By Chelsea Pyne

Not many people can claim their trade since the age of eight. Stephen Fulp has been gathering his experience and craftsmanship with hardwood flooring before he stepped foot into his third grade classroom. Stephen’s great uncles would take him around Belew’s Creek and Kernersville on their reflooring jobs. As his friends were learning how to dribble a basketball, Stephen was figuring out the right drill bit sizes for a given project.

This early introduction to hardwood flooring never left Stephen’s mind and he knew it was something he would pursue in years to come. When he was old enough to be hired, Stephen joined a local hardwood flooring business and expanded his skill set. After he was given the opportunity to sand and refinish gym floors, he felt well-rounded enough in all things hardwood flooring to go off on his own.

In 2009, Stephen’s Hardwood Flooring began picking up smaller, side jobs as Stephen was preparing to commit to his new endeavor and take on the business full-time. He explained, “I worked for other big companies throughout my schooling to help pay the bills. The passion I felt never left me, so I decided to start my own business and have not looked back.”

It was not just Stephen’s hard work that created a successful business — it took a team. As fate would have it, Stephen met his future partner and wife while gathering supplies for one of his projects. Mrs. Jessica Fulp explained, “We met in 2009 while I was working at a local hardware store. I honestly did not believe he had his own business because at that age most people do not have that drive yet. After getting married in 2012, we said a lot of prayers about what direction we were taking our lives and our business in. We took a gamble and I came home full-time to be a part of the business.”

Although Jessica did not grow up with a hammer in her hand much like Stephen, her fascination of the work quickly took hold. Working side by side, Jessica writes up the free estimates for customers and will install and sand floors when needed. “I have grown to love this work and all it has brought to us in knowledge and life experiences. We have invested time, blood, sweat, and tears in this business, but most importantly we have had some amazing adventures,” she added.

Stephen’s Hardwood Flooring offers a plethora of services to homes all around the Triad. Installing new hardwoods, repairing existing floors, sanding and refinishing new and pre-existing hardwoods along with a wide selection of floors to choose from, such as pre-finished hardwood, laminate hardwood, floating floors, and the new luxury vinyl floors (not sheet vinyl). The duo can build new stairs (or cap an existing staircase), handrails, and stair pickets. To avoid harmful odors, Stephen offers oil base finishes and the new and improved water base finishing option for the eco-friendly household.

“We work with so many varieties of wood floors in homes. Some are still remaining from the 1800’s and we want to keep true to their age and refinish them flawlessly. Other homes are really picking up modern and trendy styles. It is nice for us to see such different projects because it makes us better with every possible flooring job,” Jessica explained.

Word spreads fast, and with the tight-knit community that both Stephen and Jessica grew up in, the two were able to grow a solid customer base and reputation. Staples Kute is one of the many happy customers Stephen’s Hardwood Flooring has serviced. She explained, “We were very pleased with the work that Stephen did for us. We needed a wood bedroom floor refinished and wanted it done as soon as possible. He worked us in promptly because he was doing work in the same neighborhood. He was very professional, provided lots of good information, and did the work quickly–but thoroughly. Our floors had not been refinished in 40 years (had been covered by an area rug) and they turned out just beautiful.”

Jessica and Stephen work to deliver the best quality with the utmost transparency. “If we quote a job it will be what was discussed and expected — no surprises at any point. We stand by all our work because it is our name on it and we believe that if it is not worthy of our home, we will not put it in yours. We emphasize honesty and stay true to our quality with everything we do from a small repair to a whole house project,” Stephen explained.

His words ring true. Customer Tricia Lloyd proclaims the professionalism of the two. “We are thrilled with the work that Stephen and his sidekick (and wife) Jessica did. They provided genuine customer service, showed up when promised, cleaned up after themselves, and delivered top-quality work,” she happily explained.

Although considered a young professional for starting a business at twenty, Stephen truly took on his “young professional” career decades ago — and has been going strong for the past seven years. Growing up in the craft, customers can be assured that Stephen’s Hardwood Flooring has the experience and expertise needed to deliver the highest quality services to each home. For more information on any of the hardwood flooring services that Stephen and Jessica provide, give them a call at 336-501-1315 or send an email to StephensHardwoodFlooring@yahoo.com.

Your home is your temple, so build it on solid (and quality) ground! “We have grown our faith and business every day and in doing so it has humbled us more than anything else we could have ever predicted,” Jessica added.