Hello,

I need 3/4'' hardwood, hand scraped to be specific. Does anyone have any recommendations on any good brands, good wood species and a reputable website or store I can purchase from?

Thanks in advance.....

Try http://www.hoskinghardwood.com/. I'm doing my whole house and have purchased all my flooring from them. Family owned business. Very responsive to installation type questions. I ordered from them over the internet and have had no problems. They are located in Attleboro, MA and have a couple of retail stores which are more expensive than buying over the internet as the store employees work on commission. Don't know where you live but they ship and also do local delivery. I'm installing 3/4" X 2 1/4" t&g prefinished red oak manufactured by Muskoka. I don't know if they have a hand scraped line.

This is a touchy, Hoskings is reputable but I still would want to see it in my hand before I pulled the trigger. Pictures of floors are very difficult to get accurate representations of what you are buying. Id find a local reputable dealer and make sure im ordering the right kind of floor for my house. there is a lot more to having a floor that provides a lifetime of service than just color and price.

Thank you. Are there any brands that you guys would recommend? I live in Southern NJ, right outside of Philly.

I agree with seeing it in person. I did take a trip to a Hosking retail store to touch and feel the product. I would not have bought it just by looking at a picture.

Spend some time surfing the internet. The better brand names will keep bubbling to the top of the list. I'm a DIYer and didn't have a clue so I spent a lot of time researching. The only thing we were sure of was that we wanted prefinished Oak. The downside to pre-finished hardwood flooring is the bevel on the edges. I went with Muskoka as they supposedly have the smallest micro bevel in the industry and I found only positive reviews concerning the finish and milling tolerances. If you want a good education get Charley Peterson's book. He does a great job of explaining everything about wood flooring.

What is the big deal about beveled edges? I see some hanscraped models with beveled edges/ ends and some have micro beveled edges/ends. Is one better than the other? What exactly does it mean to have beveled edges?

A bevel on the edges/ends mean that the sharp edges of the floor boards have been removed. The size of the bevel determines how much of the edge is removed. The bevel helps to alleviate the problem of over-wood which happens when the sub-floor isn't perfectly flat or the thickness of the abutting floor boards is different due to milling tolerances. In these situations there would be a sharp edge to cut a bare foot or snag a sock. The bevel is a good place for dirt to accumulate. Also, some don't like the look of the bevels or the fact that you can see every board. An unfinished floor can be sanded to remove all over-wood and make it 'perfectly' flat before applying a finish. The smaller the bevel the closer a pre-finished floor will look to a site finished floor. From my research I found at least one manufacturer that makes an engineered prefinished floor that has a square non-beveled edge. Also, you should be able to have samples of the products mailed to you so you can see exactly what you'll be getting. Retail stores will also have display samples that they might loan you to take home.