Maple hardwood floors: WARNED about gaps & buckling

Posted by on August 21, 2009, 2:57 pm

> One of the contractors, whom I think is honest, is warning me again
> using Maple for my hardwood floors. =A0He says that he's see no end of
> expansion in the summer and contraction in the winter issues.
> Basically, large gaps in winter. =A0And if put in during the winter:
> significant buckling during the summer. =A0"except if you use
> 'engineered maple' which is a thin veneer which only allows
> refinishing once".
> I have no idea. =A0Can anyone shed any light on this?
> THANKS!!!!!!!!

I put down 3000 sq feet a few years ago. The 2 1/4 inch wide stuff
is great. However, the 4 inch stuff does expand and contract with the
season. No buckling, just compression that makes each board thicker
at the edges than at the center (Poisson effect). It looks bad when
you view it from the side when light comes in along the board
length. When viewed from straight down it looks and feels ok. I did
leave expansion room at the edges, but the rooms are too wide. In
addition, it can't expand because the staples hold each board in
place. It can't buckle because the staples hold it down. It's really
a shame because I acclimated the wood before putting it down and I
put 30# felt paper under it as a vapor barrier. Any ideas? Will
it ever stop?

Len

Len

Posted by Angela Sekeris on August 21, 2009, 5:38 pm

Do you have any access to birch flooring? Looks a lot like maple, is
usually cheaper and my experience somewhat more stable than maple.
There are literally thousands upon thousands of homes around here with
birch floors. (Great Lakes area where we know a bit about humidity,
although nothing compared to some of the Gulf-bordering states.)

Posted by Thomas G. Marshall on August 21, 2009, 5:46 pm

> > One of the contractors, whom I think is honest, is warning me again
> > using Maple for my hardwood floors. =A0He says that he's see no end of
> > expansion in the summer and contraction in the winter issues.
> > Basically, large gaps in winter. =A0And if put in during the winter:
> > significant buckling during the summer. =A0"except if you use
> > 'engineered maple' which is a thin veneer which only allows
> > refinishing once".
> > I have no idea. =A0Can anyone shed any light on this?
> > THANKS!!!!!!!!

> Do you have any access to birch flooring? Looks a lot like maple, is
> usually cheaper and my experience somewhat more stable than maple.
> There are literally thousands upon thousands of homes around here with
> birch floors. (Great Lakes area where we know a bit about humidity,
> although nothing compared to some of the Gulf-bordering states.)

"A bit more stable" ? Do you have any (at all) of the buckling/gap
results with birch?

The contractor is suggesting oak, but that's just a look I am deathly
tired of.

Posted by =?ISO-8859-1?Q?=22=3C=3C=3C=5F on August 21, 2009, 8:03 pm

>>> One of the contractors, whom I think is honest, is warning me again
>>> using Maple for my hardwood floors. He says that he's see no end of
>>> expansion in the summer and contraction in the winter issues.
>>>
>>> Basically, large gaps in winter. And if put in during the winter:
>>> significant buckling during the summer. "except if you use
>>> 'engineered maple' which is a thin veneer which only allows
>>> refinishing once".
>>>

Your contractor might be honest .. but wrong. I grew up in a house in
Chicago that my Grandfather built in 1911, and the Maple floors in there
look as good today as ever. They have been sanded & refinished once
that I know of. Get an installer that knows his stuff .. sounds like
your contractor is unskiilled.uninformed with respect to this topic.

Posted by Luigi Zanasi on August 22, 2009, 3:05 pm

> T

> >>> One of the contractors, whom I think is honest, is warning me again
> >>> using Maple for my hardwood floors. =A0He says that he's see no end o=

> >>> expansion in the summer and contraction in the winter issues.
> >>> Basically, large gaps in winter. =A0And if put in during the winter:
> >>> significant buckling during the summer. =A0"except if you use
> >>> 'engineered maple' which is a thin veneer which only allows
> >>> refinishing once".

> Your contractor might be honest .. but wrong. =A0 I grew up in a house in
> Chicago that my Grandfather built in 1911, and the Maple floors in there
> look as good today as ever. =A0 They have been sanded & refinished once
> that I know of. =A0 Get an installer that knows his stuff .. sounds like
> your contractor is unskiilled.uninformed with respect to this topic.

And I grew up in a house in Montreal that my grandfather built in
1930. My cousin lives there now. Maple floors are as good as ever, &
they have been sanded and redone a number of times.

Luigi

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