What Is the Difference Between White Oak and Red Oak?

White oak and red oak are two different types of oak. Although the name suggests that they are different colours, you cannot tell them apart by just relying on this, especially if they have had stain applied to them.

Red oak is also known as Quercus rubra. Although this is the true red oak, others such as Black Oak (Quercus velutina) and Water Oak (Quercus nigra) are broadly grouped as red oak.

White Oak is also called Quercus alba. It is the true white oak but others such as Bur Oak and English Oak are also considered to be white oaks.

This means that you are not always buying an exact species - more the characteristics of the red or white group.

The two groups are different and if you know what you are looking for you can easily tell them apart.

If you have the luxury of seeing the leaves still on the wood, they will help you make identify which wood you have. The leaves of White Oak usually have rounded lobes, but those of the Red Oak are pointed. This isn't true in every single case though.

In a lot of cases you won't have the leaves to help you so one way to tell the timbers apart is to look at the rays (the dark brown lines in the wood). Red oak usually has short rays. White oak usually has longer rays - often longer than three quarters of an inch.

You can also look at the endgrain (assuming they are not painted, rough-sawn or sealed). Make sure that the wood is free from dust then take a closer look. If you are looking at heartwood, the endgrain of red oak will show open pores. White oak heartwood pores are filled with what are known as tyloses - a bubble-like formation.

An exception to this is Chestnut Oak, a white that has large and open pores.

The quickest and perhaps most reliable method of working out if timber is red or white oak is to use a 10% solution of sodium nitrite on the heartwood. Brush it onto the wood and wait for a colour change. Red oak will only change slightly (sometimes with a greenish hue) but white oak will change considerably in only a few minute, showing a dark reddish-brown and then finally almost a black.

Once you can tell the timbers apart you can make sure that you use them for the right things. White oak is good for outdoor furniture and boat building because it is resistant to water (due to the tyloses). It is also more resistant to rot and therefore a little more expensive.

Red oak is great for indoor furniture and has the benefit of being a bit lighter than its white cousin.

Both are excellent timbers that will look beautiful for years.

By Rebecca G Wishford

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They have a wide range of solid wood furniture in their stores and you can make a purchase online.