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 Players pool cue stick wine colored birds eye maple with case $44.99 Time Remaining: 4d 19h 45m |
Stairs: Hard Maple vs Soft Maple
I find the term "Maple" as a singular term to be very misleading in the stair material and millwork industry. Soft maple and hard maple are two diffrernert wood species. Soft maple will have mineral streaks and is often gray in color. Hard maple is much more dense and white. Most importantly, the two do not stain up the same and look much different when only a clear coat is applied. Be it a baseboard moulding against a maple floor or a maple stair fitting attached to a section of maple handrail, they will not match.
The local big box home centers in my home town sells soft maple as "maple." I must say, anger will be in the air for their customers who are trying to match a beautiful hard maple staircase and hard maple flooring, with soft maple materials when they see the finished product installed. Most people just don't know. They think maple is maple. It is not.
Bottom line is: Soft Maple is a fine product, I do not dislike soft maple. While it is not the quality is better with hard maple in terms of color and durability, soft maple works well for a more rustic look in stairs, flooring and millwork products. Soft maple also works well for those looking to stay away from the grain of oak and looking to stay within a budget. I would just make sure all products in the home are soft maple. I would not not mix soft maple and hard maple, they just look different when they are finished. In the same breath, I did have a comment last week from a woman in California who was way over budget on a project who used a soft maple box newel and soft maple handrail trying to match a hickory hardwood floor as best as possible, and she said it worked out great. That is the one nice thing about soft maple, it is inexpensive and does not have the in your face grain of oak. For more info on soft maple vs soft maple, visit http://www.stairparts.net
About the Author
Dale Mitchell
Custom Hardwoods, LLC
Maple Colors ep.2 Anime Edited version part 1 out of 2