Hard maple is a pale, dense, fine-grained wood, and it is a sound choice if you want a light or evenly stained floor that can be sanded and refinished later. The trade-off is that it installs by nailing to a plywood subfloor above grade, so it suits main and upper floors rather than basements. Picking between our Appalachian and Lauzon maples then comes down to colour, how even you want the boards to look, and price per square foot. This page stays with solid maple hardwood flooring from our solid hardwood flooring collection, so you can see every colour we sell in one place.
Hard maple at a glance: what we stock and what it costs
We list 19 hard maple floors: 12 from Appalachian and 7 from Lauzon. Four of the Appalachian colours are out of stock right now, which leaves 15 in stock across the two lines. All of them are 3/4" (19mm) solid wood and are listed as nail-down products.
| Line | Colours listed | In stock | Price per sq ft (in stock) | Box coverage | Plank width |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian | 12 | 8 | $5.09 to $6.99 | 18.9 or 20 sq ft | 4 1/4" on 9 colours, narrower on the other 3 |
| Lauzon | 7 | 7 | $5.87 to $6.99 | 17 sq ft | 4 1/4" on all 7 |
Prices checked October 4, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue.
The rest of this page sorts those colours by tone and grade, turns box prices into a per sq ft ladder, and finishes with a worked material example you can repeat for your own room.
What a hard maple floor is like to live with
Density is the first reason people choose maple. The Lauzon product page for Sapphir quotes a Janka hardness rating of 1,450 lbf for hard maple. Lauzon's own specification page describes the species as having a closed and uniform grain, and our Sapphir page ties that tight grain to a stain that reads evenly across the floor.
Here is the balance sheet in plain terms:
- In its favour: it is real wood all the way through, so the product pages say it can be sanded and refinished multiple times.
- In its favour: one species covers a wide colour spread, from natural cream through warm brown to grey and dark brown.
- To weigh: it is a nail-down floor. Our product pages do not recommend solid hardwood below grade, and the Lauzon listings specify plywood above or on grade.
- Another point: real wood varies from plank to plank, so a photo is a guide to tone and not a promise of how every board will look.
- Budget note: installation is a separate job that we quote after seeing your subfloor, so plan for it on top of the material figures below.
If you are still deciding between maple and other species, our species comparison takes the wider view. This page stays with maple and the two brands we carry in it.
Appalachian hard maple: from Natural to Treebark
Appalachian sells its maples with a semi-gloss finish, mostly in Prestige Grade. Our product pages describe Prestige as carefully selected planks with consistent colour and minimal character marks. Rosewood and Walnut are the two in-stock colours sold in Advantage Grade instead.
Natural and Moka at the top of the Appalachian range
Natural is the pick if you want the species undressed. In its photo the boards are pale cream with fine, tight grain and the odd small knot. It costs $6.99 per sq ft, which works out to $132.11 for an 18.9 sq ft box. Moka carries the same box price and coverage. Its photo is not up yet, so we are not describing its tone here; ask to see a board before you order it.
Treebark and the mid-priced browns
Treebark is a warm medium brown in its photo, and the product page adds grey and taupe undertones. It costs $5.49 per sq ft, and a box of 18.9 sq ft is $103.80. The Walnut and Rosewood colours in Advantage Grade cost $5.50 per sq ft, with the same 18.9 sq ft box at $103.95. That makes the Prestige Grade Treebark $0.01 per sq ft cheaper than the Advantage Grade pair, so a grade name alone does not tell you where a colour sits on the price ladder.
The narrower-plank colours
Granit, Chestnut and Mahogany are sold as a narrower plank than the 4 1/4" colours, in 20 sq ft boxes. At $5.09 per sq ft ($101.80 per box), Granit sets the entry point for hard maple on this page, while Chestnut and Mahogany are $5.19 per sq ft ($103.80 per box). Because their photos are not up yet, check the tone with us before ordering.
Lauzon hard maple: grey, dark brown and a light, bold grain
All seven Lauzon maples are 17 sq ft per box and are listed as made in Canada. Lauzon sorts them under Essential, Exclusive and Select & Better names. The product pages show Graphite and Azaro with a matte gloss level and Vela with an ultra-matte one, a flatter look than the Appalachian semi-gloss.
Sapphir and Graphite: the grey and the dark brown
Sapphir is the Essential colour, $5.87 per sq ft ($99.80 per 17 sq ft box). The product page calls its stain cool-toned and blue-grey, and in the photo it reads as a soft, slightly warm grey. Smokey Grey and Kenya are priced the same, and Azaro is a little higher at $5.99 per sq ft ($101.83 per box).
Graphite is an Exclusive colour at the same $5.87 per sq ft. Do not let the name set your expectation: the photo shows deep brown boards, so it belongs with the dark colours rather than the greys. The matte finish keeps the look quiet, which suits a room where the walls and furniture carry the colour.
Select & Better: Vela and Amaretto
Vela and Amaretto are the two Select & Better colours, both $6.99 per sq ft ($118.83 per 17 sq ft box). The Vela page describes this grade as Lauzon's cleanest grading level, with very limited knots and minimal colour variation between planks. In our photo Vela looks light and creamy with bold, swirling grain, although the page calls the stain warm and medium-toned, which is a good reason to see a board in hand. The page also lists a micro-V edge on all four sides, so each plank edge shows a slight bevel.
Natural from Appalachian and Vela from Lauzon share the same $6.99 per sq ft, but their boxes hold different amounts of floor, and the next section shows why that matters.
Price per sq ft against price per box
Box prices are easy to compare at a glance and easy to misread. A Lauzon Graphite box is $99.80, which is less than the $103.80 Treebark box, yet Graphite costs $5.87 per sq ft against $5.49 for Treebark, a gap of $0.38 per sq ft. The Graphite box covers 17 sq ft and the Treebark box covers 18.9 sq ft. This ladder lists every in-stock colour by price per sq ft:
| Price per sq ft | Colours | Box price and coverage |
|---|---|---|
| $5.09 | Appalachian Granit | $101.80 per 20 sq ft box |
| $5.19 | Appalachian Chestnut, Mahogany | $103.80 per 20 sq ft box |
| $5.49 | Appalachian Treebark | $103.80 per 18.9 sq ft box |
| $5.50 | Appalachian Walnut, Rosewood (Advantage Grade) | $103.95 per 18.9 sq ft box |
| $5.87 | Lauzon Sapphir, Graphite, Smokey Grey, Kenya | $99.80 per 17 sq ft box |
| $5.99 | Lauzon Azaro | $101.83 per 17 sq ft box |
| $6.99 | Appalachian Natural, Moka | $132.11 per 18.9 sq ft box |
| $6.99 | Lauzon Vela, Amaretto | $118.83 per 17 sq ft box |
You buy whole boxes only, so your own room is the real test. Take a 300 sq ft room. We add a 5% waste allowance, which makes 315 sq ft, divide by the coverage in each box and round up to the next full box. Material is boxes times box price, before HST, with installation, trim and removal left out:
| Colour | Coverage per box | Boxes for 315 sq ft | Material before HST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian Granit | 20 sq ft | 16 | $1,628.80 |
| Appalachian Treebark | 18.9 sq ft | 17 | $1,764.60 |
| Lauzon Graphite | 17 sq ft | 19 | $1,896.20 |
| Appalachian Natural | 18.9 sq ft | 17 | $2,245.87 |
| Lauzon Vela | 17 sq ft | 19 | $2,257.77 |
Smaller Lauzon boxes mean more of them, so Vela ends up $11.90 above Natural for the same room although the per sq ft price matches. Installation is quoted separately, and our hardwood flooring price guide explains how the rest of a project budget is built.
How to choose between the colours
- Pale and bright: look at Appalachian Natural for a simple cream, or Lauzon Vela if you want stronger grain and the Select & Better grade.
- Warm brown: Treebark is the mid-priced pick at $5.49 per sq ft, and Walnut and Rosewood in Advantage Grade are one cent higher.
- Grey: Sapphir and Smokey Grey are both $5.87 per sq ft, and a grey can swing warm or cool in a room, so compare them against a board in your own light.
- Dark: Graphite at $5.87 per sq ft is a deep brown, not a grey, in its photo.
- Even boards: start with the Prestige Grade or Select & Better colours and ask us about the grade you are considering.
- Keeping the outlay down: the narrower-plank trio and Treebark come first on the ladder. For wider budget ideas, see our budget-friendly hardwood picks.
- Weighing the two brands as a whole: our brand-level comparison covers that wider question.
Before you commit to a colour, set a board next to your cabinet doors, your wall paint and your largest piece of furniture. Look at it in morning light and again under evening lamps. Pale maples and greys can shift between warm and cool as the light changes, and a stain that looks calm on a screen can look busier on a full floor.
Installing and living with solid maple
Every colour here is listed as a nail-down floor, and the Lauzon pages specify plywood above or on grade. Ask us to confirm the method for your subfloor before you order, because the right answer depends on what is under your current floor. Our product pages advise acclimating the boxes in the installation area before work begins.
Lauzon lists a relative humidity of 35% to 55% for its standard 3/4" solid hard maple. A small hygrometer in the room is an easy way to see where your home sits against that range. Later in the floor's life, how often to refinish becomes a question about wear, and refinishing keeps the same boards in place.
Hard maple flooring FAQ
How much does solid maple hardwood flooring cost per square foot in Toronto?
Our in-stock hard maple runs from $5.09 to $6.99 per sq ft before installation and HST. Appalachian covers that whole span, and Lauzon starts at $5.87.
Is the Walnut colour a real walnut floor?
No. Appalachian Walnut is a hard maple floor with Walnut as its colour name, sold in Advantage Grade at $5.50 per sq ft. Colour names on stained maple describe the look, not the species.
Is there maple flooring made in Canada?
Our Lauzon maples are listed as made in Canada. The Appalachian pages describe their planks as milled from North American hard maple.
What separates Prestige Grade from Select & Better?
They are each brand's own grade labels. Prestige is described as consistent in colour with minimal character marks, and Select & Better as very limited knots with minimal colour variation. Our grading guide explains how grades work more generally.
Can I put hard maple in a basement?
Our product pages say solid hardwood is not recommended below grade and point basement projects to waterproof SPC vinyl plank instead.
How many boxes of hard maple do I need for a room?
Add 5% to your measured area, divide by the coverage printed for the box and round the result up to a whole number of boxes. In the 300 sq ft example above, the answer ranges from 16 to 19 boxes depending on the colour you pick.
Get a hard maple quote in Toronto and the GTA
Browse the solid hardwood collection, then request a quote with your room sizes and what is under the floor now, and we will price boxes and installation together.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819