Janka Rating For Hardwood Floors

Solid hardwood flooring will always be stronger than hardwood veneer engineered flooring.

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. Similar to a laminate ac rating the hardwood floor hardness determines the durability of the species. The following comparison chart illustrates the relative hardness of various species of wood flooring using the janka 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.

The janka rating scale was created to rank the various degrees of hardness throughout the different species of hardwoods. 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. The janka number is found by pushing a steel ball into a 2 x 2 x 6 wood plank. Hardwoods are harder than softwoods.

The janka hardness scale determines the hardness of a particular type of wood over another. What does janka rating mean. Hardwoods are better than softwoods. A janka rating is a hardness estimate given to wood.

A common use of janka hardness ratings is to determine whether a species is suitable for use as flooring.