Prefinished Hand Scraped Hardwood Flooring has become extremely popular over the last several years. Hand scraped wood flooring offers a distinct appearance, similar to the distressed, old worn look of floors found in old farmhouses, rustic estates and European castles. Years ago, it was very difficult to find skilled flooring contractors who were able to duplicate the look of hand scraped hardwood flooring.
Due to the popularity of this flooring, manufacturers nowadays are now using methods to re-create that old look during the manufacturing process. Some manufacturers actually employ craftsmen to scrape and distress the wood by hand prior to staining. They use tools like metal gouges, chisels, and hand planes to create the appearance of the hand scraped wood flooring. Consequently, each floor is distinct because of the individual technique of the craftsman who scraped it.
Another common method of creating factory produced, hand scraped wood flooring is to use automated machines. During the milling of the wood, machines skim the surface of the wood boards, creating rows of depressions within the wood’s surface. The machine’s gouging and/or sanding wheels vary in rotation, depth and size depending on the manufacturer’s specifications. The hand scraped wood flooring is then enhanced by the staining and finishing process.
Hand scraped hardwood flooring is available in both solid and engineered wood flooring styles, for installations over wood subfloors or concrete slabs. Regarding installation methods, these products can be either nailed/stapled down, direct glued down, or floated, depending on the particular manufacturers recommendations and specifications.
