Hand-Scraped Hardwood Floors in Washington, DC

Depending on your style, hand-scraped hardwood flooring can be a trendy and attractive option. Hand-scraped hardwood floors are an excellent choice for those wishing to achieve a vintage, worn appearance in their home. If you’re looking for hardwood floors in Washington, DC, you may want to consider hand-scraped hardwood flooring!

What is hand-scraped flooring?

Hand-scraped flooring is hardwood flooring that has been deliberately marked and sculpted to give it a distinct, older look. Manufacturers use sanding, gauging, denting, scooping, or wire brushing techniques to create dents, splits, and holes in the wood. Generally, the more durable hardwood floors are the best options for hand-scraping. Floors like bamboo cannot be hand-scraped.

What are the advantages of hand-scraped flooring?

There are many advantages to installing hand-scraped hardwood floors in Washington, DC homes. Because hand-scraped floors already have a distressed look, you can easily get away with any minor damages (scrapes, dents, etc.). Additionally, you can have your hand-scraped floors finished or stained to match your room. You can also choose between solid or engineered hardwood flooring with a hand-scraped texture, along with the level of distress that you want—lots of scraping for high distress or just a bit of scraping for a low level of distress.

With hand-scraped floors, you can achieve a beautiful, unique look and texture of an old, vintage floor, but can still get durability and protection with a modern coating. And while you might think the surface of a hand-scraped floor would feel rough, most of the floors are screened and sealed several times to create a protective layer.

If you’re considering hand-scraped hardwood floors in Washington, DC or nearby areas, consider a few things first. As with all hardwood floors, you shouldn’t install hand-scraped hardwood floors in high-moisture areas like bathrooms. Additionally, you should follow instructions for cleaning hardwood floors. Most importantly, never clean your hardwood floor with excessive amounts of water, and don’t use just an ordinary cleaner. Even if your floors are sealed, they still aren’t 100 percent protected from water and harsh chemicals in ordinary cleaners.

What is the difference between hand-scraped and distressed hardwood flooring?

Some companies and manufacturers offer floors scraped by machines instead of by hand. These types of floors are called distressed hardwood flooring. Distressed hardwood flooring doesn’t feature the customized, random scraping and denting a hand-scraped floor does, but it can provide a similar look.

Can I hand-scrape my hardwood floors myself?

For those of you interested in hand-scraped hardwood floors in Washington, DC or surrounding areas, we don’t recommend trying to hand-scrape your floors yourself (no matter how good of a tutorial you found on Pinterest!) Hand-scraping is a unique process that requires custom hand-scraping tools and a skilled craftsman. While the scraping process itself requires skill and technique, there is more to hand-scraped floors than just the scraping process. If you try it yourself, you also have to worry about finishing the floors with a staining, sealing, screen, and/or recoating. Hand-scraping is a job best left to the experts!

Install hand-scraped hardwood floors in Washington, DC

If you’re interested in hand-scraped hardwood floors in Washington, DC or nearby areas, contact Elegant Floor Service today.