Hand-Scraped Hardwood- A Unique way to Define your Personal Style

Features that define hand-scraped hardwood flooring

Hand scraped wood flooring is a modern and unique trend that gives off a classy, traditional feel wherever installed. Although this flooring style incurs one-time high costs for its consumers, it proves to be a real worthy deal after installation. Hand-scraped floors borrow their name from the ancient art that used a draw knife for scraping and smoothening wooden boards. This art or technique witnesses a sculptor or woodworker pulling the knife towards him for crafting an even surface on the wood in question. This process of smoothening wooden planks leaves marks that serve as common attributes of wooden floorings. In recent times, the process of hand-scraping is done by hand as well as by machines.

Choosing the right contractor is important

As a home owner desirous of giving shape to your preferred flooring style, it is recommended that you practice utmost care while selecting your flooring contractor for installing hand-scraped hardwood flooring – both online and offline.. The contractor chosen by you should be capable of placing the strips in the correct manner because his efficiency levels would determine the look of your floors in the long run.

Understand the difference between hand-scraped and distressed style of flooring

As a buyer, you should also know the difference between the two types of flooring styles- hand-scraped and distressed. These two forms are manufactured using a similar process; however, hand-scraped hardwood presents a wider range of planks in comparison to distressed wood. The looks of the former appears natural with the scrape marks left by artisans while smoothening the planks. On the other hand, the finished look of the latter appears to be artificial as the smoothening work is performed by machines, and leaves fake wormholes like marks on the surface of the planks at most times. More so, distressed wood is made to appear as if it has gone through harder processing means to give off a hardy and robust look.

Be familiar with the differences between solid wood and engineered wood

Although both solid and engineered woods offer the same flawless looks and sense of tenderness, they are quite different in terms of materials used, resistance to heat and moisture, and their structural composition. Hand scraped engineered hardwood flooring is made of three or more layers of fibred board along with a top layer of wood veneer; all these layers are clubbed together under heat and pressure. On the other hand, solid hardwood is derived from a hardwood species that serves to be the only material that’s put to use for manufacturing this type of flooring.

Another essential difference between these two types is in respect to their resistance to moisture, heat and climatic changes. Hand scraped engineered hardwood flooring is definitely a perfect and better choice than solid wood. This is because the former is more suitable to both increased heat and moisture prevalent in the surroundings, as compared to the latter.

Also, if you consider the resistance power of both these kinds of wood towards climatic changes, you would find that engineered wood is a better option. This is because engineered hardwood does not cup or bend as a result of climatic changes, and is therefore a useful solution for basements, houses in hot and humid regions, and so forth. On the other hand, solid wood usually contacts and expands more than engineered wood as a result of drastic climatic changes in any region, and is often avoided because of its poor resistance to such conditions.

Expectations from your hand-scraped hardwood purchase!

As a true valued customer, it is normal for you to look for good value with every purchase. So, while investing in high-quality hand-scraped hardwood flooring, you would obviously like to buy the best hardwood floor from an authentic and reliable seller only. The higher the satisfaction levels of your expectation, the higher will be the beauty and valued investments added to your environment. But then, your purchase expectations may differ from those of the next buyer in line. In this market, while few customers prefer to stick to uniform hardwood coloration, others would want to go with a lot of color variation. Also, while some customers dislike the presence of pinholes or knots on their planks, others prefer to see them as adding more aesthetics towards the hardwoods’ looks. So, choose your hardwood planks accordingly.

Points to remember

Do keep in mind that there can be a considerable amount of quality variation among all types of hand-scraped hardwood flooring available on the racks of online specialty stores. These differences in quality would depend upon the type, grade and also the manufacturer. If low price with perfect looks is what you have been looking for, then go for the installation of luxury hand scraped vinyl that would give you the same feel as that of hardwood floor, but at a much lower price.

Anyways! With regards to what you have in mind, you have to realize that your installed brand new wood flooring might not look the same as the small sample that has been shown to you by the seller. This is because, wood is a natural product and no two pieces of planks would look exactly the same.

What makes the price difference?

Noticeably, you might come across wide price gaps with respect to hand-scraped hardwood in the market. The boards, after they are formed from hardwood lumber, are separated on the lines of their looks, color, and clarity of graining. Thereafter, they are labeled with grades and priced differently. Top performing furniture and flooring companies would purchase the costliest raw materials, while other manufacturers may opt for the remaining grades. On the basis of their respective quality forms, flooring dealers purchase materials of all grades and specify the cost accordingly. Thus, when such planks finally reach the end-users, they differ in their prices to a considerable extent. Another noteworthy fact about grading is that different species of wood would possess different grades and looks because of their source of origin, and would be priced variedly.

So, before you purchase hand-scraped hardwood from any manufacturer, do not get deceived by any fake quality showoffs and price representation; yes, now you know the reason that lingers behind price distinction and different grading of wood.

Get ready to make a difference with hand-scraped hardwood; today!

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