Overall, white oak is the best choice for projects that call for water-resistant, decay resistant wood. Oak offers more options as far as grain pattern, and will provide a richer look when used as cabinetry or flooring. Maple is lighter, more affordable, and works well in contemporary spaces and for indoor projects.
Maple is among the harder wood species, with a 1450 rating on the Janka wood hardness chart. As one of the densest wood species, Maple is ideal for high-traffic areas. Oak is slightly less hard – White Oak has a 1360 rating and Red Oak a 1290 rating.
Moderate price – A mid-priced hardwood, maple is typically less expensive than oak, cherry, and walnut, but more expensive than birch, hickory, and alder.
Maple Flooring Pros and Cons
Maple flooring is best suited for contemporary spaces due to its light natural finish and clean surface. Its subtle grain pattern makes it a great choice for large, open spaces that need consistency. Maple wood is harder than oak, but not as stable.
Maple is slightly less expensive than oak, with an average price of $7 to $11 per square foot for materials and installation. In some cases, you could pay $15 or more per square foot.
1. Australian Buloke – 5,060 IBF. An ironwood tree that is native to Australia, this wood comes from a species of tree occurring across most of Eastern and Southern Australia. Known as the hardest wood in the world, this particular type has a Janka hardness of 5,060 lbf.
Maple leaves are broad at the base and have delicate, horizontal offshoots. Their stems and leaves are much softer to the touch than oak's foliage, and can be easily torn. Branches of an oak tree are gnarled and often look like they have been badly abused. Maples tend to have consistent and organized growth.
Oak is remarkably resistant to fungal and insect attacks. What this means for you is less money spent on repairs and damage to your floors. Oak has been used as a sign of opulence in the past due to its attractiveness and still has a prestigious flair due to this distinction.
Oak Flooring will scratch. Wood Flooring will scratch. Being a natural product there is truly no way of getting away from this fact. Scratches however need not necessarily be looked at as a bad thing with wooden flooring.
Scratches easily – Whilst it is extremely hardwearing maple is prone to scratching. It needs to be treated with a protective coat if being used in areas where it will experience heavy footfall.
Is maple a good choice for cabinets? Because of its soft grain, maple works well with both Traditional and Contemporary designs. And because it's hard and durable, your maple cabinets should last for years. Natural woods are very popular at the moment, and there's a good reason why maple leads the list.
Walnut is a softer wood than Maple. The benefit of this is that a knife will be much less likely to dull when using this wood, but there is a tradeoff since the softer wood is easier to scratch or dent. Its medium to large pores offer some resistance to bacteria and moisture but not as much as Maple.
As you may have guessed by now, maple wood is strong! In fact, maple wood is second in hardness only to hickory wood. This makes it a natural choice for many, many different types of flooring. Maple is the second most popular choice for hardwood floors in the United States, just behind Oak.
Yes, Maple stain well. But staining maple is difficult without blotches because of its dense and tight grain structure. Stains don't soak into the maple mostly and absorb stain unevenly. Therefore, achieving a uniform stain on maple is a problem for even experienced finishes since it's a tightly pored wood.
Maple wood is not the cheapest wood on the market, but it is much less expensive than cherry.
It is harder to work with tools than the softer woods. The wood is heavy,2 strong, stiff, hard, has a high resistance to shock, and ranks high in nail-holding ability.
Softwoods such as pine, spruce or fir are more likely to scratch with normal use, so they are better suited to areas of your home that don't get a lot of traffic, such as a bedroom. Hardwoods such as oak, maple or birch are denser, so they resist scratches better than softwoods.
Selecting a floor such as Hickory, Hard Maple or White Oak can protect your floor from damage, as these hardwoods are less susceptible to scratches than softer woods like Pine, Cherry or Black Walnut. Hardwoods with more dramatic grain patterns can help to hide scratches more easily.
Typically, engineered forms of ash, oak, and other woods last 25 to 30 years if high-quality and installed properly before needing replacement.
Consider Wood Types
In North America, oak is the king of hardwood flooring for good reason. “It's a very durable wood that takes stain very well,” says Jones. It also has an appealing natural grain and is widely available across the region, leading to reasonable prices.
Walnut is rated at a 1010 on the Janka Hardness Scale. European Oak is a 1360 on the same scale. This means that Oak is more durable than Walnut and will stand up better against constant use and daily wear and tear. Walnut isn't the best flooring choice for high-traffic areas of the home.
It has a hardness rating of 1320. Oak: Oak is still rated hard, even though it ranks lower than some other hardwoods (1290). Because it's readily available in North America and a lower-cost option than some other hardwood options, it's a popular choice for building.
Both oak and pine are durable. While oak has an advantage in the strength department, pine does offer strength and stiffness that makes it a solid choice. Both types of wood are susceptible to damage from extensive exposure to moisture, heat and UV rays.