Maple hardwood floor is not all maple is famous for. Maple has been used along the years for anything from footwear to syrup and from soap to weaponry. Maple wood is naturally beautiful one does not have to modify it to achieve extra beauty. It has qualities such as, durability, shock absorbance, flexibility, resilience and very important low maintenance.
Maple hardwood floor fact
Approximately 60% of all U.S. sports floors are made out of maple wood. They are great for any type of sport from basket ball to aerobics. More and more schools and colleges adopt the maple hardwood floors each year due to their impeccable reputation.
Maple is strong and durable amongst the hardest of the hardwoods: 12% harder then red oak and 7% harder then white oak. It is close grained, hard fibered, free from slivering and splintering with a great polish under friction, offering a wide range of uses and colors.
Maple floor have an unusual ability to resist pointed pressure without any abrasion. That is yet another reason why so many sports center use it as their first choice in floor material.
In 1997 (the most recent record) 44.5 million square feet of sports flooring of all types were installed all over the U.S. 23 million square feet were out of maple hardwood.
Another interesting floor and maple hardwood floor facts
A study conducted in 1993 and 1994 for the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (established in 1897) compared costs between maple flooring, PVC and poured urethane floors. Based on a 38 year life span, the study concluded that life cycle costs of maple flooring is 42% lower than that of PVC and 40% lower than that of poured urethane floors.
Things to specify when looking for hardwood floors:
- Specify a sub floor system that matches the primary activity of the floor.
- Specify pre-installation moisture content of wood flooring.
- Specify pre-installation conditions of the room such as: constant weather and humidity, weather tightness.
- Specify pre-installation concrete slab tolerances.
Grades of maple flooring
There are several grades of maple flooring available:
- First grade maple floor is characterized by practically defect free face. Providing long life and durability.
- Second grade maple floor provides the same long life but will have slight imperfections and knots on the face.
- Third grade maple floor carries the same durability and life but it has a wide variation in color and texture due to the wide variation of grains and growth marks.
Maple hardwood floors are not only great looking but it is a wise and long term investment which you will not regret.
