Maple flooring?
Are there any particularly issues around Maple as a floor choice (vs. Oak for example)? (WIll be for a rental..) Many thanks! Catherine
greencat
in Flooring 13 years and 5 months ago
4
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4 replies
fexleycb | 13 years and 5 months ago
I used maple in my rental unit and quartersawn white oak for my parlor floor including the kitchen. In my experience the maple reacts a lot more to humidity levels in the house. In the winter wide gaps open up between the boards because its so dry. They close up completely in the summer. This happens with the oak somewhat but not nearly as much as with the maple. The oak is much more stable in this regard. The difference is quite dramatic. For this reason I would not choose maple again – unless it was very old salvaged flooring. I stained my oak flooring with Mohawk Van Dyke Brown stain and it looks fantastic.
brokelin | 13 years and 5 months ago
Maple doesn’t take dark stain well, but an experienced woodworker, applying the right sort of stain, can darken it a bit. I have two pieces of maple furniture stained to look like a very light natural cherry. One is a bed made by pacific rim made from maple common on the west coast…which is called big leaf or long leaf maple, I forget which, or perhaps called by both names…it is softer than east coast maple, and so takes stain better…that is, absorbs more to color more deeply. pacific rim furniture is usually finished without stain, but they used to ship pieces unfinished to a store in soho, no longer there, that would stain them the color you wanted…looks great. I also have some nightstands I had made, to go with the bed, made of east coast maple, which I believe is called rock maple often, though I am not sure if all east coast maple is rock maple, I think not…anyway, the east coast maple pieces I have are much harder than the west coast stuff, which although denser than pine can also be dented with a fingernail…the harder east coast stuff, which does not dent, did absorb less stain, but it did absorb enough to look good, matching the lighter areas of the bed. so, I guess it depends on what variety of maple the flooring is made from, as to whether it is really harder and longer wearing. I would start finding out about the various types of maple flooring comes in, and their density relative to other woods. either way, it can be stained to look good in the right hands….though I cannot say if the grade of wood used for floorboards is the same as that used for furniture…I would find out. the grain is lovely, and a light stain in a reddish tone…my stains were called mahogany and fruitwood, respectively…giving the look of new, not yet darkened much natural cherry, shows off the grain to nicer effect than unstained, in my opinion. good luck if you go with it.
daveinbedstuy | 13 years and 5 months ago
Maple is very hard and durable. I’ve used it. It doesn’t take stain well so you have to be satisfied with the natural color. And yes, it is much more expensive than oak.
stevecym | 13 years and 5 months ago
If this is for a rental, you may wish to choose oak. it is much cheaper than maple. Steve