Ash, birch and maple are the three North American hardwoods homeowners weigh against each other most often for a solid wood floor. All three come as a 3/4 inch board that nails down over a wood subfloor. What separates them is the grain you look at every day, the colour range, how the wood takes stain, and how well each hides the marks a busy house leaves. The range sits in our solid hardwood collection.
The short answer: choose ash for a bold, open grain and a floor that carries everyday marks lightly. Choose birch for a warm, quiet look in a bedroom, an office or a den. Choose maple when colour choice decides the purchase, because maple covers the widest spread here, from pale cream through to charcoal, and it takes knocks better than the other two.
What actually differs between ash, birch and maple?
| Species | Grain and figure | Colour range | Price per sq ft | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash | Bold, open grain with strong cathedral lines | Pale copper through storm grey to near black | $3.69 to $5.99 | Family rooms, bold or pale looks |
| Birch | Fine, soft grain with a warm even tone | Light honey and warm mid brown | $4.50 to $4.99 | Bedrooms and quieter rooms |
| Maple | Very fine, uniform grain and a smooth face | Cream and blonde through grey to charcoal | $4.69 to $8.11 | Colour choice, whole floors, kids |
Prices checked October 17, 2026. Every board here is a 3/4 inch solid wood board.
Which grain will you look at every day?
Ash is the open-grained one of the three. The boards show strong cathedral arches and long straight lines, and the open pores give the surface some texture under your hand. Grain that strong becomes part of the room: pale it reads light and Scandinavian, and under a dark stain the lines stand out sharply.
Birch sits at the other end. Its grain is fine and even, with a soft wavy figure where the tree curved, so a birch floor reads calm rather than dramatic. Maple goes further again: almost no figure, a smooth face, and an even tone from board to board.
A busy grain breaks up everyday marks, and a smooth face puts them on show. Our guide to solid hardwood species, grades and finishes compares the woods more closely.
What colour will the floor be?
Ash runs from Goodfellow Ash Copper, a warm pale copper in a 3 1/2 inch board at $3.69 per sq ft, up to Superior Ash Ebony and Legend Ash Storm, both 4 1/4 inch boards at $5.99 per sq ft and both made in Canada. Ebony is a very dark floor, and the open grain stops it looking flat once a room is lit.
Birch stays at the warm end. Seasons Yellow Birch is a light honey in a 4 inch board at $4.50 per sq ft, and North Plank Black Pepper Birch is a stained 3 1/4 inch board at $4.99 per sq ft that reads as a deep charcoal brown.
Both birch boards are in short supply at the moment, so birch suits a bedroom, an office or one room rather than a whole floor. Confirm the quantity with us before you plan a larger area.
Maple is where colour choice leads the decision. At the pale end, Seasons Maple Classic and Walnut Maple are 4 inch boards at $4.69 per sq ft. In the middle, the Top Floorings Charcoal, Buckskin and Ebony maples are 4 inch boards at $4.73 per sq ft, Appalachian Walnut Hard Maple is a 4 1/4 inch board at $5.50 per sq ft, and the Lauzon maple lines reach $8.11 per sq ft.
A photo of a wood floor rarely matches what you see in your own room, because the colour shifts with the light. Our post on choosing a hardwood floor colour shows how the undertones move between daylight and evening light.
How does each species take stain?
Ash has open pores, so it drinks stain and carries colour strongly. A dark stain on ash looks dramatic, a light one looks clean and modern, and the grain keeps its definition under colour instead of disappearing.
Birch and maple have tight grain with far less pore structure, so on site they can take stain unevenly, with patchy areas. That is why the coloured birch and maple we sell arrives already finished at the factory, where the colour goes on evenly from board to board.
One practical rule for maple: a dark stain reads cool on it, as a grey or a soft charcoal, while the same depth on ash keeps more warmth because the open grain catches the light.
Which species holds up better with kids and pets?
Maple is the densest of the three, so it takes a dropped toy or a chair leg better than birch and ash. The trade-off is its smooth face: fine scratches catch the light on maple more than on ash, and they show most on the darkest colours and least on the mid tones.
Ash is close behind on density, and its open grain works in your favour. Light scuffs sit inside the grain lines instead of standing out, and a mid tone such as Copper or Storm hides everyday dust and pet hair better than a very dark or pale floor.
Birch is the softest of the three, and its fine grain offers the least camouflage, so chair legs and pet claws show up sooner. In a home with a large dog, birch works as a bedroom or office floor rather than a main hallway.
Whichever species you pick, a lower-sheen finish hides marks better than a high gloss, and a solid 3/4 inch board can be sanded and refinished once the surface wears.
Which plank width and grade should you choose?
Ash comes in 3 1/2 and 4 1/4 inch boards, birch in 3 1/4 and 4 inch, and maple in 3 1/4, 4 and 4 1/4 inch. Narrow boards give you more joints, and more joints spread the seasonal movement of the wood, which is the safer choice in an older Toronto house where indoor air swings from very dry to humid. Wider boards show more grain in each plank and suit a modern room. Our guide to winter gapping in Toronto homes explains what normal movement looks like.
Grade controls how much natural character the boards show, from knots and mineral streaks to the colour difference between one plank and the next. A cleaner grade looks more even and costs more: Appalachian's 4 1/4 inch Earth maple is $5.50 per sq ft in Advantage Grade and $6.99 per sq ft in Prestige Grade, and the character in the board is the whole difference. Grade names are not consistent between mills, so look at a full board before you commit, or read our post on character grade and select grade.
What does a 300 sq ft floor cost in each species?
Box sizes differ between boards, so the price per square foot is not the whole story. The table prices seven boards for a 300 sq ft room with 5% added for cuts, which comes to 315 sq ft of material, rounded up to whole boxes.
| Board | Box price | Box covers | Boxes | Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodfellow Ash Copper | $68.86 | 18.66 sq ft | 17 | $1,170.62 |
| Superior Flooring Ash Ebony | $116.80 | 19.5 sq ft | 17 | $1,985.60 |
| North Plank Black Pepper Birch | $99.80 | 20 sq ft | 16 | $1,596.80 |
| Seasons Yellow Birch | $81.00 | 18 sq ft | 18 | $1,458.00 |
| Seasons Walnut Maple | $84.42 | 18 sq ft | 18 | $1,519.56 |
| Appalachian Walnut Hard Maple | $103.95 | 18.9 sq ft | 17 | $1,767.15 |
| Lauzon Exclusive Hard Maple Kenya | $99.80 | 17 sq ft | 19 | $1,896.20 |
The Goodfellow Ash Copper, both birch colours, the Superior Ash Ebony and the Seasons Walnut Maple are in limited supply right now, so they suit a single room best. The Appalachian Walnut and the Lauzon Kenya maples have enough boxes on hand for a larger area. Whatever you choose, confirm the quantity with us before you order. Installation is quoted for your own rooms once we see the subfloor and the stairs.
Which species should you choose?
- A bold floor in a busy household: ash, either the Goodfellow Ash Copper at $3.69 per sq ft or the Superior Ash Ebony at $5.99 per sq ft for the dark look. Confirm the quantity first.
- A quiet bedroom or office on a small budget: Seasons Yellow Birch at $4.50 per sq ft, with the quantity confirmed first.
- A dark, modern floor that still shows grain: North Plank Black Pepper Birch at $4.99 per sq ft.
- Warm and light, with colour choice as the goal: maple, from Seasons Maple Classic and Walnut Maple at $4.69 per sq ft up to the deepest Lauzon colours.
- A house with young children and a dog: maple in a mid tone, or ash in Copper or Storm, because both hide everyday wear better than a near black or a pale floor.
- One colour through several rooms: maple, where a single species holds the whole floor together.
Ash, birch and maple: questions buyers ask
Is ash harder than maple?
No. Maple is the denser of the two, so it takes a dent from a dropped object slightly better. Ash offsets that with its open grain, which hides the fine scratches that would catch the light on a smooth maple face. Birch is the softest of the three.
Does birch cost less than maple?
Not in every pairing. The two birch boards here are $4.50 and $4.99 per sq ft, while maple starts at $4.69 with Seasons Maple Classic and Walnut Maple, so they trade places board by board. Box coverage then decides the total, which is why two boards with a similar price per square foot can land on different material costs above.
Do ash, birch and maple take stain the same way?
No. Ash takes stain deeply and keeps its grain lines under the colour. Birch and maple have tight grain and can take stain unevenly on site, which is why the coloured birch and maple we sell arrives finished from the factory.
Which species works with a dog in the house?
Ash is usually the easier floor of the three, because its open grain hides light scratches and scuffs. Maple resists dents better but shows fine scratches on its smooth face, and birch shows the most of the three.
Can any of the three go in a basement?
The solid 3/4 inch boards here are for a wood subfloor on or above ground level, because solid wood moves with the moisture in the air around it. Over a concrete slab an engineered hardwood is the right product, and our guide to solid and engineered hardwood explains why.
See ash, birch and maple side by side
Colour photos only go so far with wood, because grain and tone shift with the light in the room. Come and look at full boards from all three species together, or request a quote with your room sizes and we will price the boards for your floors.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819