Which is better, Bruce Maple or Westhollow Maple?

[bryantobin]

Bruce 2 1/4 Kennedale strip maple 3/4 thick color cherry
or
Westhollow 3 1/4 maple 3/4 thick color select cognac maple

I have not been able to see any reviews about Westhollow Solid wood, they have more of a presence in laminate.

The Westhollow is eased on side and edge vs the Bruce is just eased on side but not on ends.

Any experience with either?

[Peter Kodner]

Bryan, nice to have you here.

In perfect candor, the best would be a site finish. If cost is the concern, prefinished will save a few dollars but surprising little over the lump sum of the project. When you factor in you will get exactly the color you want and have top wood meet a higher grading standard, cost is much more of a non-issue. If you are looking for a colored/stained floor, why use maple?

If you are concerned about dust from finishing, the newer dust free vacuum equipment attached to sanders are truly amazing.

Wish I could give you an opinion about the two products you named, but a. I don't have experience with them AND b. I felt it very important you consider other options.

[bryantobin]

I agree I don't think that I'm saving anything at $5 per sq for just the wood. I'm sure after getting a nailer/stapler with felt and other small pieces that it would be cheaper to have a contractor do a finish in place floor.
I like(the wife likes) the clean grain of maple.
The main reason is that it can be done one room at a time with no dust. We are doing 800 ft of bedrooms so I really don't want to move out for a couple of days.

This way I can do it one room at a time at my own pace. I would do the unfinished wood myself but I've refinished floors with a drum sander and dust is an issue. I doubt that I can rent one of the same dustless sanders that you guys use. I used to be in the wall/ceiling trade for commercial applications so getting the floor down shouldn't be an issue for me. It will cost me more to do it myself but I'm ok with that. This group probably doesn't include industrial flooring systems but I knew James Keith of Northeastern Flooring. He had a stellar reputation in that part of the flooring business.

[Peter Kodner]

Sounds like you know what you are doing Bryan. You are right about the dustless systems. They are trailer mounted and quite pricey (or as they say in Mn. "spendy" ). They are amazing though.

Clear maple is truly a gorgeous floor but usually doesn't stain well. It can get very splotchy and sometimes looks like it is painted instead of stained.

If you go ahead and install yourself, just make sure your subfloor is solid. Plywood is far superior to OSB for holding power (you cannot nail down solid over less than 3/4 OSB). I'm a big fan of cleats instead of staples, but I'm sure others will comment on this as well. Tests indicate staples do have greater initial holding strength but as several seasonable cycles, cleats out perform them.

I'll pipe down now and let someone with experience with both these products give you the scoop.

Good luck with your project and keep us updated, with pictures too

[rgfloor]

Having worked with both Bruce and Westhollow (not the maple) products I felt that the Westhollow was a more consistent quality. With the Bruce 2 1/4 there were at times twisted and warped boards, which I never found any with the Westhollow. 2 1/4 wil also take you longer to install. I prefer the look of 3 1/4 myself.
That easing on the ends makes sure you have no overwood on the ends, I like that appearance.

[stullis]

Bruce is junk.