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Cabin Building » Janka Hardness Scale for Hardwood Flooring

Janka Hardness Scale for Hardwood Flooring

Modified: Sep 17, 2021 by Logcabin · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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Janka Hardness Scale

The Janka Hardness Scale is the industry standard for determining the hardness of different species of wood. We find it useful to determine their suitability for use as log cabin flooring. The higher the number, the harder the wood.

wooden flooring with outdoor furniture

The Janka Scale measures the force required to embed an 11.28 millimeter (0.444 inch) steel ball to a depth equal to half its diameter into the wood being tested, resulting in an indentation exactly 100 square millimeters in size.

The test gives a good indication of the wood's resistance to normal wear and tear and denting, and it also shows how difficult it is to work with as far as nailing and sawing.

Since the hardness varies according to the direction of the grain, the test can be performed on the side or the end grain.

The same woods grown in different environments have different hardnesses. Canadian woods are harder than American woods because of the shorter growing season.

This table shows the Janka Hardness Scale of various woods and gives an indication of the suitability of the wood for use as flooring. A higher number means that the wood will show less wear and is less easily dented. This is one factor to consider in your choice of log cabin flooring.

No.Wood Flooring SpeciesHardness
1.Brazilian Walnut (Ipe)3684
2.Brazilian Teak (Cumaru)3540
3.Ebony3220
4.Brazilian Redwood (Paraju)3190
5.Angelim Pedra3040
6.Brazilian Rosewood (Tamarindo)3000
7.Red Mahogany2697
8.Spotted Gum2473
9.Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba)2350
10.Mesquite2345
11.Santos Mahogany (Bocote)2200
12.Bubinga1980
13.Merbau1925
14.Purpleheart1860
15.Tigerwood1850
16.Hickory1820
17.Rosewood1780
18.African Padauk1725
19.Blackwood1720
20.African Oak1720
21.Kempas1710
22.Locust1700
23.Highland Beech1686
24.Wenge (Red Pine)1630
25.Hard Maple (Sugar Maple)1450
26.Coffee Bean1390
27.Natural Bamboo1380
28.Australian Cypress1375
29.White Oak1360
30.Ash (White)1320
31.American Beech1300
32.Red Oak (Northern Oak)1290
33.Caribbean Heart Pine1280
34.Yellow Birch1260
35.Movingui1230
36.Heart Pine1225
37.Andiroba1220
38.Carbonized Bamboo1180
39.Cocobolo1136
40.Brazilian Eucalyptus (Rose Gum)1125
41.Black Walnut1010
42.Teak1000
43.Sakura995
44.Black Cherry950
45.Boire940
46.Paper Birch910
47.Cedar900
48.Southern Yellow Pine (Longleaf Pine)870
49.Southern Yellow Pine (Loblolly Pine and Shortleaf Pine)690
50.Douglas Fir660
51.Larch590
52.Chestnut540
53.Hemlock500
54.White Pine420
55.Basswood410
56.Eastern White Pine380
Pile of different styles of Wooden Flooring

Click here for a great source for discount, top-quality hardwood flooring, shipped directly to your door -- anywhere in the U.S.

 More Log Cabin Building Pages:

Cabin Roofing Choices Your log cabin roofing choices will affect your budget and long-term enjoyment of your cabin.

Log Home Building School Learn practical ways to craft your dream at a log home building school.

Build a Log Cabin To build a log cabin means coordinating many aspects and prompt decision-making.

Cheap Hardwood Flooring Cheap hardwood flooring is available through my supplier, shipped anywhere in the country.

Build a Small Log Cabin How To Build a Small Log Cabin: Reprinted from December 1983 Popular Mechanics by Michael Chotiner with illustrations done by Harry Schaare.

« Log Standards for Log Structures
Log Cabin Hardwood Flooring Styles »

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