Prefinished Flooring – Prefinished Hardwood Flooring

In the Octagon this week, it’s domestic wood Birch and exotic flooring Massaranduba/Brazilian Redwood.

First, the domestic hometown favorite:

Birch Flooring

Janka Hardness: 1,100 lbs

Moduls of Rupture: 15,570 PSI

Modulus of Elasticity: 1500  PSI

Density: 770 kg/m3

Tangential Shrinkage: 9%

Radial Shrinkage: 6.5%

Now the exotic challenger:

Massaranduba / Brazilian Oak Flooring

Janka Hardness Rating: 3190 lbs

Modulus of Rupture: 29200 PSI

Modulus of Elasticity: 3450 PSI

Density: 1,000 kg/m3

Tangential Shrinkage:  9.4%

Radial Shrinkage: 6.3%

Strength and Durability: Mechanically speaking, like last week, the exotic pummels the domestic:  Massaranduba is much harder and denser than Birch flooring. The judges are going with Massaranduba here.

Movement in Service: The tangential and radial shrinkage levels of both woods are about the same, and not very far apart, so both are fairly stable. The judges are calling this one a wash.

Looks: Massaranduba is a reddish-brown wood. Unfortunately, though it is exotic, it never seems to go one way or the other: It’s not as red as the redder woods, it’s not as pink as the pinker woods. In the end, it’s just a smidge dull. Birch, on the other hand, is a bright and vibrant blonde color that really achieves it’s style vigorously. The judges have decided this one for Birch.

Another fight to the finish comes to and end! Stay tuned next week, there’s more wood on wood violence to come!