1) Wood Carpet Was A Thing

Only wealthy families could afford intricate, durable handmade wood flooring. This elaborate and expensive hardwood flooring, called parquet, used small wood bocks to make flooring that contained geometric shapes. The process required woodworkers to place the wood pieces by hand, sand them by hand and stain them by hand. To make hardwood flooring more accessible and affordable, a wood carpet was created and advertised as “flooring anyone could install”. The wood carpet was made by gluing very thin sheets of wood onto a piece of canvas. This type of thin wood carpet allowed wood flooring to be mass-produced but it proved to be too weak to stand the tests of common wear and tear.

2) Scraped vs sanded

Before sandpaper was invented, woodworkers used a plane and scraper to make wood planks smooth and flat. A plane and scraper is a tool that shaves the wood away to make it flat and smooth. Using a plane and scraper by hand to cover 100’s of square feet of flooring was very labor-intensive. If an abrasive was needed, they had to turn to natural alternatives such as fine sand. Yes, real sand that was poured onto the flooring and rubbed by hand to give it a polished look. Typically, only the wealthy could afford the labor involved to have polished floors whether scraped or sanded.

3) Breathe easier

Homes with wood floors have cleaner air. Carpet traps dust mites, pollen, animal debris, and other allergens. These allergens usually stay trapped in the carpet until it’s cleaned. Unfortunately, walking or rubbing against the carpet causes allergens and dust to be released into the air. Hardwood flooring keeps allergens at bay compared to laminate and tile which commonly get dust caught in grout lines. The fact that hardwood flooring is also easier and quicker to clean itself helps minimize the build-up of dirt and debris.

4) One-of-a-kind

No wood flooring is identical. We acknowledge this beautiful fact about wood so often. No wood plank is the same, not even those cut from the same tree. When browsing wood flooring samples, the sample is marked to warn you it is only a “close” representation of the hardwood. So many factors determine what a piece of wood looks like such as the way it was cut, the environment it grew in, and how old the tree is. The final installed floor will be completely unique, there will not be another floor like it. If completing a DIY flooring project, you have even more control over making hardwood flooring unlike any other!

Woodstock Architectural Products is a certified Kentwood Flooring vendor supplying a wide range of colors and options. We have samples for browsing in our showroom, book an appointment for a project consultation.

Additional source: Home Guides