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Thread: Help Identifying Oak Flooring Type

  1. #1

    Help Identifying Oak Flooring Type

    My 1963 house in Western Oregon has 2 1/4" x 3/4" tongue and groove flooring in the living room which I am planning to extend into the dining room. I am assuming that the wood is oak. I am hoping to find some new material that matches the original wood closely enough that I can use it. Red oak flooring seems to be the most common 3/4" type available here, but the samples I have compared to my original flooring always tend to be noticeably more pink in color.

    I do not know if the attached image is much help (the image shows a piece of red oak sitting on top of a sanded section of my current flooring). If anyone could offer any insights I would appreciate it.

    Thank you,
    TC Penrose
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Guess my first question is, how are you going to finish it? Looking at that picture, if you put anything except a pure-clear finish (e.g. water-base poly) on those two pieces of wood, there's no way you'll able to tell them apart afterward.

  3. #3
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    The old flooring looks more #2 common white oak but it's hard to tell.Also red oak floors tend to turn brown over the years. Stains will change the color enough that you wouldn't be able to tell. I will say the piece your showing us in Select & Better Red Oak.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    there are a lot of different types of oaks, but to simple ol'e me it looks like your floor is white oak.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Thomas, I was told once by an experienced, graduate forestry major that the only way you could visually distinguish between red and white oak is to look at the end grain. The pores in red oak are open (unobstructed tubes) and the pores in white oak are like bamboo tubes, i.e, whith periodic obstructions that block the pores.
    I had some irritating problems with the open pores of the red ( I know, it can be dealt with) and haven't bought any for a long time, but still have some red along with some white in my stock. I look at the end grain to identify which it is.
    Not much help in your case, but I thought I'd comment.
    (Further comment: I'm not color-blind but have poor color discrimination.)

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
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    Portland OR
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    Thomas

    That looks like white oak. If you have it sanded down to the wood put a couple drop of water and check the reaction. It the wet area becomes a blood red then it is red oak.

    If you can get a sample of the old floor take it over to Lumber Liquidators on 2245 NW Nicolai St and compare it to their samples. It will give you a better idea and they will also assist you.

    Dave
    How many times must I redo it to get it correct??

  7. #7
    Thank you very much for all the help and suggestions. I will check out Lumber Liquidators in Portland and see what their white oak looks like. I was not planning to stain the floor, but thought that I might prefer the more amber color of an oil based finish. I am not totally decided on what type of finish I will use though.

    Thanks again.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    It's #2 common red oak in my book. That's what I have in my house. There can be big variations because Red Oak technically covers alot of species.
    I could cry for the time I've wasted, but thats a waste of time and tears.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    I have a lot of red oak that is white and a lot of white oak that is red. So color is not that much help at least in this area.Bruce Hoadley, who wrote "Identifying Wood" notes a method for identifying red/white oak called "ray height" that he says is 90% to 95% releable. Basically, both have rays that look like black thread running with the grain. In red oak, the rays never exceed 1" (usually 3/8 to 5/8) where in white oak, many are in the 1-1/4" to 2" range. Try it, you'll like it.Regards, Joe
    Two weeks, your project will be done in two weeks!!! (From the Money Pit)

  10. #10
    Looks like Red Oak in the pic.

  11. #11

    Don't mix your oaks

    TC,

    How wide are those planks? Per Mr. Myers comments and my meager experience, the second board from top has ray flecks that indicate the floor is white oak.

    Though my experience is meager, my mistakes are many. Mixing red and white oak in the same project is a mistake I will never do again. An entertainment center carcass of red oak plywood with white oak doors and framing seemed like the cheapest solution for a mission style entertainment center. The differences are striking when large areas are involved. Most guests to our humble abode do not notice (or mention) the difference, but it stands out like a sore thumb to me.

    Guy

  12. #12
    Thanks again for the suggestions. I did remove a piece of my flooring and sand it down. The bottom side is stamped with the manufacturer's name/info, which is "Arkansas Oak Flooring Co. - Pine Bluff Arkansas - Perfection Brand". Wetting it with water did not result in any kind of red color. None of the flooring I have sanded has resulted in open pores being brought out (I have seen other oak with very open pores, but this wood does not seem to be like that at all). The rays all seem rather short on the pieces I have inspected, typically less than an inch long. I will take the piece I removed to a hardwood flooring dealer and see what they say.

  13. #13
    I did a Sodium Nitrite test on the flooring and all twenty strips I tried turned black, indicating that the wood was white oak. I went to Lumber Liquidators in Portland, OR and ordered about 450 sq ft of white oak from them for $2.36 a sq ft. It looked like a close match to my existing wood and should arrive in 2-3 weeks. Thanks for all the suggestions.

  14. #14
    Floor looks like white oak and the loose board looks like red oak. JMHO

    We put both, red and white, in our kitchen floor, to mix up the look. A little unconventional but so far everyone has liked it.

    Last edited by Jim Young; 10-29-2005 at 10:33 PM.
    Jim

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    It looks like quarter sawn or rift sawn white oak....
    "All great work starts with love .... then it is no longer work"

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