Does Maple Flooring Darken Over Time

Here s how you can slow prepare for or even use those color changes to your advantage.

Does maple flooring darken over time.

Over months and years an exposed project will darken lighten or change colors depending on the wood. Wood such as brazilian walnut has a large range of color when freshly cut but over time it will turn medium to dark brown. The results have been beautiful. The lightest finish for bird s eye maple one that will contrast nicely with darker woods is colorless avoids the darkening effect you get with most finishes on light woods will not yellow over time and will keep the maple itself from yellowing which occurs when the wood is exposed to air and oxygen.

Not being satisfied with this answer myself i began experimenting with alternate methods of creating stained maple floors. Maple flooring will turn a deeper shade over time and if it is finished with oil based polyurethane then it can react badly to direct sunlight and yellow. It is a challenge for even the most seasoned veteran floor contractor and many floor contractors do not recommend doing it. Compared with hard maple european maple has a lustre all of its own that gives the room a clean airy feel.

Over the past couple of years we have experimented re done mistakes and have been able to produce some very nice stained maple floors that have cherry walnut or dark mahogany colors. Hardwood flooring samples are not newly sawn and will look a lot darker than the flooring you order according to the samples. Light in colour european maple turns golden over time. Staining maple can be done and it can be done very well.

That said many flooring contractors will say they can stain maple and then proceed to do a horrible job. It takes coloured stains easily and is popular because of its wide area of application in interior design and furniture. Secondly a maple floor if properly sanded and conditioned can take a stain and look absolutley stunning picture top left and another stained maple floor below. Like maple cherry gets darker over time.

American cherry darkens to a deep red. It will eventually become the color you ordered so you should consider this when choosing a sample. Maple lighten over time. Everyone should be on the same page about the expectations and what to.

Brazilian cherry darken relatively quickly. Cedar sunlight bleaches out unfinished cedar floors and causes them to darken after a finish is applied. Here s an example of a brand new maple office cabinet below next to a drawer from a much older cabinet above. One thing is for sure good communication with your customer is a must.

Yellow red oak slightly lighter over time. Using water based sealants and taking precautions against sunlight damage can help minimize this.