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You have questions, we have answers. Explore the most frequently asked questions about White Oak wood flooring below. Need assistance or want to know more? Contact Carlisle or call 800-595-9663 today to get all your inquiries answered.
White Oak floors are a favorite among homeowners for their durability, versatility and aesthetic appeal. The density of White Oak makes it more resistant to wear and tear than other types of floors, and it can be used in various interior design styles from traditional to modern. The wood’s natural light color and interesting grain patterns create floors with a timeless appeal. It’s easy to keep White Oak floors clean, as the wood is highly resistant to scratches and stains.
The only real disadvantage of a White Oak floor is that the cost may be slightly higher than a Red Oak floor.
While hardwood floor styles are constantly evolving, White Oak hardwood flooring is likely to be a top choice of homeowners for its aesthetic appeal, durable performance and low maintenance requirements. Many manufacturers can provide a variety of grades, widths, colors, and textures that will allow for more timeless design choices.
Explore and select from our gallery of our most popular finishes, specially categorized by the personalities and traits of the floor designs.
ExploreWhite Oak is denser than woods like Cherry and Walnut, making a White Oak floor less susceptible to scratches and dents.
White Oak floors can easily be installed with a pattern to create an elegant and stylish interior. A White Oak Herringbone floor uses a crisscross pattern, where the end of one board adjoins the next at a right angle. In White Oak Chevron flooring, the ends of each board are cut at an angle so that the boards adjoin in a V shape. When the pattern is extended across the entire floor, the effect is like a long string of arrows with a zigzag appearance that adds movement and visual interest to a room.
French Oak is a little darker than unfinished White Oak flooring and has more variation in the grain. American White Oak planks tend to be wider and longer than planks from French trees. And because French Oak floorboards must be shipped from Europe, the cost of installing a French Oak floor is bound to be higher than sourcing White Oak timbers from American manufacturers.
Reclaimed White Oak flooring uses floorboards salvaged from old buildings like houses, factories, barns and warehouses. The imperfections and timeworn quality of the floorboards create a surface with a strong sense of character and authenticity.
White Oak floorboards may be cut in various ways to produce different grain patterns in the floorboards. Plain sawn boards are cut from the timber like a loaf of bread, producing a wide range of patterns from board to board. Quartersawn White Oak boards are cut at an angle to the outer surface to produce planks with very straight grain lines and unique ray flecks in the wood. Riftsawn White Oak boards are cut at a 90° angle from the surface of the timber, creating highly consistent grain patterns for a more formal and unchanging appearance from board to board.
Prefinished White Oak flooring is sanded, stained and sealed within the ideal conditions of a manufacturer’s facility before being delivered to a home or business for installation. Prefinished flooring enables a much faster installation while avoiding the mess and the smell of sanding and sealing a floor on site.
Engineered White Oak wood flooring is made with a thin top layer of White Oak hardwood that’s glued to multiple layers of backing material to form a strong core that will not expand or contract when exposed to moisture and humidity. Engineered floors are ideal for installation in basements, radiant heating systems and concrete slabs, where higher levels of moisture and humidity would cause solid wood floors to warp, cup or crack. It’s important to remember that engineered flooring should not be installed in climates where the relative humidity drops below 30%.
White Oak floorboards are not actually white – they have more of a dark, nutty brown hue with dramatic grain patterns that range from simple and sleek to intricate, vibrant swirls.
Wide plank floors offer a more visually appealing and luxurious feel than floors made from standard hardwood floorboards. Commercial hardwood flooring uses strips of wood that are 2¼” to 3” wide and 3’ to 4’ long.These narrow, short floorboards result in hundreds of edges and seams in a standard room, creating a very busy and “cluttered” feel. In contrast, wide plank White Oak floors use boards that may be as wide as 8” to 16”and up to 14’ long, creating a more serene and spacious feel while allowing the beauty of the wood’s grain to be revealed in each plank.
Overall, White Oak makes a highly durable flooring surface. White Oak has a Janke hardness rating of 1360, making it one of the denser forms of hardwood and highly resistant to scratches and dents. Because it is a closed-Greenwood and many of its pores are plugged with a substance called tyloses, White Oak is also extremely resistant to water, decay and rot. This is the reason that White Oak timbers are often used in making whiskey barrels and boats.
White Oak is a porous wood that absorbs stain easily. White Oak floorboards can be easily stained in various hues, from light to dark.
While prices fluctuate somewhat, White Oak floors are fairly affordable, though they may cost a little more than Red Oak.
Red Oak timbers have a lighter, more pinkish undertone, while White Oak tends to be darker with browner hues. White Oak is slightly harder than Red Oak.
White Oak floors may be swept and vacuumed to remove light dust and debris. For day-to-day cleaning, a mixture of 1 to 2 ounces of white vinegar in 2 gallons of water works well. This safe, eco-friendly solution has a natural acidity that strips away most dirt and contaminants.
Carlisle Wide Plank Floors offers many options in flooring made from White Oak timbers. Every board in a Carlisle White Oak floor is hand selected, chosen by our team to match the color, texture and grade the homeowner desires. We are committed to sustainable forestry practices and work only with foresters and sawyers who share our vision.
