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Q: What is the Janka hardness rating? And, why do I care?

I recently went to one of these hardwood floor showrooms. The sales guy I talked to kept talking about the Janka hardness rating. What is this all about? What do the numbers mean? And, why do I care? What is a harder wood really going to get me? My parents have hardwood floors that they got ten years ago. I don't think they worried too much about the hardness of the hardwood. Their floors seem fine.

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    Good morning Doug!

    In it's simplest form The Janka Hardness Scale is used to measure the force necessary to embed half the diameter of a steel, .444 inch ball into the wood. Woods with a high rating are considered harder. It is a good indication of how resistant each wood species is to denting and wear and a useful way to see how hard the wood will be to saw or nail. What kind of wood do your parents have? It maybe holding up so well because it is a harder species. That and proper care of course. It isn't a matter of you have to care, rather a measure to help you determine how your floor will hold up in relation to the life you live on it.

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    Dec 5, 2022

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