Hi- we just moved into our new home wiht maple floors- and everyone loves them- but honestly i'm thinking it might have been an error- b/c i have scratches already-- so here's my thoughts-- I would do it in a living room/dining room that is covered with area rugs-- we put it in the foyer / bathroom (that was a mistake) too high traffic and i'm always on edge with scratches -- we have kids and a dog- maple is not a good solution for that... Wish i had tiled the foyer-- or used something like low sheen red oak or i recently saw hand scraped oak which seemed low maintance.... good luck- hope i helped.

any time you pick a species that has very little graining and especially if you have lots of windows where your going to see a lot of exposed hardwood it will be like looking at a glass surface and your eye will pick up every scratch and ding. A oak or any type of product with graining or a texture like handscraped, will mask many imperfections. While maple is extremely popular there are tradeoffs and the salesman is setting your expectations correctly.

I love our maple floors, but it's a rustic maple and there is wide variation in color. It's very hard and has few dents and scratches despite daily abuse from my kids. If you're set on a clear maple, then it's probably going to be less forgiving.

But then why do they use maple for gymnasium floors?

I put clear (best grade) maple in our kitchen floors in 1987. For many years, it held up well. In the last 5 years, they trashed terribly. Something oily left a big stain and many areas are big splotches down to sanded wood. After years of maintaining felt pads under the kitchen chairs, once we let up with the new pad routine, it was trashed. My husband hates them and is very reluctant to refinish them for our kitchen remodel.

And I just can't find a satisfactory substitute. Tile and stone are hard on the body and dropped things. Vinyl doesn't last in our house and doesn't look as good as wood and I found it hard to maintain.

I loved our maple for a long time but it's awful now.

you can get your floors recoated very inexpensively vs resanding. Gyms do not have window and your looking at from up high vs sitting on a chair and looking across it. Most commercial gyms have a recoating schedule much more frequent than a residence.

westsider,
You have waited too long to re coat your floors. What you are seeing is moisture darkening the wood resulting from a worn through finish. As a general rule kitchens should be re coated every 7-10 years. At this stage a sand and finish will have it looking brand new.