New White Oak 20 Beams

The white oak is a hardwood known for its strength, durability, and strength resistance. It’s typically used in making furniture, flooring, veneer, paneling, ships, whiskey barrels, and outdoor structures.

Despite what its name suggests, the white oak is not really white. At least, not in the strictest sense of the word. Its color can range from light beige to dark brown, with the sapwood being a tad lighter than the heartwood.

White oak grains are typically straight, but quarter sawn sections may display prominent ray-fleck patterns. Depending on the sawing method, it can produce distinct patterns like fine lines, flake figures, pinstripes, and more. This is why “quartered white oaks” are often requested for custom contract jobs. Compared to red oak, white oak also has more figures and tends to have a coarse, uneven texture.

But one of the best things about white oak is its resistance to insects and fungi. Its sap conducting pores are plugged with tylose, a natural water-repellent substance that protects the wood’s vascular tissues from further damage. This prevents the wood from rotting even in high-moisture environments. It’s even used to build boats and other structures where high rot resistance is required.

With a volumetric shrinkage of 16.3%, the white oak tends to shrink significantly when dried (our drying process removes this problem as the shrinkage is done for the life of the timber). But it can also be pretty easy to work with both hand and machine tools. It also works well with glue and is excellent for steam bending. Though it tends to stain and discolor when in contact with iron. Pre-boring is also advised but in general, it takes in nails and screws well.