Should it be Scraped?

Let's say you have decided that hardwood is really what you want.  Carpet really doesn't do it for you.  Vinyl just doesn't feel right against your skin and is made with a lot of toxic chemicals.  Ceramic and stone are just too cold.  It was a hard decision, and you came out on top.  Lucky you!  You have decided on a specie, size and grade.  But wait!  You were doing some last minute research and now discover that there are additional options where you can get it scraped, wire brushed, distressed (a fancy way of saying it is scratched and dented on purpose) or even rough.  Oh my! Now what???

Some cautionary advice is prudent here.  While the internet is a wonderful thing and has so many good ideas and "hacks" (new fangled way of telling the new generation about things that have been going on for hundreds of years), it can also be full of  terrible advice.  The internet can also be a means to promote fads and schemes which are not conducive to long-term happiness, especially when it comes to a rather significant investment in your home, office, or sports floor.  Hardwood floors are an investment meant to last for generations.  So before you give someone the go-ahead to take a chisel or block plane to the clear face of all the wood a manufacturer put into making sure it met the expected quality specifications, here are some things to consider.

- Scrapes, scratches, dents and divots collect dust and dirt.  The deeper they are, they more they collect.  It is difficult to get debris out of these areas, even with a vacuum and tack cloth.  Suck all you want, but when you least expect it, some of that stuff will slip out and then get dragged across the rest of the face.  Yes, it will make more damage and scratch off the finish that was put on to help protect it.

- Concave areas collect liquids better than flat surfaces.  Walk in with white stuff all over your boots while bringing in a load of wood, and now it has collected in all those nooks and crannies.  A floor is not what you want for breakfast; leave that to Thomas's and their English muffins.  Before you know it you have wood cracking, mold growing, and discoloration that you can't blame the manufacturer or the installer for. It's all on you and there is no shot in the world that will make it go away.

- Manufactured "hand scraped" floors are not.  They are distressed through the use of machines which can be very unpleasing to the eye.    Most flooring manufactures take great pains to ensure the faces of their products (specifically the SELECT) are as free from these types of blemishes as possible.  To keep up with the Tikky-Tokky InstaFace fads that someone decided was THE THING to do to mess up all that hard work in production is just blasphemy.  

- Truly hand-scraped flooring is much more expensive than the standard flooring.  It takes more time, effort, and professionalism.  

- Resanding and refinishing can be a little more complicated and possibly more expensive when it comes time to ever do so. All those areas that are sunk down into the wood need to be hand-sanded.  Or, if you want it now flat, more material needs to be taken off.  

Hand-scraped flooring has its place in the world.  If done correctly, it is an artistic masterpiece of craftsmanship.  It can hide the normal everyday wear and tear of an active household.  It provides a feeling of age and antiquity.  Wait, what?  If you really want age and antiquity, and you do not know what you are doing or what you really want, and you don't want to break the bank, go for the lower grades of flooring to get more natural characteristics, which will also make the normal wear less evident.  But if you have decided that scraping is what you want, then let a professional do the job, after the floor has been installed and before anything else has been done to it.  This way it won't be too deep or too shallow.  It won't be too wide or too narrow.  And it won't look like someone just dragged a piano over your floor and banged some nuts and bolts into it for good measure.