Red Oak Vs White Oak Wood Floors

When you choose oak for hardwood flooring, you are making an investment that will add to the beauty of your home and can last over 100 years due to its impressive durability. White oak is better with gray and lighter stains.

45+ Top European White Oak Floor Ideas White oak floors

Differences between red and white oak hardwood flooring.

Red oak vs white oak wood floors. Its tone is more along light pink lines. Pictured below are red and white oak room scenes that have been sanded and finished in place. Red oak has light golden wood with reddish or pink tones.

If you had your heart set on red oak however, don’t let this discourage you. In other words, quarter sawn shown first will rank higher in cost. Red oak is more porous than the white oak making it more susceptible to water damage or rot.

Red oak color is lighter than white oak. White oak carries yellowish or brown undertones, making it less bright and more of a deeper shade. In essence, red oak flooring has a pinkish tone and a more patterned grain, whilst white oak flooring has a yellowish tone and a less busy aspect to its grain.

Therefore, though both would be good in high traffic areas of your home or space, wood flooring made from white oak is just a little better suited to stand up to wear and tear. When it comes to staining red oak vs. Red oak is a wood selection that is more suitable to indoor use only.

Red oak can be used outdoors in vertical applications, like barn siding, and last for quite a long time, but in horizontal applications, especially where the wood will dry out slowly or not at all. When you stain them, the difference between the 2 species decreases, especially the darker you go. White oak has been used for centuries in the building of boats.

Pricing will be higher with photos from top to bottom. Red oak tends to have a more distinctive grain than white oak, which is smoother. Surprisingly, white oak tends to be a bit darker and has more beige and brownish hues, while red oak color has more salmon and pink undertones.

Red oak vs white oak hardwood flooring read more » Here are a few more contrasts. White oak, both kinds of.

By troy hewes | jun 8, 2014 | featured, hardwood, uncategorized, video. While red oak hardwood is better at concealing dents than white, it’s more susceptible to dents and damage from impact. As a result red oak can be seen as having more character and is perceived as more traditional, while white oak has a more modern and rating 1360 on the janka hardness scale while red oak is just 1290.

Both red and white oak are fairly dense varieties of wood, however, white oak is a little more durable with a janka scale rating of about 1360 while red oak sits at about a 1290. Red or white oak hardwood floors. It is usually lighter weight than white oak and not quite as dense.

The janka hardness scale (an industry standard of measurement) measures white oak at 1360, while red oak only comes in a 1290. While both white and red oak are considered to be very strong and durable, white oak flooring is actually a bit harder than red oak. The most significant difference between red oak and white oak flooring is in their color.

In recent years red and white oak hardwood flooring has remained king in the us domestic market. Red oak also has wider grain lines that can run in zigzag patterns, or subtle, wavy lines that are absent from white oak. With lighter stains, the red oak tends to have a bit of red undertone in the color.

Because they have a different density, they will absorb a stain color differently and won’t match each other when stained. White oak has a brown or tan finished color, while red oak is actually lighter in color and has a pinkish hue. Another reason that red oak flooring displays a more prominent grain pattern than white oak is because it is a lighter wood than white oak.

Red oak should only be used for interior pieces such as cabinets, indoor furniture, flooring, etc. If you’re looking for a floor that has a great deal of character in the grain, then red oak is best for you. However, this does not apply to scratches as the wood’s resilience to these is determined by its finish and quality.

Oak wood has overtones and undertones — no surprise here. This type of wood is great for boats or other areas where the conditions might not be stable over time (think wind and rain). White oak tends to be more dense, while red.

Red oak has a reddish hue to it, but don’t expect it to echo the intensity of cherry hardwood. White oak flooring is slightly harder (and oddly enough, darker) than red oak with a janka rating of about 1360.

Minwax Color Guide. Stain samples on a white oak floor