Jun 17 2009
Unfinished Oak Flooring
Oak wood has long been a favorite flooring choice for homeowners. It is durable and beautiful in a variety of settings. In addition to its natural beauty, individuals can choose unfinished oak flooring and have a finish applied to suite their own personal tastes.
Oak flooring accounts for 80% of the sales of wood flooring. The popularity of oak flooring is the reason consumers have more oak-based flooring options than any other flooring option.
Color Rich
Many people automatically think of houses from days gone by either sandy colored or light reddish colored floors when oak flooring is mentioned. However, with unfinished oak flooring the possibilities are limited only by the homeowner’s imagination.
Unfinished oak flooring can be finished by the installer or other professional or by the homeowner with a little bit of instruction. Finishing options include stains, varnishes and lacquers in a variety of colors and glosses.
Other Oak Flooring Options
Interior of cottage galley-style kitchen with oak floor
In addition to unfinished oak flooring, consumers also have a choice between factory new oak flooring or distressed oak flooring. They have very different looks.
Another option is whether to choose Red Oak or White Oak flooring for the home. Both are available in finished or unfinished. Red Oak is light colored with a reddish tone and White Oak is a white to creamish or light brown color.
Red Oak flooring can show more variations in colors than White Oak does depending on the subspecies of tree the wood is harvested from.
Solid or Engineered Oak Flooring
In the past, solid wood flooring was the option most people chose when selecting wood flooring. Their thinking tended to be that solid flooring was more elegant and durable. However, there are some flaws to solid wood flooring that make engineered flooring a good option to consider.
Solid wood flooring is thick which doesn’t allow for anything underneath it like floor heating.
Engineered Oak flooring is very much like solid Oak flooring. It is just as durable and just as beautiful, only not as thick. The top layer is the Oak wood, either finished or unfinished. Underneath this layer is another wood for support. Engineered flooring leaves room underneath for floor heating.
Oak Floor Characteristics
Finished or unfinished Oak flooring is one of the most durable, long lasting floorings a homeowner can choose. On the Janka Hardness scale, the Red Oak and the White Oak both score in the 1200’s. The Red Oak is a little stronger than the White Oak.
However, the White Oak is more water resistant than Red Oak and resists rot better than the Red Oak and other woods which is why it can be found in homes from hundreds of years ago and still be beautiful.
Finished or unfinished, Red Oak or White, engineered or solid, these are just a few of the questions consumers have to answer when choosing their wood flooring. The most important answer is longevity and of that they can be assured when choosing Oak flooring.
-Sharon V. Chapman
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