Birch Flooring Janka

Paper birch is 910 nine percent softer than teak.
Birch flooring janka. The united states and canada. What you need to know about birch flooring there are different type of birch with varying janka ratings. To learn the basic hardness of different common woods used in flooring check the chart below. Sweet birch is ranked at 1470 which is just.
A good compromise lies somewhere in between. The janka test measures the amount of force required to embed a 0 444 steel ball into the wood to half of its diameter. The scale used in the table is pounds force. The janka hardness scale determines the hardness of a particular type of wood over another.
It reflects the force in pounds required to push a small steel ball into the wood. The janka rating for yellow birch is 1260 and for sweet birch 1470. Yellow birch is 1260 comparable to white oak seven percent softer. The janka scale is used to determine the relative hardness of particular domestic or exotic wood species.
The janka hardness rating measures wood to rate its suitability for flooring. Because of that the term for this unit of measure is pound force. Grades of red birch flooring available. Birch species range from the upper lower to the upper middle end of the janka hardness scale.
Tests are conducted on woods at 12 percent moisture. The yellow birch is the most commonly used in flooring and is only slightly less strong than red oak while the sweet birch is slightly harder than hard maple. Red birch is about the same hardness as white oak. Janka hardness ratings of wood species.
The scale was invented in 1906 by gabriel janka an austrian wood researcher and standardized in 1927 by the american society for testing and materials depending on the room where the flooring will be installed a certain level of hardness may make it a more desirable choice. Birch wood flooring species scientific name. When birch lumber is graded the majority of the red heartwood and the yellow sapwood are separated. Other names and species.
Woods with a higher rating are harder than woods with a lower rating. The janka rating is a measurement of how much force it would take to push a small steel ball into the wood so you could think of it as a measure of relative durability in hardwoods. Balsa wood measures 100. Paper birch is actually the softest of the birches with a.
The grain contrast in birch comes from the color difference between its lighter sapwood and darker heartwood.