Poor Quality of Mirage Engineered Maple Flooring?
Hi there - wondering if anyone has had problems with Mirage engineered hardwood. We just had (a lot) of it installed in a remodel and I'm horrified at how easily it scratches and dents. We were told when we bought it that is was "the Rolls Royce" of engineered wood. So far, I'm completely unimpressed. If i drop a spoon on it, it dents. It's Maple. Would love to hear if anyone else has the same problems. Thanks! (we had to do engineered bc of radiant heating)
Comments (38)
cfweber
Original Author8 years agoThanks for the info Cancork Floor Inc.! The floors are these: http://www.miragefloors.com/ENG/type-engineered-hardwood.php. Maple in a semi-gloss (which looks like satin) finish. They were nailed/glued down (Mirage Classic). I don't expect there's much to do about the situation, other than wish that the salesman/contractor/architect had warned us about how delicate they'd be. We would NEVER have installed them in a kitchen (or center foyer, main hallway, or probably anywhere). At this point, we've spent $20K on floors that will look truly awful before too long. We've only been "using" them for 4 months. In addition to scratching and denting, there are spots where the finish has dulled and can't be brought to match the satin on the rest. Truly frustrating! (probably an understatement)
PROULTIMATE HARDWOOD LTD
8 years ago@cfweber now usually mirage is good (far from the rolls Royce ) but perhaps used in the wrong application. Now a really good engineered floor will have a wear layer of at least 4mm and the substrate will be a hardwood species as well to prevent what your describing. I personally am not a fan of any factory finished products. I do hi end finished on site engineered often without the problems your describing.
Give that company an online review that they deserve. Mirage USED to be god....- PRO
ULTIMATE HARDWOOD LTD
8 years agoAlso is it glued OR nailed? It should not be nailed over radiant. You may have recourse after all. I'd
double check on that .... cfweber
Original Author8 years agoIt's glued in some spots, nailed in others. The installers took great care to nail on an an angle (when not glueing) and not hit any of the radiant (water) tubes. It is 4mm of hardwood over plywood.
- PRO
ULTIMATE HARDWOOD LTD
8 years ago@cfweber I do believe that is not installed correctly. There should not be any nails. If you have an extra box left over you can read the instructions yourself. If there's non clarity call the number on the box and ask for exact clarity. Then decide if you have recourse. I've never heard of some nailing and some gluing in eng flooring. The industry standard set forth by the NWFA is to glue or float over radien - PRO
ULTIMATE HARDWOOD LTD
8 years agoover radiant heat. Not sure what's up with this site lately. Real quirky 
swrite
8 years agoInteresting. We had engineered maple floors installed in another brand and I too am surprised at how easily they dent. A AAA battery rolled off a shelf, it dented the floor. The other day the remote fell off a side table, it too left a mark. There's a crack under where the sofa was and I don't know if it's from when the movers placed the couch or from the guys removing it prior to delivery of our new one. This is my first experience with engineered wood and it makes me think that real wood is the way to go if budget allows. It's also hard to keep clean, not because of the light color, but because of the satin finish which was the only finish offered. Always end up having to hand scrub things off and sometimes it won't come off, so not sure if they're scratches, glue residue from the install, or what. And it seems virtually all cleaners are bad for the floor according to what I've read on here, so not sure what to use. Finding more parts with corners chipped too, which seems pretty common according to the flooring guys. Love the look of the floor, just wonder if real wood might have been better minus the cost.cfweber
Original Author8 years agoI feel your pain swrite! We had to get engineered because you can't have (most) real hardwood over radiant heat - too much expanding/contracting. I actually think the engineered wound up costing more than oak would have, especially considering we could have kept some of the old flooring (oak) and just tried to match it. I'm hugely disappointed. Just wish I knew all this. Now, we're stuck since we have only had them (1100sf) for 4 months...:(
kowenia
8 years agoworst floor I ever had 2wks old have scratches and dents( maple Nevada) never should have torn up my oak flooring that 55yrs old
- PRO
ULTIMATE HARDWOOD LTD
8 years agoSite finished is always a better option no matter what anyone says -period- I as someone who mostly only does work with site finished wood flooring wish there was more awareness out there so that this doesn't happen to good ppl.... I feel for you guys :( 
PRODiana Bier Interiors, LLC
8 years agoI agree with you Ultimate Hardwood! There's nothing like real wood, site finished. It will look beautiful, can be refinished and will last for decades. Just make sure that you buy top quality, acclimate it in the home, and have it installed by a reputable tradesperson. Consumers are swayed by the latest innovations but sometimes the old ways, tried and true, are the best.
You might consider cutting your losses now and replacing it with real hardwood. Maybe your flooring retailer will make good on the change.
cfweber
Original Author8 years agoDiana Bier Interiors, we have over 1100 sf of the flooring. We HAVE to have engineered because it's over radiant heat in a very large entry/room. Even though our kitchen - next to that room - does not have the radiant, we have a very open floor plan and the floors need to flow seamlessly. So, sadly, there is no fix for us right now, maybe once they get more evenly scratched/worn (like a stainless sink) it'll be less noticeable.
- PRO
Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
8 years agoOne of my clients installed radiant heat under solid hardwood flooring and has had no problems for over 8 years now. Sorry for your troubles.
- PRO
ULTIMATE HARDWOOD LTD
8 years agoInstalling solid over radiant is a major gamble. It can be done yes. It has a hi failure rate yes. It can also work yes. But it is definately against MANUFACTERERS reccommendations. Usually to risk the value of the flooring is just simply not worth it. Kinda like buying the cheapest insurance on a lambo when you live in a major city with hi collision rate. Then again people are gonna do what people are gonna do... - PRO
ULTIMATE HARDWOOD LTD
7 years agoWhat you should find out is what specie of maple is it? Silver and red maple tend to be soft. Hard or sugar maple from the Maritime provinces tend to be super hard. This is a question you should direct to the seller. Maple has about 10 species so ask for clarity prajnapara
7 years agoive always been told that maple, though beautiful, is a soft wood. Which is why many people don't wear shoes in houses with maple floors.
PROCancork Floor Inc.
7 years agoMaple is soft....hmmmm. Not normally. Hard Maple is just that...hard. Pine and fir are soft woods and are quite soft. Hard Maple is usually harder than red oak (North American industry "standard" which others are compared against) and white oak.
The FINISH can be softer than anticipated but the Maple itself is pretty hard. Dents happen. Wood dents. Wood scratches. These are typical things that happen to wood.
Good luck everyone.
- PRO
ULTIMATE HARDWOOD LTD
7 years agoThere's at least 10 species of maple that I'm aware of. Only sugar/hard maple from eastern Canada is the really hard stuff. A lot of flooring mfgs use red or silver maple which is soft yes. I'm finding more and more of it when pre-refinishing from so called 'reputable' mills. I feel this is underhanded. This is why I only do site finished. dallas16
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoDoes anyone know if "red oak" can be stained to look more like walnut color?? and if solid wood floors are ok over crawlspace? Will they be ok in kitchen /laundry room?? trying to decide between engineered wood and solid wood. entire rancher house is 50 year old red oak in decent condition but kitchen /laundry area is laminate. want to rip up & replace kitchen with darker wood...medium brown. But thinking flow from red oak floors should match. Grateful for any assistance :)
- PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
7 years ago@dallas16 - go ahead and do yourself (and the home) a favour and match the existing red oak. Have it laid/laced in, everything sanded and then refinished to the colour you want. Red Oak takes stains nicely (the choice of stain will dictate the level of colour you get). That way you have achieved the "perfect" solution.
Perfection is the use of the same wood floor throughout. There are many people who balk at purchasing a house with mismatched floors - especially hardwood. If you add the same red oak to the new areas and then have it stained to the colour you want, you will have maintained the best possible flooring situation = same species of hardwood throughout.
And engineered hardwood almost always has a beveled edge (little slopes or shoulders on each edge). This is DEAD give away that it is engineered. It is super hard to get an engineered product to mix well with a solid, site finished hardwood.
User
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoFWIW: I need to use engineered wood for my re-model, unfortunately. Spoke directly to Mirage about Maple Sonora - rep confirmed that species is "Hard Maple," Janka rating 1450.
- PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
7 years agoJanka ratings do NOT correlate to engineered. The hardwood layer is ONLY 3mm - 6mm thick (some are even less). Janka ratings are for SOLID hardwood (same thing all the way through). Janka has NOTHING to do with "scratches". It only deals with how much pressure it takes to EMBED a metal ball (think large metal marble) HALF WAY into a piece of wood. Embed. As in DENTING.
Ignore Janka ratings for engineered hardwood. They are useless. The biggest concern for homeowners is "scratching". And a scratch is created in the FINISH not the wood itself. The FINISH is what takes the abuse. Not the wood.
Yes... the people at Mirage will tell you hard maple carries that rating....but they are not using it in the right CONTEXT. Context = solid hard maple. Not engineered hard maple.
Sorry but the Janka ratings don't work with engineered. And even if they did, they have NOTHING to do with scratches.
espiegler
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoI purchased a Mirage Maple Engineered Hardwood floating lock floor almost 6 years ago. It was installed throughout my 1200 sq.ft. condominium, except for kitchen and bathrooms. It started scratching and to a lesser degree denting, almost immediately. The veneer is so thin that it can never be refinished, a fact never disclosed to me upon purchasing. Picking up a lock floor and replacing segments is easier said than done. Recently a strange discoloration (greenish in hue) has started to spread in a bedroom leading to a bathroom and in another corner of the same room. I paid over $12,000. for a floor that I would love to replace. This kind of expenditure for a floor that cannot be refinished even once is crazy. As someone else noted, Maple Hardwood is HARD, engineered Maple hardwood is not.
Heather
6 years agoWhen I replaced our engineered floor, I found that it was cheaper to have solid oak installed and finished onsite. In some cases, the engineered floors were up to double the price installed. I hate engineered wood flooring. Have it in my new house and can't wait to get rid of it.
- PRO
GannonCo
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoJust because the color is called maple it doesn't actually mean the wood used is maple. You see flooring an cabinets called say walnut and it is just their name for the color.
Wood floors scratch and dent they are wood end of story. It doesn't matter if they are solid or engineered. People today are just not used to seeing finishes that arent perfect. Remember old wood floors had coating brushed or rolled on and it showed. People today want that perfect engineered look not realizing the more perfect the surface an finish is the more it will show damages.
I find it hard to believe even the cheapest floor is denting from the drop of a spoon where it would be anywhere near noticeable. You have to do research when you buy something especially of that value don't blame the Co for not pointing out all the faults of their product. If you asked and they lied or misrepresented the product then yes you should complain.
There is no substitute for a solid hardwood floor but unfortunately it can't be installed in every application and that is where engineered floors come in.
The floor in my own house is engineered and off memory the wear surface i solid 10mm hardwood white oak. It was sold as being able to be redone at least once. Problem is it is a wire brushed distressed floor so NO it can't even though technically it has the ability to be sanded.
Its a floor let whatever happen happen. Buy a rug for wear areas and go on with life. NOTHING is a 25 year product in 10 years you will want a new floor.
By the way a lot of engineered floors dull from the product and how you are cleaning them. Call the mfg and research exactly how they state to clean them. You don't use a mop or steam broom it will destroy the floor. Larry Wolfgram
6 years agoI have to agree wholeheartedly with the assessments of mirage hardwood flooring. We installed that snap in place maple flooring in a dark brown color. I cannot believe the amount of damage that has been caused by dogs running across the floor or by just dropping something very light onto the floor. I thought we were also buying the Cadillac of wood flooring at around $8 per SF installing it myself. The manufacturer's claim that this product has an incredibly hard coating that prevents damage is just plain false. I will never buy another product from Mirage Floors.
PROPenyak Roofing
5 years agoAvoid Mirage!
I built home jersey Shore and was convinced to install engineered because wood would cup from the humidity. I was told mirage was the Mercedes of engineered floors. 4800sf of flooring, It’s high end home on beach so I was convinced. After 1 month floors are ruined. You drop your phone or dents, my lab nail marks are everywhere and I mean everywhere. I get my dog groomed once month so don’t tell me her nails too long. I call mirage and they tell me it’s wood what do you expect. SAVE YOUR MONEY, it’s garbage. I am
Also a builder first time and last time ever using
Mirage. Makes me sick!Roger
4 years agoI have Mirage engineered and don't find that it scratches easier than solid hardwood (I tested by trying to scratch both types) however do believe pre-finished maple shows scratches more than others. If you have a large dog, or lots of traffic, it's probably best to just get laminate.
CPBR
3 years ago
I'd lover to see some pictures of your mirage floor issues. Looking to purchase and trying to find that one great brand. Live in FL so I understand engineered is the only way to go. Second floor install. I would like to see the problems you are experiencing.jolawrence50
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoBuy one box and lay it out. Drop anything on it and you'll see how soft their wood is.
steve canido
2 years agoDid basement with Mirage Lock engineered and have to agree it is some of the softest easily denting wood floor ever.
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Cancork Floor Inc.