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Distressed Hardwood

CHOICES IN DISTRESSED HARDWOOD FLOORING

The finishes on these products are durable and long lasting. Oil finishes, popular in Europe, penetrate the wood and have a natural looking matte finish. Polyurethane which coats the wood is available in low to semi-gloss sheens. Both types are formulated to bring out the natural colors and grain of the wood and to create a protective barrier.



Many types of distressed flooring are available in very wide widths, up to 10" and some are available in random widths, which mix boards of different widths in one floor.

We offer distressed flooring in a large variety of species and colors. Reclaimed woods can be treated to enhance their natural characteristics. Distressed parquet adds a timeless warmth to an elegant or rustic home. We love these woods and have gathered an impressive collection of them to give you the perfect choice for your Tampa Bay home.

Through years of searching, company owner, Chris has discovered the most beautiful and unique distressed flooring choices to be found in the world, and we display them in our showroom here in Tampa Bay. You can visit our showroom by appointment, or we can bring samples to your home. Call 813.232.3985 or complete the form to schedule an appointment.

HOW WOOD IS DISTRESSED

There are many techniques used to distress a wood floor. When done by hand, these are all very time consuming and therefore the materials are more expensive than those treated by machine. Some of the commonly used techniques are to use scrapers, hand planers, adzes, chisels, and other tools to remove some of the wood and create a worn and antique look. This distressing can be done in varying degrees and is often offered in light, medium, and heavy versions.

In another method, the softer wood is removed by scraping with stiff, metal brushes, causing a highlighted effect that accentuates the pattern of the grain. Because the softer part of the wood is removed in this process, the floor has increased scratch resistance.

Flooring can be treated to look like it has decades of wormholes. Saw marks can be created giving the floor a hand-hewn character. Special finishes can be applied to give the handsome patina of age that one might expect to see on a floor that has been around for over a century.

Distressing and aging can also be done with a variety of stain, paint, and finish techniques. For example, the crackled paint finish of very old furniture is featured in prefinished products from several companies including Anderson and Antico Cadore.

One of our favorite floors was of wide plank Walnut which we installed, but did not sand smooth before applying finish. It was a bit uneven, from board to board and looked like it had been there for years the day it was completed!

BEVELING AND PEGGING

Another way to distress a floor is to scrape or plane a beveled edge. This gives the bevels a rougher and aged appearance. Often these bevels can be scraped to give a gentle rounding down from the face of the floor into the bevel. This is sometimes referred to as a "pillowed" edge. A less time consuming distressing can be done by tossing nails, screws, bolts, etc. on a wood floor and indenting these into the wood with a roller. When the wood is stained, these dents become highlighted and darker than the rest of the wood surface.

Adding to the aged look one can choose pegged flooring. The pegs can be round or square and sit flat on the surface of the floor or be slightly raised. Pegs offer a decorative appearance, and do not offer any structural benefits. They are not fastened to subfloors like the older floors of the past.

COST OF DISTRESSED FLOORING

Distressed floors are available in a very large range of prices. Most moderately priced distressed floors are primarily done by machine, even though the manufacturer usually refers to them as "hand scraped" or "hand sculpted". These lower priced floors can still be quite attractive and allow a distressed look for people on a budget.

Parquet can be distressed, as well as strip and plank. Distressed parquet contributes an elegant, timeless ambiance, a perfect complement to a larger, more sophisticated home.

Truly hand done floors tend to be more expensive. There are many companies that specialize in producing custom hand distressed floors and will offer many styles and degree of distressing as well as different options for beveling and finishing. Given a sample, they can duplicate it, using the same techniques and finishes as the original.

To request a free estimate to install beautiful distressed wood floors in your home, call us at 813.232.3985 or fill in our free estimate form.

See some of the distressed floors we have installed.

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