White Oak
RECYCLED FROM White Oak is found in more recent Australian demolitions mainly as a joinery timber, and as flooring and lining boards. Older recycled White Oak is also sometimes brought into Australia sourced from barn and building demolitions in the USA (often be 100 to 200 years old). In Canberra, it is also occasionally available as slabs salvaged from urban plantings.
TIMBER KNOWLEDGE White Oak is fairly easy to work and has a distinctive fleck and ray pattern in the grain caused by prominent medullary rays. The old recycled barn timbers have a nice rustic patina which shows up well with a lightly dressed, rustic finish. White Oak isn’t as dense and hard as most of the Australian hardwoods. Because the timber is impermeable to moisture it was traditionally prized for vats and barrels.
White Oak / American Oak: Quercus alba
USES We mainly use White Oak for bench tops, shelving and furniture.
NATURAL DURABILITY (approximate rating for the expected life of untreated and unfinished timbers exposed to the weather)
In Ground: Class 4 (0-5 years) Above Ground: No rating
HARDNESS 6 kN (Janka scale)
DRY WEIGHT 770kg / cubic metre