Bamboo flooring hardness so often touted to be nearly indestructible but is it? In reality, bamboo flooring hardness can be manipulated. While bamboo flooring can be a great floor, you might want to move on to another store if the salesperson you are working with tells you that bamboo cannot be scratched or dented. Just like hardwood and laminate floors a bamboo floor can be scratched and dented.
The Facts Regarding Bamboo Flooring Hardness
Bamboo Flooring Pros and Cons found that some bamboo manufacturers tend to make questionable claims as to bamboo flooring hardness. In some situations the bamboo manufacturer will base the results of their bamboo flooring hardness test by reporting the Janka values of test made on the “nodes” or knot of the bamboo plant . These knots only occupy a small fraction of the bamboo plant and therefore the tests results are not a true measure of bamboo flooring hardness for the overall product.
Bamboo Flooring Pros and Cons has also found that while bamboo flooring hardness for a natural bamboo can be as hard or harder than maple carbonized bamboo is significantly softer. Natural bamboo can range in hardness from 1350 – 1750 psi (pounds per square inch). Carbonized (aka Amber) bamboo will range from 1100 – 1300 psi as the bamboo is weakened by the carbonization process.
The chart below list the relative hardness for numerous wood species used in flooring as based on a modified Janka hardness test. Wood and bamboo flooring hardness is generally defined as resistance to indentation. The higher the number the harder the wood. Janka is one of the best methods to measure the ability of wood species to withstand indentations. Janka testing should be used as a guideline and not the only consideration when comparing various species of wood and bamboo flooring. Factors such as construction and finish should also play important functions in the maintenance and durability of a bamboo floor.
It is important to realize that a bamboo flooring hardness value is only an indicator as to performance and damage resistance. All bamboo and wood flooring are natural products and will dent, ding and scratch based on use, care and traffic.
The values reported by Bamboo Flooring Problems for wood and bamboo flooring hardness are from a number of flooring industry, manufacturer and testing resources. As with all natural flooring product testing the results may vary.
The test results in this report are based on the ASTM D1037 Janka Ball test. The Janka test is a measure used to determine the strength and durability of wood and bamboo flooring based on the amount of force required to indent the floor. The test measures the force required to embed an 11.28 millimeter (0.444 inch) steel ball into wood half its diameter (0.222 inch) deep.
The Janka hardness of bamboo flooring tends to vary a bit as it does with some wood species. Due to the thickness of available specimens its accuracy is somewhat greater on wood than bamboo. Wood and Bamboo
Bamboo Flooring Hardness Tables – Janka Hardness Test
Bamboo Flooring Hardness Tables – Janka Hardness Test
Wood and Bamboo |
Hardness* |
| Chestnut, Domestic | 540 |
| Douglas Fir | 660 |
| Southern Yellow Pine (Long Leaf) | 870 |
| Mahogany, Honduran | 800 |
| Lacewood | 840 |
| Mahogany, African, Khaya | 845 |
| Yellow Pine, Southern | 870 |
| Black Cherry | 950 |
| North American Cherry | 950 |
| Imbuia | 950 |
| Teak | 1000 |
| Cherry, Africa, Makore | 1010 |
| Black Walnut, Domestic | 1010 |
| Aniegre | 1110 |
| Bamboo, Carbonized | 1100 – 1300 |
| Heart Pine | 1225 |
| Iroko/Kambala | 1260 |
| Yellow Birch | 1260 |
| Red Oak, Northern | 1290 |
| Angelique | 1290 |
| Walnut, African, Mansonia | 1290 |
| American Beech | 1300 |
| Ash, Domestic | 1320 |
| Vintage Oak | 1325 |
| White Oak, Domestic | 1360 |
| Cypress, Australian Hard | 1375 |
| Bamboo, Natural | 1350 – 1750* |
| Maple, Domestic | 1450 |
| Maple, Brazilian | 1500 |
| Mahogany, African, Sapele | 1500 |
| Zebrawood | 1575 |
| Wenge | 1630 |
| Teak, Striped, Shedua | 1650 |
| Patens | 1691 |
| Perdauk, African | 1725 |
| Yellowheart | 1820 |
| Hickory | 1820 |
| Pecan | 1820 |
| Purple Heart | 1860 |
| Jarrah, Australian | 1915 |
| Merbau | 1925 |
| Bubinga | 1980 |
| Goncalo Alves | 2160 |
| Rosewood, Asian | 2170 |
| Bocote | 2200 |
| Mahogany, Santos | 2200 |
| Rosewood, Honduran | 2200 |
| Mesquite | 2345 |
| Cherry, Brazilian | 2350 |
| Bamboo, Strand | 2900 – 3300* |
| Bloodwood | 3300 |
| Rosewood, Brazilian (Tamarindo) | 3000 |
| Chestnut, Southern | 3540 |
| Teak, Brazilian (Cumaru) | 3540 |
| Cherry, Bolivian | 3650 |
| Walnut, Brazilian (lpe) | 3680 |
| Ebony, Brazilian | 3692 |
* Natural bamboo flooring hardness will range from 1350 – 1750 psi (pounds per square inch). Carbonized (aka Amber) bamboo flooring hardness will range from 1100 – 1300 psi as the bamboo is weakened about 30% by the carbonization process. Strand bamboo flooring hardness, the hardest of the bamboo products with range between 2900-3300 psi.