Oak is the most common wood used for flooring, because of this, it is also the wood that is used for the chemical design of most stains and finishes. This species has the perfect blend of hardness and stability. What this means for you is, finding a color and finish to match your specific design palette is less of a hassle.
Red Oak is the most commonly used hardwood for strip flooring, because of this, oak gets a less than ideal reputation for being mundane and limited. Red oak is not the only oak and should not be grouped with white oak or European oak. They are quite different, but each, red, white and Euro, have their own unique properties that enable us to highlight the individuality you wish to attain with your own floor.
White and European oak have the perfect tannin content and these tannins are what we use to manipulate the base color of your custom colored and finished floor.
Domestic white oak is mostly brown in color and is usually identifiable from this and the striping of sapwood, usually white in color, found on the edges. White oak is harder than red oak, which also attributes to it being slightly more susceptible to shrinking in dry environments. White oak is available in solid or engineered platforms and also in many different cuts and surface treatments.
European oak is still high in tannins, making it easy for us to manipulate colors on this platform. Euro oak is most often much lighter than domestic white oak with much less sapwood being prevalent. Though European oak is available in solid hardwood flooring, it is much more difficult to source. Meaning that Euro oak is most commonly available only on engineered platforms.
Though this flooring is considered a stable hardwood, oak flooring is available in both, engineered and solid platforms. Multiple applications require multiple structural mediums, meaning you could install a solid hardwood flooring on your above grade applications and an engineered to match in the basement on top of concrete.
Oak being the most commonly sourced hardwood for flooring means that it’s less likely to end up being a special-order product. We stock 2.25” and 3.25” solid red and white oak. We also stock solid or engineered, European and domestic white oak from 5” up to 14” at most times.
