White Oak Stair Treads

White Oak usually has a lighter tan base with brown grains, but can have a lighter cream color, with streaks of yellowish brown, running through the board. It is an extremely durable wood and will make excellent stair treads and other parts for your stairway.


White Oak is one of the harder woods in the Oak family and will be a little more difficult to work with. However, you can expect more consistency with the grains and grain patterns that run throughout these boards. I've seen some remarkable furniture and staircases, built out of White Oak

Gluing = Excellent, I've never had a problem with gluing White Oak and one time I even tried to break a few joints in half, but ended up splitting one of the boards, instead. The glue joints never even separated and I didn't use any wood dowels or biscuits.

Sanding = Good, since it is a hardwoods, it's hard to sand, but well worth the effort. Try to avoid over sanding, otherwise you could create a wavy surface. The grains of the wood are usually harder than the areas in between them and could create problems, with your finish.

Staining = Great, this was one of my favorites woods to work with and it can be stained in a variety of different colors.

Nailing = Difficult, the harder woods are simply harder to nail and almost impossible to screw through, without pre-drilling holes for your nails or screws.

Wear And Tear = Excellent, White Oak is one of the more popular woods used by stair builders and finish carpenters. Since it's one of the harder hardwoods, it will usually last a little on for than the softer ones.

Janka Hardness Scale = 1360


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