11 Dec American Oak Flooring
American Oak is applicable to the floors in houses, restaurants, cabins, decking and other bright interior designs to guests because of its light hue, often pink tinge, and its mesmerising grain patterns. To embellish the wood floor, even more, you can add a finish to it, including gloss, semi-gloss, matte, and more.
These hardwoods are grown in and sourced from the United States, rather than domestically in Australia.
What is American Oak Flooring?
American oak satisfies the needs of structural applications. This is because it can hold stable constructions with its hard, heavy, and easy-to-work-with qualities. Its high crushing strength (Janka Rating: 6.0 kN) will maintain the structural integrity of floorboards while its steam bendability enables manufacturers to manipulate the material for optimal quality. Its resistance to decay added to its strength, provides material for safe and durable floorboards, even in high traffic areas. The species is grown in areas east of central North America stretched all the way to the east coast of the United States.
Structural and aesthetic properties slightly vary depending on whether or not it is red or white oak:
American White Oak
- Low stiffness
- Impermeable
- American white oak is very light brown in colour. Its grains are primarily straight with recognisable curves and loops.
American Red Oak
- Moderate stiffness
- Porous
- American red oak is darker and warmer in colour. Its grains are similar to white oak but have shorter rays and fewer figures.
Image Courtesy of Britton Timbers.
What are the American Oak Flooring Options?
Flooring in 2021 often doesn’t consist solely of wood. There is an extensive range of options that arrange the aesthetics and natural material of American Oak in ways that may suit your needs.
American Oak Solid Timber
American Oak solid timber flooring consists of natural oak wood all throughout. This gives it a purely wooden aesthetic and a prestigious underfoot experience.
Prices for solid timber flooring are typically quite high. This is due to the level of quality and excellence that solid timber has to offer. However, you can save costs in replacing floorboards that have lost their lustre simply by sanding the surface of the floor and reapplying a surface finish. The beauty of having real wood all throughout the board is the ability to refurnish the top layer multiple times.
American Oak Hybrid Flooring
American Oak Hybrid Flooring has no content of real timber within the floorboard. However, this can still satisfy your desired aesthetic. Its print layer can display a replica of American Oak visuals.
Hybrid flooring is 100% waterproof, allowing property owners to apply a wooden design to bathrooms, kitchens, and other spillage-prone areas. These floorboards have high durability and can withstand dents and scratches. This is because most of the board is made from synthetic materials. Hybrid offers not only a lower price but a combination of properties that can enhance your home or business’ floors.
American Oak Engineered Flooring
Engineered Flooring can include American Oak on its real-timber veneer. Below this upmost layer is a plywood core that provides bulk and stability to the flooring.
Because of this design, engineered timber replicates the feeling of real timber and mimics the grain patterns of American Oak. This offers a more affordable alternative to its expensive counterpart, solid timber flooring. A contribution to the slightly lower price of engineered floors (compared to solid timber) is the cost reduction in installation. These boards can be put together by floating floor, eliminating the need for adhesives and giving property owners a chance for DIY assembly. This is easily done by clicking together grooves on the edges of the floorboards.
American Oak Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring can include the aesthetic details of American Oak despite its 100% recycled wood fibre core. These floors can go for much lower prices because of the economical particleboard that serves as the bulk of the board. Like engineered, laminate has simple installation procedures that can lower costs even further. Regardless of low costs, it still maintains its longevity with its protective layer that sustains a fresh aesthetic.
American Oak Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl floors are 100% polymer sheets. However, they can display American Oak grain patterns and colours that mimic the wooden appearance. Being made of synthetic material, these sheets are 100% waterproof, making them suitable for facility hallways and rooms that are to be thoroughly cleaned by heavy-duty equipment. This flooring option is the cheapest of them all, enabling corporations to save capital costs on construction.
Conclusion – Which American Oak Flooring Is For You?
Every selection in the huge range of flooring options are suitable, but it really depends on your needs. Here are some tips that can get you in the groove.
If your priority is prestige and quality, solid timber is definitely the choice. Its underfoot feel will impress guests and its natural patterns will embellish your interior design with authentic beauty.
To maintain a similar level of appearance and feel while lowering costs, engineered flooring is for you! The real timber veneer can offer the artistic and ergonomic qualities of American Oak. The affordability of the plywood core will make this investment much less burdensome.
If waterproofing is the main concern, hybrid is a suitable choice for homes. FloorVenue offers new waterproof laminate floorboards! These two options will avoid the damages of flooding while mimicking a natural wood design. Businesses may look into vinyl as an option, as it is 100% synthetic and not subject to the vulnerabilities of wooden materials.