Flooring made from a wood with a high Janka rating is attractive due to its durability and sometimes exotic colors. It is a good idea to know the hardness of the wood you’re going to be installing in the home because the species differ greatly as you move up and down the Janka hardness scale. (more…)

Softwood is a generic term used in woodworking and the lumber industries for wood from conifers, which are needle-bearing trees. Softwood producing trees include the likes of pine, spruce, cedar, fir, larch, Douglas fir, hemlock, cypress, redwood and yew.
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Completing the Janka hardness test creates a circular indention with an area of 100 square millimeters. This means that the testing is done on the surface of a plank, with the force exerted perpendicular to the grain.

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The Janka hardness scale is a great tool to use when considering your choice of hardwood flooring species. It is perhaps the most important test, as it measures the hardness of the wood species. More specifically, the Janka hardness test for hardwood flooring measures the force required to embed a .444 inch steel ball to half its diameter in the hardwood.

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