Maple Hardwood Flooring

We just purchased a large amount of tounge & groove maple flooring. It came out of a recreation center. The strips are about 2 1/2 inches wide. My husband can run the strips through a planer to remove the old finish on the top. The problem is the edges. He has tried to remove the old adhesive and what ever else is on the edge. He has tried chisles but it dulls them quickly. Any help you can give us would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Kathy

First of all, good for you for buying rec center flooring. What a great way to be gentle on the earth!

You have me on this one. I don't know if a router could work to "plane" the adhesive off without damaging the tongue and groove elements. Trying to do this "quick and easy" is appealing, but it may take more of a hands-on approach. I'm just hoping that the chemicals you may need to use aren't environmentally damaging -- hurting both people and the earth.

My recommendation for dissolving the adhesive is to use an citrus-based product. They tend to be environmentally safe and effective at the same time. Just be careful to dispose of the dissolved adhesive in such a way as to not harm the environment.

how much should you pay for used bowling alley flooring???

The price is dependent on so many things there's no real way to know. Where the flooring came from, how much of it there is, the condition of the flooring, and how long it's been for sale are some of the factors impacting the price.

What can you do about crayon or marker stains on maple hardwoods?

Very gingerly apply, directly on the stains, a solvent like a touch of WD40 or GOOF-OFF applied to a rag or Q-tip. Dab carefully. When the stains are either gone or light enough to make you content, wash the area with water to remove the solvent.

Hi! I'd love to find some reclaimed maple wood flooring. Any ideas. I need about 2,000-3,000sf of it. The older and more tattered ... the better!!

I'm renovating a NYC apartment and want approximately 1400 sq ft reclaimed maple flooring. Any ideas? Thanks!!

You should be able to find several sources near NYC that offers reclaimed maple flooring. Look in the paper and phone book for recycled construction materials and flooring. Consider asking local flooring finishers if they have any resources.

A friend of mine used recycled flooring for her home and found it to be a bit more expensive because she had to have it milled to make it usable. But she was very satisfied with the results.

Send pictures when you get it done. We'd love to see how wonderful reclaimed maple flooring looks.

I work in the Accounting department for an environmental consulting/remediation firm in Illinois. We recently demolished a school in Illinois and reclaimed 15,000 square feet of beautiful maple wood flooring. Flooring of this quality did not deserve to end up in a landfill. Again I work in accounting so marketing is not my thing but I would love to see this flooring have a new life for someone. Would you have suggestions on how to get the word out about this beautiful flooring?

Thank you for your time.

Shelly,
Where in Illinois is the flooring located? Any more info about the flooring would be great. Thanks.

Would someone you know be interested in almost 60,000 sq ft of 110 year old maple flooring?

looking to sell to distributor to have it reclaimed

had water damage to some Robbins hardrock maple gym flooring from the 70's +/-. looking for about 1500 to 3000 sf, 2.25" wide, stapled & T/G install method. need it in AZ. appreciate any replies/leads.

Thanks

Hi, I am a resident in Malaysia and I would like to get install MAPLE as my masterbedroom flooring. But most of the supplier in Malaysia advice is that it will not be suitable as it is not hard enough and most of all , terminte will attack the maple flooring. Even though, there is no supplier is offering maple type flooring but only for wall installation. Can you help me?

Vivian, I too have heard that wood furniture and floors aren't ideal for humid climates. But I've seen wonderful wood furniture come from humid climates without seeming to have a problem. Your flooring guy is right that maple isn't the hardest wood out there, but I don't know if you want or need the hardest wood available.

You and I have opposite problems with our floors: you need a product that can handle the high humidity and I need one that handles low humidity. I think acclimating the product to its new home is the big key to success in any climate.

In my opinion, maple is a lovely hard wood. Bedrooms tend to be low wear-and-tear spaces so even a softwood could survive there. What does your flooring guy recommend?

One thing I'd recommend for any floor there is to install a vapor/moisture barrier to keep ground moisture from coming into the house. Moisture is a big problem for most flooring products.

Termites are another issue. I don't have to worry much about those guys where I live so don't have personal experience with them. I'm sure there are ways of protecting your home from them. I've watched my in-laws deal with termites so know there are solutions -- both chemical and preventative measures.

I would love to hear what your floor guy recommends. You can't be the only person in Malaysia wanting maple flooring. :~)

I recently started renovating an old house that I bought. The hardwood flooring is a darker colored birds eye maple flooring. What do you think this might be worth?

Hi Ethel,
I don't have a clue. The price would vary in different regions of the country, and isn't something that this site covers. Nice find though!

We are looking to purchase 5000 sq feet of reclaimed gym hardwood flooring asap to install in the gym of our National Training Centre (Table Tennis Canada). Any idea where I can find this in Canada? We are a non-profit org and are looking for an inexpensive solution...please advise if anyone knows...thanks!

Hi Melanie,

I don't know of any place to purchase what you need myself. This site is designed to help others with flooring issues, not to refer them to flooring dealers. Sorry. :~(

I think it would be great if there was a way for someone to contact the people leaving comments on this page. Some of these people have flooring and others are looking for it but they have no way to connect.

Hi Eric,
For some people, that would be great, but not what this site was designed for. There's sites (like Craigslist) for this. Thanks for dropping by!

I am looking for 25-30 board FT. of maple flooring. I need to make some butcher blocks for the wife and in-laws.

Hello Juan,
You should be able to find some locally very easily. Start by finding out if there are any lumber yards in your area.

I have recently been searching for hardwood and i have located a place that carries unfinished hard maple, red oak, white oak and hickory for .99 sgft. Which one would be the best to give me cherry finishes?

Charity,

I would choose the Maple or Red Oak as they have a finer grain. I personally like my cherry flooring to have a nice fine grain.

Have you asked the people selling the wood their opinion as they might have a cherry product that falls within your budget!

I'm thinking of buying 500sq ft of maple flooring reclaimed from a gym, but I'm concerned about how difficult it will be to install. The wood is cheap, butI don't want to end up spending way more on installing it. Any thoughts on how difficult it is to refinish and install a reclaimed gym floor?

Hi Jill,

A friend of mine purchased recycled flooring and she shared her experience with me. She did have the flooring milled before installation and refinished after installation. It was a bit more expensive up front although the trees she saved made it an awesome way to recycle and worth the extra effort. I hope that helps as that's the only experience I have with re-purposing gym flooring.

We have recently purchased a new home and had 4" maple floors installed in the kitchen and dining room. The floor squeaks terribly throughout both rooms. The sound appears to be generated on the "groove" side of the boards. The "tongue" side, when pressed - makes no noise, the other side does. When a sqeaking area is located, you can watch the board flex underneath your foot. The builder and floor manufacturer both say it is not an issue that maple floors can do this. The subfloor and hardwood have both been moisture tested and appear to be OK. Should a 4" plank Maple floor squeak with every step?

Can't decide between red oak and maple. I don't want too much grain (as some oaks seem to have), but sometimes maple looks too boring, as it has virtually no grain. Also, would scratches be more noticable on maple?

Mike,

Usually squeaks in floorboards mean they have loosened and the boards begin to move against each, squeaking, when pressure is applied. Some use nails or screws to help offset the squeaks. I would contact the installer and inquire if they could come take a look at the boards in question and inquire how they would lessen the squeaks if your floor is still under warranty.

Mike, another thought about your squeaking floors is that either the subfloor is flexing (because it's not supported well and needs more bracing) ar because the subfloor isn't level (a problem I have at my house). Since you didn't say whether the boards are nailed/stapled or cliked it's hard to know how the installation itself might be at fault.

How can you tell which the tongue or groove side is, given they nestle. I mean, aren't both sides of the installed board actually tongue and groove?

hi i have a maple floor in my living room which was reclaimed from liverpool museum,i have had it down for 6 yrs but recently had a wall knocked through in my room,we took the flooring up to patch in where exsisting wall was,i now need about a mtr and half of flooring to replace in the corner of my room where we took it up from,any ideas where i could get it from

Janet,

Maple no grain!? No, say it isn't so. Maple can have a leather type grain if the stain is on the darker side, the look it gives is quite luxurious. Hard maple is extremely durable and as for showing scratches sadly most floors will show them if they are deep and cut through the finish and the stain.

Georgia,

I bet the floors are beautiful! Myself, I would go to my local flooring store and see if I could match it up the best I could!