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Reclaimed Maple Flooring - A Review
Maple Tree
Introducing the Maple
Maple belongs to the Aceraceae family. It grows between 10 and 45 meters in height (30-145 ft) and is often planted as an ornamental tree. The maple is of course famous because of the syrup that can be made from the tree which has become nearly synonymous with Canada. Maple was popular hardwood in North America to make sports floors and floors for historic and public buildings. Antique maple flooring or reclaimed maple flooring is available from many suppliers in North America.
There are a number of maple tree varieties. The most popular for making flooring are sugar maple (which is often called ‘hard maple’ or ‘rock maple’), Sycamore maple (in Europe) and Brazilian maple. In North America the best maples for flooring come from above the 38th parallel where the shorter seasons produce maples with closer, more uniform grain.
Red Reclaimed Maple Flooring
The Grain, Color and Birdseye Maple
The grain of maple is one of the key reasons for its popularity for a
flooring material. The grain is distinctive and subtle. The heartwood of
maple varies from blond to a pale reddish color. The lighter maple
flooring makes a room look bigger and lighter. When choosing reclaimed
maple flooring it is important to remember that maple doesn’t stain
well, so don’t be tempted to buy cheap reclaimed maple flooring thinking
that you can later stain it to a color of your choice.
Birdseye Maple is not a specific type of maple tree; rather it is an
effect that can be found in all maple varieties and in other hardwoods.
Birdseye maple refers to maple with a wavy grain and eye-like markings.
It looks like tiny swirling eyes in the grain. Scientists are unsure how
the Birdseye pattern is made. Birdseye maple is used in the dashboard
of a Rolls Royce. New or reclaimed Birdseye maple is very expensive. If
you have Birdseye maple flooring in your house don’t throw it away
thinking it is without value.
Blond Reclaimed Maple Flooring
Reclaimed Maple and Antique Maple Flooring
Much of the reclaimed maple in America was originally used as flooring
and so it is often called antique maple flooring. It is rare to find
maple used as beams. Maple is often salvaged from schools, gyms, public
buildings and warehouses. Because reclaimed maple is often taken from a
flooring situation it is often possible to find antique maple flooring
that has few dents, scratches and holes. This obviously depends on how
carefully the maple flooring was removed; but for those people looking
for a less rustic type of reclaimed hardwood flooring, reclaimed maple
may be an ideal choice.
Beware that the high sugar content of maple makes it unsuitable for hot
and humid climates where termites are attracted to the sugar.
The advantage of reclaimed maple flooring is that it makes strong and
durable hardwood flooring. Maple flooring has a Janka Hardness rating of
1,450 pounds force, making it harder than oak. Many gym floors and
bowling alleys use maple. The reason for this being that maple provides
excellent traction for athletes and bowlers alike; and of course maple
is hard enough to withstand the punishment of sporting events.
When looking to buy reclaimed maple flooring look around and get a few
quotes. The price of reclaimed and antique maple varies greatly. It is
often one of the more expensive types of reclaimed hardwood flooring. A
good place to start is to find a good directory of reclaimed hardwood
suppliers on the internet.
More Hubs and Blogs About Reclaimed Flooring, Sustainable Flooring and Trees
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Oak trees are become rarer and rarer. Because trees of the quercus genus are so useful, beautiful and strong they are too prized. Oak trees are being rapidly depleted around the world because oak is such a prized timber. - Review of Reclaimed Ash Flooring
The ash tree or fraxinus is in the same genus or family as olive and lilac trees. Ash timber is popular because it has a distinctive light color, a long grain and it has an elastic quality. - Cherry Trees and Reclaimed Cherry Flooring
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Strand woven bamboo flooring and coconut flooring are both made from renewable resources and so both are examples of sustainable flooring. These two types of environmentally friendly flooring share several properties. - A Comparison between Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring and Cork Flooring
Both strand woven bamboo flooring and cork flooring are sustainable flooring types because they are made from renewable resources. This post will compare these two types of flooring. - Before You Buy a Hardwood Floor Consider This
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All about bamboo and bamboo flooring. - About Cork Bark and Cork Flooring
Cork has been used since ancient times. It is an incredibly versatile material that man has been using for millennia. As far back as 2500 BC the ancient Egyptians were using cork for fishing floats. - Buy Cork Flooring
Cork is perhaps the most environmentally friendly flooring type available for purchase. Cork like bamboo, rattan, jute, hemp and water hyacinth is made from a renewable resource. - Cleaning Cork Flooring
Cork flooring is very popular now in not only Europe but also in America, Canada and Australia. However, cork flooring is still a relatively new idea to many people living outside of Southern Europe. - Suberin in Cork Flooring
Cork is a renewable resource that makes excellent flooring. One of the reasons that cork is a good material for flooring is that it contains suberin. This post will look at some properties that suberin gives to cork flooring. - Cork Blog
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All about sustainable flooring.