Looking for hand scraped hardwood flooring pros and cons? We've got you covered. Hardwood has been a popular flooring material since the early 1600s in the French Baroque era.
Wealthy people at the time would hire artisans to cut woods, have them scraped, sanded, stained, and polished to a sheen. These processes were done by hand because there was no machine available to do them.
Nowadays, there are several hardwood flooring materials made with machines. However, if you want to add a rustic, vintage feel to your home, you can opt for hand-scraped hardwoods instead and enjoy all the hand-scraped hardwood flooring pros.
While several hand scraped hardwood flooring pros may make it an excellent ideal flooring choice for your home, you need to be aware of some hand scraped hardwood flooring cons before you commit to using it.
In this article, we will discuss the various hand scraped hardwood flooring pros and cons so you will have an idea e what to expect when you install it in your home.
Pros of Hand Scraped Hardwood Flooring
1. Highly Durable
Extreme durability is one of the hand-scraped hardwood flooring pros you can expect to enjoy when you install the hardwood in your home. Generally, many hardwood flooring materials are durable and can last decades when properly maintained.
However, hand-scraped hardwood takes hardwood flooring durability to a greater height because the wood's grain and texture allow it to hide scratches, scuffs, and dents better.
When using most smooth hardwood flooring, you must take extra precautions to prevent wear and tear, especially in home areas with high foot traffic, because they are often obvious and attract attention.
With hand-scraped hardwood, damages tend to blend with the plank's overall look and may even be overlooked as part of the plank's natural appearance.
2. Easy to Maintain
One of the advantages hand-scraped hardwood flooring has over many other flooring options is the relative ease of maintenance. It takes very little effort and time to maintain hand-scraped hardwood floorings.
After installing a hand-scraped hardwood floor, you only need to sweep or dust it regularly, depending on the home area where it is installed.
You can also lower the regularity of cleaning the floor by placing doormats at your home's entrance and encouraging family and friends to wipe their shoes to mitigate taking dirt inside.
Since proper maintenance can help elongate the lifespan of a hardwood floor, it makes perfect sense to opt for hardwood floors with low maintenance costs.
3. Unique and Beautiful Aesthetics
Whether you are renovating your home and trying to create your style or simply want beautiful hardwood flooring for your home, you can't go wrong with hand-scraped hardwood.
Hand-scraped hardwood flooring is designed to showcase the natural features of woods and adapt them to compliment the overall outlook of a room.
The beauty of hand-scraped hardwood floors lies in their rustic look and rough texture, unlike many other hardwood floors that offer a glossy look and smooth texture.
What distinguishes hand-scraped hardwood flooring from many other options in the market today is its uniqueness.
You will never find a floor elsewhere that looks identical to the one installed in your home because each plank used in the flooring is hand-scraped by artisans.
As a result, it is easier to create a distinctive look and atmosphere in different areas of your home with this flooring option.
4. Plenty of Options to Choose From
There are wide varieties of hardwoods that you can choose from to create a hand-scraped hardwood flooring for your home. Since each hardwood offers different aesthetics, you can choose whichever appeals to you the most for your home.
Technically, it is possible to hand scrape all types of wood used for flooring. However, some hardwoods stand up to hand-scraping better than others.
Domestic wood, such as oak, walnut, and hickory, is a popular choice for homeowners because they are easy to work with and excellent for creating hand-scraped hardwood floors.
While using an extremely hard hardwood would offer you longer durability, they are much more difficult to scrape.
5. Long-Lasting Anti-Scratch Finish
Although anti-scratch finishes are usually applied on most hardwood floor surfaces to mitigate scratches, they last longer on hand-scraped hardwood floors.
The hand-scraped hardwood's ability to retain an anti-scratch finish longer increases its longevity and durability. It also makes it an ideal flooring option for pet owners, as it would better withstand scratches from pet nails.
One of the hand-scraped hardwood flooring pros you would enjoy when installing it in your home is that you wouldn't need to refinish the floors frequently, saving you money and time.
Cons of Hand Scraped Hardwood Flooring
1. Costly
One of the hand scraped hardwood flooring cons that often discourages homeowners from choosing the flooring option is its cost.
If you want to install hand-scraped hardwood floors in your home, you must be prepared to spend a fortune because it doesn't come cheap.
Aside from having to purchase the hardwood, which would be hand-scraped, you would have to hire skilled artisans to scrape, sand, stain, and finish the hardwood.
Because these processes would be done by hand, it takes time and is expensive. The kind of hardwood you opt for would also influence how much cost you would incur.
Extremely hard hardwood is difficult to work with. As a result, you would pay more to have them scraped to suit your needs.
2. Extremely Time-Consuming
Installing hand-scraped hardwood flooring is extremely time-consuming compared to many other flooring options.
Every one of the processes involved is done by hand and mostly involves using rudimentary tools, such as chisels, hammers, saw blades, etc., to configure the planks.
Although there are now manufacturers who use machinery to create hardwood with a hand-scraped look, it does not meet up to the unique look of hardwoods that are truly scraped by hand.
3. Difficult to Install
Hand-scraped hardwood floors are difficult to install and are best handled by highly skilled professionals specialized in this type of hardwood floor installation.
Homeowners who want to reduce cost by installing it themselves or hiring a quack to do it are most likely to regret the outcome.
4. Extra Precaution Against Water Damage
Generally, water damage is a major concern with hardwood flooring.
However, because of the cost, time, and effort involved in making hand-scraped hardwood flooring, homeowners need to be extra cautious about installing it in home areas that are in frequent contact with water, limiting the floor's use case.
5. Difficult to Resale
One of the hand scraped hardwood flooring cons you need to be aware of if you intend to sell your home anytime in the future is it may be difficult to recoup your investment.
Although hardwood floors are a popular demand among potential home buyers, homes with hand-scraped hardwood flooring may not attract many buyers.
Hand-scraped hardwood floors are unique because they are customized to suit your taste and style. However, that creates a resale problem because people's tastes and styles differ.
As a result, potential home buyers may stay away from homes with hand-scraped hardwood flooring that doesn't appeal to them or may want to pay less to purchase the home because they would have to re-floor it.
Final Thoughts
Hand-scraped hardwood flooring is a great choice for homeowners who want to enjoy the prestige associated with owning a custom floor.
However, they must be ready to spend substantial money to achieve it due to the intense labor and time involved in making the floor.
Having learned about these hand scraped hardwood flooring pros and cons, do you still consider it the right flooring option for your home?