08/12/2026
 One of the more unique projects we’ve gotten to work on.
This is an 1830s water-powered mill in downtown Almont, Michigan. The building was originally powered by a water wheel off the creek next to it, and a lot of the original pulley systems and spindles are still hanging from the ceiling.
These were probably some of the roughest floors we’ve ever sanded. Almost 200 years of repairs and patches left a mix of maple, pine, oak, walnut, elm, Brazilian cherry and who knows what else throughout the building.
There was really no making this floor perfectly flat. We just wanted to knock down the worst height differences, clean everything up and get it back to being a usable floor without taking away all the character.
We also had some pretty large plywood patches to replace. We used leftover bundles of different species from previous jobs to tie everything back together, including the diamond pattern we made at one of the thresholds.
The Homeless Veterans Association is part of what’s moving into this building, so we donated a good portion of the additional repairs throughout the floor to help get the space ready for them.
Not every floor needs to look brand new. This one just needed another chance.
If you think your floor is too rough to be worked on, here’s some photos for reference!!
