist anywhere. Consumers' Checkbook lists the company with a single review. That is a narrow base to judge two and a half decades of work on. One thing to sort out early is where to reach them. Listings put the business at Church Street, at Beulah Street, and at a Whitman PO box, so confirm the current address and phone when you call rather than trusting a directory entry. A sensible call if you have existing wood floors you want sanded and brought back, or new hardwood to lay, anywhere from Boston down through the South Shore to the Cape. Ask for photos and addresses of jobs finished in the past year — with this few public reviews, references you can check yourself are worth more than the star average.