The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White Oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium to coarse texture, with longer rays than Red Oak. White Oak therefore has more figure than Red Oak.

BOTANICAL NAME: 

Quercus Alba

ORIGIN: 

North America - Widespread throughout the Eastern United States. The white oak group comprises many species, of which about eight are commercial. The average white oak tree height is 60 to 80 feet.

COMMON NAMES: 

Basket Oak, Chestnut Oak, Cow Oak, Mountain Oak, Rock Oak, Swamp Oak, Tanbark Oak, Eastern White Oak, Stave Oak, Ridge White Oak, Cucharillo, Encino, and Roble.

JANKA HARDNESS:

1360

DIMENSIONAL STABILITY:

Average - Change Coefficient .00365 - 1% more stable than Northern Red Oak

RELATIVE ABUNDANCE: 

Widely available - 15.1 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available.

INTERESTING FACTS: 

White oak is virtually impervious to liquids, and has been used extensively for ship timbers, barrels and casks. White oak is the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois and Maryland. 

Native Americans and early settlers would boil and eat white oak acorns.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: 

The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium to coarse texture, with longer rays than red oak. White oak therefore has more figure.

COLOR CHANGE: 

White Oak undergoes a medium degree of color change, with a slight ambering over time.

MAIN USES: 

Oak is practically synonymous with high-quality, durable, and distinctively attractive wood floors. In addition, it is widely used in ship building, furniture and veneers, kegs and casks, truck and trailer beds, caskets, paneling, and mining timbers. Oak also makes a nice-burning fuel wood, and it yields tannin for the formulation of dyes.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:

White oak is slightly harder than red oak, and also more durable. However, both types are notably stiff and dense, have high shock resistance, and resist wear. Because of the high concentration of tannic acid in white oak, it is particularly resistant to fungi and insects.

WORKING PROPERTIES:

Both red and white oak have good resistance to splitting and excellent holding ability. Red oak sands better than white; by contrast, white oak has better machining qualities. Because of its relatively high porosity and low concentration of tannin, red oak works better for bleached floors than white oak, which can turn green or brown when the surface comes in contact with bleach or water-based finishes.