Ready for a head to head comparison of maple wood and hickory wood flooring? The differences between Maple and Hickory are hard to visually recognize on small room scene photos. The differences are quite apparent and make a great deal of sense when you're up close and personal to them.
Both species, in most grades, have fairly straight grain lines. Unlike the Oak species there will not be a great deal of color variation along the grain in the higher grades. BTW…in most of our comparisons today we will be considering the species in higher grades, say Select and Better, as the unpredictability of the coloration in lower grades makes a comparison difficult. More on that later.
Straight-grained hardwoods allow more flexibility in their usage. I have seen a Select Maple used in contemporary settings as well as traditional homes. And while the grain of the Hickory floor lends itself well to a rustic application, adding a rich color via stain gives that species a warm glow that adds something special to any decor. I think I can honestly say that a Hickory plank hardwood floor with a Saddle color is my favorite look. Then again, who cares what I think?
Table of Contents:
- Understanding the Appeal of Maple Flooring
- Exploring the Rustic Charm of Hickory
- Maple vs Hickory: A Detailed Comparison Table
- Choosing the Perfect Flooring: Some Final Considerations
- FAQs about maple vs hickory
- Conclusion
Let's Get Technical-Maple vs Hickory Hardwood Flooring
Another assumption that I will be making today is that the Maple floors that we are working with is Hard Maple. All Maples are not hard Maples. In the past most of the Maple floors that were on the market with handscraping were of the Red Maple or Silver Maple varieties. While technically being Maple floors, they are much softer, with both being under 1000 on the Janka Hardness Scale. In comparison, a Hard Maple floor will score 1450 on the Janka. Big difference!
Another factoid for you, there is no such species as Hard Maple. That is a marketing term for the harder Maple species like Sugar Maple or Black Maple.
What About Hickory?
Hickory wood is the hardest of the domestic hardwoods that are commonly used for flooring, with a score of 1820. A higher Janka rating isn't the only reason to purchase a beautiful hickory floor, but let cover this pro before we hit the cons..
Why All Of This Talk About Janka Scores?
The Janka Hardness Scale is a tool that is used to compare the hardness rating of different species of popular hardwoods. The density of the lumber that is used to make your hardwood floor will be the most important attribute in the durability of your new flooring. Hard floors are much more difficult to dent than a softer floor. That will result in a lower amount of change in appearance over time, which will further result in keeping the missus’s happiness factor high. Dents and scratches from wear and moving furniture will affect these wood species less than most, but homeowners should be aware of those issues and take steps to protect the look of their wood floors. This is important.
How about Appearance and Style?
In the photos below we see photos of Hard Maple and Hickory hardwood, side by side. Each is graded Select and Better, so they are more easily compared.
As you can see the Maple wood is almost devoid of contrasting color, even in a natural finish. Maple offers a unique look that allows it to be used in applications that other species just don’t fit into. Immediately we think of contemporary-appearing decor but that doesn’t have to be the case. In some homes or businesses the focus is intended to be elsewhere. Maybe the art or the furnishings. If so, a floor should not take on a great deal of personality. When a floor is needed to stand back and be quiet, Maple flooring is an excellent choice.
Hickory can be used in similar applications but will require the highest grading. Think Clear. Or Select and Better with 20% of the most colorful boards culled to be used in closets or bedrooms. Standing back and being quiet is not something that Hickory is known to be good at. However, a high-graded Hickory with a stain is an absolutely gorgeous floor. And while the lack of contrasting colors in such a floor will keep it from being the center of attention, it will certainly be more eye-catching than a natural Maple.
Which Floor Looks Better In A Wide Plank?
Plank floors are certainly more popular in Hickory than they are in Maple. Even Oak or Walnut would be more popular than Maple. The grain pattern of Maple lends itself to a more formal or traditional motif, while the range of color in a Hickory Plank allows a better visual. The traditional floors that favor the Maple tend to prefer the narrow 2 1/4 strip, or even the 3 1/4" width, but seldom utilize the wider planks.
What About the Cost Difference?
Maple and Hickory will cost about the same…alot!
A prefinished first quality 2 ¼” wide solid Maple hardwood floor will run you about $8 a square foot. Wider boards will cost a little more. Finding a prefinished Hickory floor in a high grade will be a bit of a task. The reason for that is that a Hickory floor is much more marketable with a little color. That is why almost all of the prefinished Hickory flooring that you will see will contain lumber that is graded as #1 Common and Better, which includes #1 Common, Select, and Clear. At ReallyCheapFloors.com we offer Bruce’s American Home Hickory floor at an absolute bargain, $2.99 sq ft. And that is a 3 ¼” wide plank floor. The 2 ¼ strip is frequently offered for $2.49 sq ft or less, depending on the manufacturer’s inventory levels.
Most Maple and Hickory floors that are sold in the highest grades are purchased as unfinished wood then sanded and finished onsite. One of the reasons that I would recommend it is so the floor won’t have bevels on the edges of the boards.
Why Do Hardwood Floors Have Bevels?
Hardwood flooring has characteristics about it that allow expansion and contraction. This is not a defect, but how God intended it to be. If the moisture levels rise 1% in a board then that piece of wood could expand as much as 12/1000s of an inch. If all of the boards expanded the same amount and direction a bevel would be unnecessary. But it doesn’t work like that as some boards are quartersawn while most are flat sawn. Because a board will expand along its grain lines that means some boards expand sideways while others get thicker. The result is edges of boards with a variation in height. It is inevitable so we have bevels.
The other reason, and much more common, is the difference in manufacturing tolerances. The old NOFMA rules allow 20/1000 of an inch of overwood from one board to another. To put that in perspective a business card is only 14/1000 of an inch. While that does not seem like much I assure you that an end joint with a square edge that is off 20/1000 is as visible in a room as a mole on a bald man’s head!
That is why we recommend site finishing on Select and Better Maple floors..
What About Lower Grades of Maple and Hickory Hardwood Flooring?
The lower grades are a completely different ballgame. Cabin grade Hickory floors are possibly the most popular flooring choice in the industry. Customers that want Hickory are not interested in anything else, but if the truth were told, Cabin grade Maple looks quite similar to Cabin Hickory. While the Maple will not exhibit the extreme dark tones found in Hickory, it still has alot of contrast, but in softer lines.
Many years ago I bought a truckload of Maple that no one knew how it was graded. I priced it without looking at it and we sold the entire amount to walk in traffic in 2 days. It was a Maple floor made with #2 Common lumber and it was absolutely gorgeous.
One More Option-What About An Oak Hardwood Floor?
Now you are talking about an outlier! While both Red Oak and White Oak are easily the most common wirebrushed hardwood flooring choices in the US, they would not be a viable option compared to the 2 choices that we featured today.
