Midwood, Brooklyn
Flooring for Midwood houses and apartments
Modern Wood Flooring is a flooring showroom at 446 Avenue P, on Midwood's southern edge, open since 2002. For Midwood's older detached and semi-detached houses, solid or engineered hardwood is usually the natural fit. For the apartment buildings along Ocean Avenue and Ocean Parkway, engineered wood or vinyl plank over a sound-rated underlayment tends to work best.
Our showroom at 446 Avenue P is about a mile from Midwood. Get directions or call (718) 252-6177 and we’ll pull samples before you arrive.
Homes and buildings in Midwood
Midwood was mostly farmland until the 1890s and filled in quickly afterward. Its best-known blocks are in the Fiske Terrace-Midwood Park Historic District, designated in 2008, where most houses were built and occupied by 1914. Styles run from Colonial Revival to Arts and Crafts and gambrel-roofed Dutch Colonial Revival. These are wood-framed houses on wood joists, and many still have strip oak floors under carpet or later layers.
Much of the rest of Midwood went up in the 1920s, when larger housing tracts and apartment buildings arrived. Ocean Parkway, on the western edge, is lined mostly with apartment houses, and Ocean Avenue has its own run of elevator buildings, many of them co-ops. Those buildings sit on concrete slabs, which changes what you can install and how.
On the side streets you will also find attached brick houses and older houses that have been enlarged over the years. Where an addition meets the original rooms, floor heights and subfloors often differ, which is worth planning for before you pick a product.
What to plan for
- Original oak in older houses
- Many prewar Midwood houses still have solid oak strip floors, sometimes hidden under carpet or vinyl. Before you buy anything, lift a corner and look. If the boards are sound and thick enough to sand, refinishing may be the simpler path. If they are damaged, worn thin or patched in several directions, a new floor is the cleaner option. A flooring contractor can check thickness at a vent or threshold.
- Co-op rules on Ocean Avenue
- Many co-ops require an alteration agreement and board approval before flooring work starts. Boards often specify a sound-control underlayment, a minimum IIC or STC rating, and insurance paperwork from your installer. Get the building's requirements in writing first, then bring them to the showroom so you can compare products against them. Some buildings also limit noisy work to weekday hours, so factor that into your schedule.
- Concrete slabs need the right method
- Apartment buildings sit on concrete, so solid hardwood usually is not practical without adding a plywood subfloor, which raises the floor at doorways. Engineered wood can be glued down or floated, and vinyl plank floats over most flat slabs. Either way, the slab must be flat and dry. Check the product's installation instructions for moisture testing and flatness limits. Vinyl plank needs an especially smooth slab, since bumps can show through.
Floors that suit Midwood
- Solid hardwoodWood-framed houses in Fiske Terrace and Midwood Park have joists and subfloors that take nail-down solid oak well. It can be sanded and refinished many times, which suits a house you plan to keep for decades.Browse solid hardwood
- Engineered woodA strong fit for Ocean Avenue and Ocean Parkway apartments. It can be glued or floated over a slab, it is more stable than solid wood through steam-heated winters, and the top layer is real wood.Browse engineered wood
- Vinyl flooringVinyl plank works well in kitchens, basements and rentals. It handles spills, floats over most flat subfloors, and many products are made for use with sound underlayment. Check each product's specs against your building's rules.Browse vinyl flooring
Examples from the current catalog. We carry more than we show online.
Guides for Midwood projects
Common questions
Do you serve Midwood?
Yes. Our showroom is at 446 Avenue P, on Midwood's southern edge, and we have served Brooklyn since 2002. You can see samples in person and take them home the same day.
What floor suits a prewar co-op on Ocean Avenue?
Usually engineered wood or vinyl plank over a sound-control underlayment, glued or floated over the slab. Start with your building's alteration agreement, since many boards specify the underlayment and rating.
Should I refinish the oak floors in my Fiske Terrace house?
If the boards are flat, solid and still have enough wood above the tongue, refinishing is often worth a look. A flooring contractor can check thickness at a floor vent or threshold.
Can you work with my own contractor?
Yes. We work with your contractor, or we can refer an installer we have worked with for more than five years. Call (718) 252-6177 and we will send a quote within one business day.