Finish – an engineered floor is protected by the finish applied at the factory. Finishes come in a variety of forms including the following:

• UV-cured – Factory finishes that are cured with Ultra Violet lights versus heat.
• Polyurethane – A clear, tough and durable finish that is applied as a wear layer.
• Acrylic-urethane – A slightly different chemical make up than Polyurethane with the same benefits.
• hardwood – Advanced technology that allows the use of space-age hardwoods to increase the abrasion resistance of the wear layer.
• Aluminum Oxide – Added to the urethane finish for increased abrasion resistance of the wear layer, which is becoming extremely popular on the better grade wood floors.
• Acrylic Impregnated – Acrylic monomers are injected into the cell structure of the wood to give increased hardness and then finished with a wear layer over the wood.

Hardness – each wood species has a certain degree of hardness that makes it resistant to dents, scratches, etc. This hardness is measured by a Janka Test. The higher the score the harder the wood flooring. Here are a few examples of woods:

Wood Species Hardness Rating Douglas Fir 660 Southern Yellow Pine (short leaf) 690 Southern Yellow Pine (Long leaf) 870 Black Cherry 950 Teak 1000 Black Walnut 1010 Heart Pine 1225 Yellow Birch 1260 Red Oak (Northern) 1290 American Beech 1300 Ash 1320 White Oak 1360 Australian Cypress 1375 Hard Maple 1450 Wenge 1620 African Pedauk 1725 Hickory 1820 Pecan 1820 Purpleheart 1860 Jarrah 1910 Merbau 1925 Santos Mahogany 2200 Mesquite 2345 Brazilian Cherry 2350