Janka Hardness Scale

Ipe: Strong Like Bull

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:44:10 +0000

Ipe is one of the most sought after tradewoods in the industry. For one, it possesses one of the highest Janka hardness rating. It doesn’t just boast exceptional hardness but it is also very structurally sound. Its resistance to moisture as well as insects and other pests. Its Janka rating is 3680 and is virtually the hardest tradewood available. It has a Grade A fire rating, which is the same grade applied to cement and concrete. Extremely difficult to damage, it’s the perfect choice for households that need a very durable hardwood flooring. Because of the wood’s hardness, it’s very difficult to shape and form into Ipe Hardwood Floors. It has a tendency to dull bladed tools and with such a fierce resistance to being nailed, it requires the pre-drilling of holes in order to properly set nails.

Ipe Heartwood will usually display an olive brown coloring that can almost be near black. The darker shade of the heartwood contrasts well against the white or yellow hued sapwood. This wood has an oily appearance and varying grain patterns which range from uniform, to straight and to very irregular. As Ipe Hardwood Floors is exposed to sunlight the wood will darken to a medium or dark brown color. For Ipe that’s been used in decking, graying will occur, but this can be remedied with annual pressure washing.

Maple: More Than Just Syrup

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:54:56 +0000

Maple is one of the most diverse types of trees in the entire world and as such it has a great deal of uses. It excels as maple hardwood floors because of how durable it is. It has a high crushing strength and when combined with its stiff and durable composition it is truly formidable. Shock resistance as well as resistance to scuffs and scrapes makes Maple a popular choice for flooring in high stress areas. And naturally, all of these features make Maple a wood that can be difficult to work with. While the wood does sand well, the machining process can place unsightly scratches and imperfections on the surface of the wood. So extra care must be taken. Maple has a respectable level of hardness with a Janka rating at 1450. Maple’s sapwood produces creamy white flooring that will carry into lighter ranges of the heartwood. Mixing the cream white of the sapwood with the darker reddish brown of the heartwood has an advantageous appearance.

This trade wood has a wide range of uses, other than producing maple hardwood floors. Maple is often used as pulpwood, tool handles, cabinetry and piano framing. These are, of course, all in addition to the well-known maple syrup which is produced from the tree’s sap.

Hickory Flooring Overview

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:52:56 +0000

Hickory is often referred to as the “first” hardwood choice of the United States. It’s well known for its unique and rustic qualities. With a Janka Hardness rating of 1820 it is a very hard wood–considerably harder than most commercialized woods. For instance, it is approximately 50% more durable than Northern Red Oak. It also compares favorably to other hardwood like hard maple and purpleheart. Because of this hardness Hickory Hardwood Floors can sometimes be hard to work with. Sawing and nailing can be difficult–while using screws can prove to be more advantageous. Gluing is also a viable option. Once hickory flooring is installed they stain well but it will require some work to achieve a smooth finish. Hickory hardwood floors appeal stems from its dark streaks which will range in thickness. These streaks are naturally organized onto lither, sometimes cream-colored tone.

Aside from flooring, Hickory has a variety of uses. It is often used to make handles for tools, as well as other items, that regularly come under stress—like baseball bats, walking canes and drum sticks. It is an excellent choice for any product that is in a position to take damage due to its combination of strength, toughness, hardness and stiffness.

Finding Hardwood Flooring with The Flooring Navigator

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:08:37 +0000

As one of the leaders of the online flooring industry, FloorMall has always been focused on creating better ways for customers to find the right flooring. And this is why they developed “The Floor Navigator”. The navigator is an unique interface which allows visitors to choose from a series of drop-down lists. Each drop down list has several attributes to select from. Visitors can browse from these attributes and find the floors they’re the most likely to buy by its function. It’s a more efficient way of browsing than just by brand and collection, though customers are free to search that way as well. And since FloorMall.com showcases over a thousand products, the Floor Navigator is a way for customers to get the most out of their time during their visit. Whether they’re searching for hardwood flooring, laminate flooring or bamboo from Johnson Flooring they’ll be able to find it quickly by utilizing the Flooring Navigator.

If you’re searching for hardwood flooring and you’re under a tight budget you can narrow your search by the lowest price. And then let’s say that you’ve always wanted white oak in your living room and you can narrow your searches by that species. It’s a simple and flexible system that can be as in-depth as you want it.

Great Deals On Mohawk Engineered Flooring

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:59:57 +0000

It’s true that nothing quite revitalizes a room and adds value to a home like a new set of engineered hardwood flooring. That’s why it’s important to carefully research and consider all of the factors and choices that goes into the purchase of engineered flooring. At the forefront of all considerations should be who you’re purchasing the flooring from. This impacts everything from the quality of the flooring, to its price, its Janka rating and the level of customer service that accompanies your purchase. You can find the best of all these things at FloorMall. FloorMall is an authorized flooring retailer with a huge selection of engineered flooring options at prices that won’t break your budget.

One feature of FloorMall’s site that helps homeowners like you save money is their Blowout section. The FloorMall Blowout section contains a host of flooring options available at incredibly low prices. One current engineered flooring standout in the Blowout section is Mohawk’s Revival Birch San Rocco Teak. This flooring features the impressive Uniclic installation type which is a simple and glueless installation method. It also has an aluminum oxide/Scotchguard finish which means it’ll stand up to the rigors of a busy household without losing its appeal. Best of all when you purchase from FloorMall’s Blowout section you’re getting quality flooring from industry leaders at incredibly low prices.

Why Strand-woven bamboo?

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:13:11 +0000

Bamboo is a woody plant that has become very popular for use in hardwood flooring for several reasons. It is the fastest growing woody plant in the world and is actually considered a grass. At its optimal height it can grow over 24 inches in a single day. Bamboo’s growth rate is one of the main reasons for the plant’s popularity in flooring. A single bamboo plant can reach maturity in only four to seven years. This makes it easy to quickly produce and profit off of bamboo plantations. This growth rate is the reason why bamboo is considered a renewable resource and green flooring. But what’s the difference between regular bamboo flooring and strand-woven bamboo? The answer lies in the way the two types are engineered.

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.

Durable flooring options: engineered hardwood flooring, acrylic floors and more.

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:23:53 +0000

Because of the heightened popularity of hardwood flooring there are now more options available to the average homeowner than ever before. These options will end up suiting different households depending upon the needs of each homeowner. In this post, we’ll go over some types of hardwood flooring that’ll be extra durable and resilient. This will be perfect for homes that have children or just see an elevated amount of foot traffic. A good choice for flooring is of course just natural hardwood flooring. There are many options available with this type of flooring as well. There are many types of trees– exotic, domestic and otherwise and each one has different properties. When trying to decide on what types of hardwood flooring to get it is important to be familiar with the Janka hardness scale. Since we’re going over trade woods that would be a fine fit for a house that sees more foot traffic than normal we will deal with hardwoods that lie towards the top of the scale. These would be woods such as Brazilian Walnut and Wenge.

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.

Soft woods, Trade Woods and Hard Woods

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:57:39 +0000

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.

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.

Janka Hardness Scale Graph

admin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:57:20 +0000

Courtesy of FloorMall.com, we’ve integrated a real-time rendering of the Janka Hardness Scale Graph.

View the Janka Hardness Scale.

Hardwood Mysteries Explained

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:38:02 +0000

We have all heard of ’hard floors’ when it comes to interior decoration and furnishing, but what actually embodies this so-called hardwood flooring?

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.