Regular bamboo flooring is made by combining strips of bamboo together. This is usually done by utilizing various adhesives such as formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is one of the most well known volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Cheaper bamboos usually include more formaldehyde in order to make up for the stalks having been harvested early or being of low quality. Bamboo produced in the traditional way will have a hardness of about red oak, which is one of the softer trade woods. What the engineering process does is form homogenous, solid pieces of bamboo flooring. With strand-woven bamboo flooring you get flooring that is actually 154% stronger than red oak and 126 % stronger than North American maple. This places the hardness of strand-woven bamboo near the extremely hard, exotic hard woods like Brazilian walnut and Ipe. Bamboo grows much faster than these woods and actually costs less as well. Strand-woven bamboo is strong enough to stand up to the rigors associated with commercial environments, giving business owners the option of going green without sacrificing durability.

Engineered hardwood flooring is a mix of natural hardwood and laminate flooring and is very durable. The reason for its durability is due to the way the floor is made.  Several layers of plywood, between three to ten pieces, are pressed together under extreme pressure.  Naturally, the more layers used the more durable the engineered planks will be.  Another popular feature that engineered hardwood flooring has is its top layer.  The top layer of engineered hardwood flooring is made from an actual trade wood.  Whether its Brazilian Cherry or Maple they have engineered flooring available for nearly every species of wood.  This gives homeowners the option of having real hardwood floors installed while saving a bit of money in the process.

Homeowners looking for durable woods can also consider acrylic wood floors.  These aren’t used in the home as often as the other types of hardwood flooring that I’ve already mentioned but they still make a fine fit in the home.  Acrylic floors are usually used in malls and shops and chances are you’ve walked on them many times already.  Acrylic hardwood flooring is both attractive and very durable.  Acrylic hardwood floors are made when regular solid hardwood is impregnated with acrylic.  In this process the wood has all of its moisture vacuumed out of it and then color and liquid acrylic are forced into it.  This makes it 300% stronger and even more resistant to moisture than engineered hardwood.

These are just some popular choices for use in a busy home.  These flooring options won’t only look great but they’ll last a very long time.

Balsa, for instance, is a wood used readily in model airplanes and table tennis paddles because of its lightweight, stiff makeup. Balsa is the softest of all the trade woods measured by the Janka hardness scale. Lignum vita is the hardest. It will sink easily in water. It also hard to work with, hard to cut, and hard to nail. For woods with this much hardness there are precautions that you much take. You might end up deciding to glue down your flooring instead of using nails, which means you also have to look into the types of glues available for that wood. And if you do choose to nail the flooring down, you’ll most likely have to pre-drill the nail holes. It may seem as if I’m going down a list of reasons why not to have high Janka rated hardwood flooring installed, but that isn’t my intention. It’s important that every homeowner knows some of the extra steps that may be involved.

Wood hardness is a very important issue to keep in mind when deciding on what types of wood species to have installed in your home. If you have a room that sees a lot of foot traffic you should be interested in flooring that will stand up to multiple impacts. When choosing hardwood flooring you really need to do just as much research as you would when you’re buying a car or a home. Knowledge is power and it will help you build a better home.

View the Janka Hardness Scale.

Wel, the term hardwood is used to describe wood from broad-leaved angiosperm trees, mostly deciduous, but not necessarily, as in the case of tropical trees. Hardwood contrasts with softwood in that softwoods come from conifer trees. Hardwood species are more varied than softwood. There are about a hundred times as many hardwood species as softwoods.

On average, hardwood is of higher density and hardness than softwood, but there is considerable variation in actual wood hardness in both groups. There is a large amount of overlap; some hardwoods are softer than most softwoods, and specifically, yew is an example of a hard softwood. Hardwoods have broad leaves and enclosed nuts or seeds such as acorns. When hardwood is involved in your flooring purchase, be sure that your floor has been through the Janka Hardness Scale test. This ensures that whatever you are purchasing has been testd by the industry standard process.

Cheaper “hardwood” doors for instance, now consist of a thin veneer bonded to a core of softwood, plywood or medium-density fiberboard. Examples of European hardwoods from evergreen trees include holly, boxwood and oak. Common deciduous European and North American hardwood species include the oaks, beech, ash, maple and cherry.

If hardwood is not your choice selection, or if you prefer more affordable alternatives, why not consider laminate floors? These are synthetic materials which are pre-produced in factories and coloured according to your choice. Laminate flooring is suitable in cases where hardwood installation is extremely difficult or impractical. It is mobile and light, making it easily transportable and installation is a breeze. Beware if you decide to buy laminate flooring though, because there are many substandard manufacturers out there which might short change you in terms of quality.

While the softer Eastern White Pine is a mere 380 on the Janka Scale, Brazilian Walnut ranks at a much harder 3680. Red Oak is often referenced as the middle point of the scale with a Janka rating around 1280. This test is a good measurement of how a wood product will withstand denting and wear.

By the same token, it’s also a good indicator of how hard a species is to saw or mill. When shopping for hardwood flooring you should consider where the floor will be located in your home and how much traffic it will get. While the Janka Hardness Scale should play a role in your decision, it should not be the only factor you look at when purchasing a hardwood floor.

You should choose a wood with a texture, grain, and color that fits your style. The Janka test is also a good indicator of how hard it would be to saw or nail into a species of wood. The higher the Janka measure, the harder and more resistant it is to denting. Bamboo flooring is not included on the Janka Hardness Scale. This is due to the fact that the numbers can vary due to the process and chemicals used to produce the optional caramelized or carbonized coloring in some bamboo flooring.

Additionally, particular species of bamboo used in the flooring can impact the hardness. When left with a natural finish, bamboo has a Janka rating of 1380. If carbonized to produce a darker color, bamboo’s hardness drops to 1180. As you can see here, it is not productive to take issue with the exact number, but rather understand the “relative” hardness of one wood to another.

For example, two pieces of the same type of wood, one grown quickly further south and one slowly in more northern climates will have quite different Janka ratings.

This will have occurred simply because of their individual “speed of growth” and this is certainly not something that you would expect your retailer to know off-hand. On the other hand, some pundits will advise you to take the Janka rating with a grain of salt and simply buy whatever flooring suits your fancy!

Douglas fir, a softwood, is harder and stronger than many hardwoods, while balsa, technically a hardwood, is much softer than even most softwoods. SEM images can show the presence of pores in hardwoods and its absence in softwoods. It is true that in general, softwood is easy to work with. As such, it forms the bulk of wood used by humans for items such as flooring. Softwood does have a huge range of uses though beyond flooring. It is a prime material for structural building components, but is also found in furniture and other products such as molding, doors and windows.

Softwood is also harvested for use in the production of paper, and for various types of soft board and for additional specialty uses. In fact, walk through the lumber department of any home center, and 90% of the wood materials available will be softwoods (or manufactured from softwoods). Only the remaining 10% will be hardwood varieties. Why the disparity? Well, softwoods are inexpensive and readily available in the United States and Europe, and are very well suited for general projects.

No matter which types of softwoods you choose to use in your projects, keep in mind that most softwoods are developed for construction uses, and not necessarily for building furniture. Keep in mind that softwoods need to become acclimated to the environment in which the finished project will reside before beginning woodworking to avoid excessive movement after the project is completed.

Of additional interest, softwoods can be a fine choice when building utilitarian projects such as cabinets for the woodshop, painted projects and dog houses.

On average, hardwood is of higher density and hardness than softwood, but there is considerable variation in actual wood hardness in both groups. There is a large amount of overlap; some hardwoods are softer than most softwoods, and specifically, yew is an example of a hard softwood. Hardwoods have broad leaves and enclosed nuts or seeds such as acorns. They often grow in subtropical regions like Africa and south-east Asia, but are also found growing in temperate regions such as Europe and North America.

The dominant feature separating hardwoods from softwoods is the presence of pores or vessels. The vessels may show considerable variation in size, shape of perforation plates (ranging from simple, scalariform, reticulate to foraminate), and structure of cell wall.

Hardwoods are employed in a large range of applications including: construction, furniture, flooring and utensils. Solid hardwood joinery is expensive compared to softwood. In the past, tropical hardwoods were easily available but the supply of some species such as Burma teak and mahogany is now becoming restricted due to sustainability issues.

Cheaper “hardwood” doors for instance, now consist of a thin veneer bonded to a core of softwood, plywood or medium-density fiberboard. Examples of European hardwoods from evergreen trees include holly, boxwood and oak. Common deciduous European and North American hardwood species include the oaks, beech, ash, maple and cherry.

Important tropical hardwoods include teak, mahogany, iroko, ebony and rubberwood (which is an oxymoron of a name for a hardwood). There are many varieties of colors and species of hardwoods. From the color of light, natural Maple to the rich reds of Cherry, hardwoods will bring naturally diverse colors into any room. Hardwood is part of our past in America.

Hardwood craftsmanship can now be blended with the advances of modern technology to aesthetically enhance any room in which you choose to use hardwood. So, which hardwood lasts the longest? Generally, the harder the wood the more durable; however, grain and color must be considered, as light colors with less grain may actually show more wear than “softer” woods.

The hardest woods include Brazilian Cherry, Maple, White Oak and Hickory/Pecan while American Cherry and Walnut are softer hardwoods.

The hardness of wood usually varies with the direction of the grain, so if testing is done on the surface of a plank, with the force exerted perpendicular to the grain, the test is said to be of “side hardness.” Side hardness of a block of wood measured in the direction of the tree’s center, and on a tangent to the tree’s rings, are typically very similar.

End testing is also sometimes done, which is completed by testing the cut surface of a stump. The side hardness of teak, for example, is in the range 3730 to 4800 newtons, while the end hardness is in the range 4150 to 4500 newtons. Historically, the most common use of the Janka hardness ratings is to determine whether a species is suitable for use as flooring
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While there are many factors to consider when choosing your hardwood flooring, durability of your hardwood is definitely one factor to think about. The harder a wood, the more durable and strong it tends to be.

Hardwood flooring can last for decades. It insulates well and improves the frame strength of a house. It helps a home sell faster and can add a spike to its selling price. Hardwood lumber, floors, staircases, and moldings create rich natural colors with handcrafted quality. Hardwood enhances any environment in which it’s introduced. Some quick reasons why you should choose hardwood: Natural, warm and authentic color, simple, yet decorative for any room in the house, rugged yet charming, durable yet easy to care for, beauty that’s hard to tire of and has the potential to last the lifetime of the home. Hardwood introduces a definite stature and an undeniable charm to any room and becomes more valuable as time goes by.

With hardwood, you have three options to maintain its quality, character, and integrity: Firstly, you can lightly screen and re-coat with urethane to bring back the original luster, secondly, you can completely sand and refinish the surface to make the wood look like new, and thirdly, a urethane-protected hardwood surface provides so much durability you may never need to choose either of the above two options.

Knowing the Janka hardness scale of your chosen species will assist you in knowing how to care for your wood and to estimate what type of future care will be required.

The hardness is expressed numerically as the pounds per square inch of pressure required to sink the ball into the species of hardwood where the higher the number, the harder the hardwood. The Janka hardness test is done on both the side and on the end of the hardwood due to the fact that hardness varies with the grain.

The Janka hardness scale is the industry standard for judging the ability of various hardwood flooring species to withstand denting and wear. It also indicates the effort required to either nail or saw the particular wood and therefore, also helps determine whether the hardwood is suitable for flooring.

This is also something to keep in mind when you are deciding whether or not to do the installation on your own or if you will be hiring a professional installer.

So what species can you reference for hardness? Red Oak hardwood flooring, which has a Janka rating of 1290, is the flooring industry benchmark for comparing the relative hardness of different wood species.

Following are some of the most popular hardwood species used in flooring along with their respective hardness ratings according to the Janka hardness test:
American Black Cherry (950)
American Black Walnut (1010)
Yellow Birch (1260)
Red Oak (1290)
White Ash (1320)
White Oak (1360)
Hard Maple (1450)
Santos Mahogany (2200)
Brazilian Cherry (2345)
Ebony (3220)
Brazilian Teak (3540)
Brazilian Walnut (3680)

The Janka hardness scale was originally produced as a variation on the Brinell hardness test. In Janka’s original test the results were expressed in units of pressure, but when the ASTM standardized the test (tentative issue in 1922 with the standard first formally adopted in 1927), it called for results in units of force. The results are stated in various ways in different countries, which can lead to confusion, especially since the name of the actual unit employed is often not attached.

In the United States, the measurement is in pounds-force. In Sweden it is apparently in kilogram-force (kgf), and in Australia, Janka hardness ratings are either in newtons (N) or kilonewtons (kN). Sometimes the results are even treated as units (for example - 360 janka).