Hardwood Flooring Rating Scale

While the complete janka hardness listings will reveal that there are some fairly hard softwoods and some relatively soft hardwoods in the species most commonly used in flooring the identifiers hold true.

Hardwood flooring rating scale.

These ratings were calculated using the janka hardness test which measures the force needed to embed a 444 inch steel ball to half its. Although not exact the scale is a good reference for which hardwood can better withstand denting and wear when compared with another wood species. The main element that influences hardwood floor hardness is the hardness of the wood species itself. It is important to understand that wood is a natural product no manufacturer can influence the density or hardness of a wood species.

It is inherent and unique to the species of the hardwood you. The janka chart is commonly used in the flooring industry to compare hardwood flooring types. What most influences hardwood floor hardness. The scale was invented in 1906 by gabriel janka an austrian wood researcher and standardized in 1927 by the american society for testing and materials depending on the room where the flooring will be installed a certain level of hardness may make it a more desirable choice.

Hardwood flooring over radiant heat hand scraped hardwood flooring red oak vs white oak. The higher the janka rating the more dent and wear resistant a particular wood is. The janka hardness scale determines the hardness of a particular type of wood over another. Hardwoods are better than softwoods.

Forest service list the relative hardness for numerous wood species used in flooring.