Red Oak Mirage Classic 3/4" Solid Wood Floor: Idaho Stain

Oak Hardwood Flooring

Oak Flooring is probably the most widely distributed type of flooring around the world. Thus recognized and appreciated by most consumers as a "quality" product.

Dimensional Stability: Average to good in normal home environments.

Durability: Stiff & Dense, resists wear although not as dense as Hard Maple.

Janka Hardness Scale: 1290
(the higher the # the more dense)

Colour variation: There are more than 200 subspecies of oak, divided into two main groups between red oak and white oak, thus can have significant colour variations from pale grey-white to quite pink depending on the origin of the wood and corresponding differences in growing seasons

Mirage only uses Red Oak in its production and NEVER mixes the two woods, offering more consistency in colour and seasonal movement. Your useless information for the day, is that Red Oak is differentiated from its nearest cousin by a visual inspection of the cell walls:

White Oak: if you hold a thin cross section up to the light, the pores are visibly filled with a chemical called tylose. It's what preserves the wood in damp environments, thus an ideal wood for boat parts, but as a floor, more inclined to warp and a little ornery to work with.

Red Oak on the otherhand, if you hold a thin cross section of red oak up to the light, you see clear through its pores. This creates a tendency to wick water to its core. Red oak has a high content of tanin and mixed with the iron in our water can create the "blue dye" you are familiar with, when the finish is eroded.

Colour change: shows small change with exposure to intense light, ... most manufacturers use a finish with a UV protectant to slow down the yellowing tendency but mostly unnoticeable in stained colours.

Indentation: Oak is not as hard as sugar maple, but the strong grain appearance helps to hide any imperfections - denting that it acquires in the process of living.

Mirage Classic 3/4" Solid Wood Floor: Red Oak, Natural Stain