| The Cat, the dog and the kids are all going to be | | | | embed a .444 inch diameter steel ball down to its |
| running around on your new hardwood floor. The ball | | | | halfway point in a piece of wood. The more pressure |
| goes flying and the dog takes after it as you sit on | | | | it takes, the harder the wood. It is measured in |
| the sofa and cringe thinking about the scratches that | | | | pounds-force (lbf). |
| will follow. And getting rid of the house pet is not an | | | | Thus, the higher the number the greater its density |
| option! So is there a solution? | | | | and its ability to resist life's challenges. The lower the |
| The current inflow of exotic hardwood floors from | | | | number the softer the wood, in other words, the |
| around the world might offer some relief. They are | | | | easier it will be for the dog's nails to dent your floor. |
| generally much more dense then our local North | | | | (as an aside I also use it as a gauge as to hard it will |
| American species. In many cases they are twice as | | | | be to cut, nail and sand in my woodworking |
| dense. They come in rich dark colours in line with | | | | adventures) |
| what you think of when dreaming of the tropics, but | | | | Species like Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry) and Tigerwood |
| it is their resistance to dents that will be their true | | | | with a Janka Rating over 2100 are good examples of |
| appeal. | | | | woods that would age with a little more grace, then |
| But they come with their own issues. Some are so | | | | say a black cherry with a Janka rating of 950. Don't |
| brittle that it is next to impossible to nail in place | | | | get hung up too much with the actual numbers but |
| without breaking all the tongues. Some are so nasty | | | | rather the relationships between the various species, |
| that they just can't be used in less then perfectly | | | | as even the same wood can express variation in |
| controlled environments. Some are so expensive that | | | | hardness as a function of its growing environment. At |
| you and I must win the lottery to be able to afford | | | | the end of the day, all wood floors with a high Janka |
| more than enough for the bathroom. But these are all | | | | rating have a place in tough wear environments, |
| discussions for another day. | | | | particularly if you have a 120lb sheep dog. |
| Today, I really wanted to talk specifically about a | | | | Thus it may be important, if you have analyzed your |
| wood floor's hardness. Most of the woods that we | | | | home environment as a high traffic zone to consider |
| see on the market today are rated according to the | | | | some of the exotic wood options. There is a full |
| Janka Wood Hardness Scale. This is an industrial | | | | listing of the Janka Wood Hardness Scale on our |
| measuring process that allows you and I to compare | | | | website. Use it as a starting point when shopping for |
| all the various types of wood for their resistance to | | | | a harder, more dent resistant floor. Then don't forget |
| dings and dents, without having an engineering | | | | to ask if this wood species has other specific |
| degree. | | | | challenges in either instability or installation, that you |
| It is a pretty simple process. They use a type of | | | | should be aware of. Get the whole story! |
| hydraulic jack and see how much pressure it takes to | | | | |