The Janka Hardness Test is the current industry standard in measuring the hardness or density of any given wood floor. Wood floors are sourced from a variety of different wood species found all over the globe. Some of these species are naturally harder than others and the Janka Hardness Test is used to test exactly how hard a wood floor is using a numerical value.
How is testing performed?
To test the hardness of a wood floor, a sample is taken and used inside of a laboratory to ensure the most accurate results. It’s important to note that testing is performed on samples of a wood floor, and not actual flooring products.
The Janka Hardness Test measures the force required to embed a 0.444″ steel ball into the wood until half of the steel ball is in the wood. This force is measured in a number of different ways depending on the country. Here in the USA, the force is measured in pounds-force (lbf). Other countries may use different units. However, there will always be a number associated with the test and the higher this number is, the harder the wood species.
Janka Hardness Test Table
Variations of wood flooring
