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Design Dilemma
finemd

Feedback on walnut and maple floors, esp. Mirage Engineered wood

Alana Fine
7 years ago

We love the Mirage Engineered Walnut and Maple wood floors but were warned against it by a floor salesman who said 1.) it would be worn out in 5 years in our kitchen 2.) it is hard to find people to sand and stain maple 3.) gook and things get stuck in the crevices of the panels and between the panels. I am wondering if anyone has experience with this or any suggestions for us of wood flooring you are happy with.

Featured Answer
  • PRO
    Sabrina Alfin Interiors
    7 years ago

    You'll have to weigh the pros and cons. The benefit to using pre-finished, engineered wood flooring is that it takes less time to install, and it doesn't need to be finished (which means lower labor costs overall). Another plus is that single boards can be replaced easily, if necessary. (FYI, if you go this route, consider getting an extra box of material for just this reason so it matches the existing floor.) The downside is, if you plan to have the flooring for many years, it will only take one or two sandings/re-finishes before the flooring has to be replaced entirely.

    So I think the better question to ask is, how long will you be living in this home? If it's longer than 10 years, I'd consider real hardwood. Might be a bit more expensive upfront, but it will last longer and can be refinished several times.

    Comments (7)

    • Alana Fine
      Original Author
      7 years ago

      Thank you. We love the walnut and maple but now think that we need to go with oak so the floor is more hardy.

    • PRO
      Patricia Colwell Consulting
      7 years ago

      Maple is hardy walnut much less so but to combine them makes no sense to me

      Alana Fine thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
    • PRO
      Oak & Broad
      7 years ago

      Maple can be very challenging to stain on site. It will sometimes look blotchy. Most of your Black Walnut floors will be finished with a matte or oiled finish. It helps to hide any marks on the floor.

      Black Walnut Flooring for Deland Custom Home · More Info

      Alana Fine thanked Oak & Broad
    • PRO
      Chicago Flooring Innovations
      7 years ago

      many contractors prefer to stay away from sanding maple, but maple can be stained and finished nevertheless.

      walnut it's a softer wood, indeed.

      The fact that he "warned" you about things getting stuck between boards it's a red flag to me, because that's not true. He either doesn't know the product or is using boogie man stories to steer you towards something he's likely to make more money on.

      Here is the proof, Mirage is the real deal.

      We've installed the original Mirage flooring back in 2008 at the Trump Tower in Chicago. A while ago there was a bad water damage in the building and in multiple units the floors got completely replaced (more than 10). Not even one owner chose to switch to a different brand!!!

      Also, we replace individual boards quite often due to dents, scratches etc. (which, by the way, is the biggest advantage you'll get from installing a prefinished floor over a site finished one) and as a result of it get to walk through many units in that building and I can tell you that after 8 years these floors look great, showing no signs that they'd need replaced or even sanded anytime soon (not for at least another 20 years).

      So, I have to respectfully disagree with the final point made by Sabrina.

      It is my honest believe that unless there is a major flood in the home (something neither hardwood nor engineered can sustain), Mirage floors will outlive their owners.

      The only Mirage I do not recommend is their "lock" lines because there are better brands making click in engineered floors and their birch face floors because birch it's too soft to my liking.

      But their tongue & groove floors are some of the best in the industry and overall will perform better than hardwood (including their hardwood, just so no one will think I'm just pushing Mirage), any day.

      And, for what it's worth, if I did flooring in my own home tomorrow, even if I decided to stay in that home forever, I'd install a 5/8 or thicker engineered floor, instead of hardwood. It is, in my honest opinion, the superior option.

    • PRO
      Chicago Flooring Innovations
      7 years ago
      last modified: 7 years ago

      As far as recommendations go, if you could let us know what is the existing subfloor, what kind of humidity control there is in the home, what part of the country do you live in and last, but not least, what's your overall budget per square foot for this project, we'd probably be able to better help you in that regard.

      But, if you want just an opinion on maple vs walnut, personally, I'd suggest that you go for unfinished Rift and quarter white oak (not necessarily hardwood could be engineered too but, in this case, hardwood is a good option because of improved stability).

      It probably has a closer look to what you're looking for grain wise, you can stain it whatever color you choose and it would give you the superior hardness that you are looking for as well. Also, it's "user friendly ", meaning that more contractors will take it on.

      Finish wise, if you go in that direction, I'd recommend Rubio because it's 100% natural, has some cool color options and, most importantly, it's user friendly meaning that you yourself could do a better touch up on it, if needed, than most contractors could perform on a regular stain/ top coat floor.

    • PRO
      Business_Name_Placeholder
      last year

      Your salesman was correct so thank him 5 years later!! Put 3000sq feet of Mirage Maple down in new home six years ago and finish is off in kitchen, door area, etc. Complete disaster especially when you consider the residents are two adults who live there only half the year! Now in talks with Mirage re: warranty. Not hopeful

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