Janka Rating For Hardwood Floors

The janka hardness test from the austrian born emigrant gabriel janka 1864 1932 measures the resistance of a sample of wood to denting and wear.

Janka rating for hardwood floors.

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. The janka hardness scale determines the hardness of a particular type of wood over another. Similar to a laminate ac rating the hardwood floor hardness determines the durability of the species. In hardwood flooring the score is used to determine the durability of hardwood species that it might be suitable for a home.

The following comparison chart illustrates the relative hardness of various species of wood flooring using the janka scale. A common use of janka hardness ratings is to determine whether a species is suitable for use as flooring. The grades are arranged from softest to hardest and the number is the janka rating for that particular grade of hardwood flooring. Solid hardwood flooring will always be stronger than hardwood veneer engineered flooring.

Hardwoods are better than softwoods. 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. The janka number is found by pushing a steel ball into a 2 x 2 x 6 wood plank. Hardwoods are harder than softwoods.

A janka rating is a hardness estimate given to wood.