With its natural beauty and strength, maple design vinyl flooring is the ideal choice for homeowners looking to enhance style and resilience to the property.
Available in various species, maple hardwood is famous for its light-colored, smooth, stylish look and little grain. However, as with any hardwood vinyl flooring, maple has advantages and disadvantages. That’s why it is essential to consider certain factors when deciding if it is suitable for you before investing.
Let’s have a look.
Maple Hardwood Flooring – advantages and disadvantages
Of all hardwood vinyl flooring choices, maple is one of the most popular among homeowners. Mainly because you can as either solid or engineered flooring planks. Let’s look at its advantages and disadvantages to decide if it’s the best flooring choice for your home.
Advantages Of Maple Hardwood Flooring
Great Appearance
Maple hardwood’s beauty is undeniable. Maple design vinyl flooring comes in a range of warm colors, including neutral beiges, brown, red, and chromatic grays. These colors compliment almost all home decor color schemes. If you need a darker floor, it can be stained or dyed. Maple flooring has less grain than other wood varieties, which accounts for its smooth, clean appearance. Maple flooring is an excellent option if you want to have your space a subtle style reminiscent of European charm.
Easy to Clean and Maintain
Maple flooring requires regular sweeping and weekly mopping with a mild soap key to keep it in good shape. To maintain its luster, buff it every two years.
Superior Hardness
Maple is one of the most complex varieties of wood. On the Janka hardness scale, hard maple is 1450 lbs while red oak is 1290 lbs which means it is more durable than oak and does not dent easily. That’s why maple hardwood flooring is best in public spaces like bowling alleys. It can deal with pounding bowling balls and gymnasiums floors, have heavy foot traffic.
Enhanced Indoor Air Quality
The maple design vinyl flooring is naturally dust resistant which helps control airborne contaminants and allergens that could harm your health.
Consistent Grains
Maple flooring’s subtle graining comprises fewer imperfections than other hardwoods, ensuing in a cleaner, more homogeneous look.
Eco-Friendly
Maple’s abundance in U.S and Canada and its short growing period make it a more environmentally friendly option, walnut or cherry, which grow slower.
Affordability
Besides having a symbolic significance, maple is also economically significant. Its varied availability makes it an affordable vinyl flooring option. There are several types and grades available, so select the best suits your requirements and budget.
Disadvantages Of Maple Vinyl Flooring
Prone to Scratches and Marks
As maple flooring has a naturally light color and fewer grains than other hardwoods, scrapes and marks are visible on its smooth surface. If you have pets, you can be careful about this issue as their claws will leave scratches visible over time. The same applies to children playing with hard plastic toys. You may need to refinish it to keep it looking attractive frequently.
Difficult to Stain
Since maple design vinyl flooring has a tight grain, it does not always absorb stain well, top to uneven patches. An excess color may immerse in areas with a more open grain, resultant in dark spots. It is a problem if you’re considering installing light-colored maple. In that circumstance, instead of staining, select a high-grade maple, which is primarily white. Dye functions better to darken maple. Staining and dying are difficult jobs best left to a flooring expert.
Sensitive to Humidity and Heat
Like most hardwood flooring varieties, maple design vinyl flooring is sensitive to extreme humidity and temperature variations. If summer humidity is a subject in your home, this wood is unsuitable as it can expand, contract, bend, and split. A dehumidifier keeps humidity levels in check beneath the flooring in summer. You can run a humidifier through dry winter days to avoid boards or planks from shifting and shrinking.
Fades Over Time
Suppose one specific part of a maple floor is visible to direct sunlight every day. As with any light-color hardwood, constant contact with light can yellow maple flooring over time. It can fade faster, resulting in a dual-tone effect.
Maple, like most hardwoods, enhances beauty, style, and value to any home. It has its risks and benefits. Consider these flooring when selecting maple hardwood floors.
