Apogee Hardwood Cleaning: Restoring Elegance, One Floor at a Time
With a unique approach to restoring your hardwood floors, Apogee Hardwood Cleaning offers a cost-effective alternative to revitalizing worn and dull-looking wood flooring in the Stafford area. Founded by Steve Bressette in September 2022, the company has shifted its focus to cleaning and refinishing hardwood floors, carving a niche as a high-quality, convenient, and reasonably-priced service provider.
While the Northern Virginia area is teeming with companies who specialize in hardwood flooring installation, replacement, and refinishing, Apogee distinguishes itself from the pack by exclusively offering services tailored to bringing hardwood floors back to their pristine condition, with only two others known to provide similar services.
One of Apogee’s innovative offerings is the “screen & recoat process,” an alternative to sanding or replacing your hardwood floors.
“The screen and recoat is considered a maintenance process for hardwood floors, but for many floors, this is a good restoration alternative, typically half the price of sanding,” Steve explained. Additionally, the “screen and recoat” service is usually done in a single day, making it more desirable and convenient than a sanding or replacement service taking multiple days.
“We all have busy lives and no one wants to move out of their house for two to five days to have their floors sanded or replaced,” added Steve.
“Replacement of the hardwood floors is more costly than sanding unless you switch to one of the false alternatives– vinyl, engineered, or laminate,” he said, making it an attractive option for homeowners seeking a budget-friendly-- yet transformative-- solution.
Additionally, Apogee extends its services to wax removal, addressing a common issue where store-bought products, intended to enhance shine, actually and inadvertently leave floors looking dark and dull.
“Many people don’t know that the store-bought products they use on the floors to get them to shine are the culprits of why the floors look dark, dull, and dingy,” Steve explained. “Many products that will make the floor shine contain acrylic wax, urethanes, or chemicals that leave wax residues on the floors. And, over time, these waxes and residues collect dirt, making the floor dark and dull.” That’s where Apogee’s services come in– they remove this residue with a chemical process.
However, what sets Apogee apart from the competition is its unparalleled services and the sense of pride its founder takes in his work. Founder and owner, Steve Bressette, feels a sense of accomplishment every day in his work. After spending 20 years working as an engineer for the government in windowless offices, Steve found renewed purpose and satisfaction in transforming hardwood floors.
“At the end of the day, week, month, or year, there was really nothing to look back at and say, ‘This is what I accomplished.’ It was a lot of repetitive work, doing the same thing over and over,” explained Steve. “I love working on the hardwood floors with this screen and recoat process. First, there is no windowless office. I work between my van and the customer’s hardwood floor. Second, when I arrive in the morning, the floor is not looking good. By the time I leave in the afternoon, the floor looks great, and the customer is really happy with the results. So, there is a great sense of accomplishment with every job.”
Steve’s message is clear: there’s a more convenient and cost-effective way to revitalize your floors, and Apogee is here to provide it. As a family business, Apogee involves Steve, his wife, Delia, his stepdaughter, Pamela, and his sister-in-law, Nelly. The tight-knit team is dedicated to each other and their customers, providing excellence in every encounter.
Beyond their professional endeavors, the Bressette family members are also avid dog lovers, welcoming two adopted and charming hound mixes, Jack and Juliet, to their family. While Steve’s roots trace back to Maine, Delia, Pamela, and Nelly hail from Peru, adding a cultural richness to the Apogee family. Steve has called Northern Virginia home for over 24 years and Delia and Pamela for over ten years.
Even the company’s name, Apogee Hardwood Cleaning, also has layers of meaning and dual significance. The name Apogee reflects the goal of bringing customers’ flooring to its highest point, akin to its brand-new, original state, and it also pays homage to Steve’s past in the satellite industry. With a Master’s degree in satellite systems, over 30 years of serving as an airman and reservist in the Air Force, and his connection as a defense contractor, Steve brings a unique blend of technical expertise and a passion for excellence to his business venture.
“So the goal of our company is to bring a person’s hardwood floor back to its best (highest) point, which is usually when it was brand new. We want the floors looking brand new when we are done,” Steve said.
The Air Force connection is also evident in Apogee’s branding, with light blue marketing materials, shirts, vans, and logos that reflect Steve’s military background. It is both a tribute to his years of service and serves as a reminder of the precision, discipline, and dedication pillars of Apogee’s approach to cleaning.
In a world where details and precision matter, Apogee Hardwood Cleaning emerges atop the competition as a company committed to restoring elegance, one floor at a time. With an unwavering focus on quality, innovation, and family values, Apogee Hardwood Cleaning stands as a testament to Bressette’s vision of bringing each floor to its Apogee– the highest point of its development.
Check out Steve’s website at apogeehardwood.com or call him at 571-604-0562 to see how they can restore your floors to their highest state.
