What Is the Difference Between White Oak and Red Oak Lumber?

Lumber is a thick wood cut from different types of trees and used for building. This material is used for all types of wooden structures, including homes and the flooring inside of a home. White and red oak lumber is a commonly used building supply.

Although these two types of wood are both used for building, each type of lumber has different characteristics that make them suitable for different building jobs.

Red Oak

• When looking at red oak, you can see long strips that go all the way down the wood. These stripes stay on the wood even when it is sanded down. Because this type of lumber comes from very large trees, you are able to get long pieces, unlike white oak that can only be found in shorter pieces. Red oak is best used for furniture and is a dense material. In order to use this type of lumber for furniture, it must first be treated by several different chemicals and then it can be sold for building. If the wood goes untreated, it may easily break or splinter.

White Oak

• This lumber comes from trees significantly shorter than red oak trees. White oak is most commonly used for structures built to be strong and waterproof. This wood is light in color, has no stripes and can be used to build airtight structures such as water barrels. It is also a fine material to use when building a boat out of wood. White oak keeps all water and moisture from entering, which prevents leaks and rotting. This type of wood does not require as much chemical treatment as red oak and is sometimes used in its natural form.