American red oak

American red oak is the dominant species in the U.S. hardwood forests – with distinctive grain, and wood that is not always red in colour. The name comes from the leaf colour in the fall. Red oak may be sold on the basis of ‘northern’, ‘southern’ and ‘Appalachian’.

Latin Name

Quercus species, mainly Quercus rubra

Other Common Names

northern red oak, southern red oak

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Red oak trees grow only naturally and almost exclusively in North America, although planted elsewhere. They are widely distributed throughout most of the eastern United States in mixed hardwood forests. The trees are very tall. There are many sub-species, all within the red oak classification, which grow from north to south; some high in the mountains and others on low land giving rise to different characteristics. Thus there are significant variations in red oaks depending on location, in particular between the slower grown northern and faster grown southern trees. Red oaks are regarded as highly sustainable for both domestic and export consumption and, being the largest species group, are more abundant than the white oaks.

FOREST GROWTH

FIA data shows U.S. red oak growing stock is 2.62 billion m3, 18% of total U.S. hardwood growing stock. American red oak is growing 60.6 million m3 per year while the harvest is 31.9 million m3 per year. The net volume (after harvest) is increasing 28.7 million m3 each year. U.S. red oak growth exceeds or is in balance with harvest in all states except Texas. 

Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming Volume of live trees on forest land, 1000 m³ 0 3.5K All data derives from The Forest Inventory and Analysis Database developed in 2001, a component of the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.Data was compiled by AHEC in May 2020 using the most recent state inventory available (2018 for most states).“Forest volume” refers to “Net volume of live trees on forest land" as defined by FIA (see glossary). FIA forest volume data is available for 49 U.S. states (Hawaii and Washington D.C. are omitted) with total commercially significant hardwood forest volume of 14.6 billionWith the 2008 Farm Bill, every US State was tasked to prepare a Forest Action Plan by 2010, reviewed in 2015, to include comprehensiveassessment of forest condition and a strategy for sustainable forestry. Further details are available from theNational Association of State Foresters
Back to whole mainland U.S. 0-20K 20K-40K 40K-60K 60K-80K 80K-100K 100K-120K > 120K Volume of live trees on forest land, 1000 m³ 0 200K
-15K -10K -5K 0 5K 10K 15K 20K 25K GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -10K -9K -8K -7K -6K -5K -4K -3K -2K -1K 0 1K 2K 3K 4K 5K 6K 7K 8K 9K 10K GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -2000 -1750 -1500 -1250 -1000 -750 -500 -250 0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ Removals 0 Growth 0 Net growth 0
0 200K 400K 600K 800K 1M 1.2M FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 40K 80K 120K 160K 200K 240K 280K 320K 360K 400K 440K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 10K 20K 30K 40K 50K 60K 70K 80K 100K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 4K 8K 12K 16K 20K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ Forest volume 0

LCA Tool

0.44
seconds
it takes 1.04 seconds to grow 1m³ of American red oak
The replacement rate is calculated from total U.S. annual increment of the specified hardwood species derived from the U.S. Forest Service Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and assumes that 2 m³ of logs is harvested to produce 1 m³ of lumber (i.e. 50% conversion efficiency). The rapid rate of replacement is due to the very large volume of hardwood trees in U.S. forest.
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Red oak from the USA is readily available as sawn lumber and veneer, in a wide range of grades and sizes. Thicker lumber (10/4" & 12/4") can be sourced in relatively small volumes from specialist suppliers, but is widely produced through out the hardwood industry from 4/4" (25.4mm) through to 8/4" (52mm). In the north the sapwood tends to be less due to the shorter growing season, than in the south where the wood is grown faster with more open grain and texture. Red oak may be sold on the basis of 'northern' and 'southern', but this may be an over-simplification of the differences according to growing location.

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  • In general the sapwood of red oaks is light brown and the heartwood is often, but not always, pinkish to reddish brown. The colour difference between the sapwood and heart wood is quite distinct. The wood of red oaks is generally straight-grained and coarse textured.
     
  • The wood is figured with medullary rays – a feature of all true (Quercus) oaks – smaller in red oak than white oak. The wood is porous, and easily identified from the end grain, so not suitable for wine barrels.

Mechanical Properties

American red oaks have very good overall strength properties relative to weight. The wood is hard and heavy with medium bending strength, stiffness and high crushing strength. It has excellent steam bending capability. Being hard, stable when dry and easy to finish and stain, it is ideal for furniture and flooring.

To find out more about the mechanical properties of red oak read the full structural guide.

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Specific Gravity (12% M.C.)

705 kg/m3

Average Weight (12% M.C.)

6.6%

Average Volume Shrinkage (Green to 6% M.C.)

98.599 MPa

Modulus of Rupture

12,549 MPa

Modulus of Elasticity

46.610 MPa

Compressive strength (parallel to grain)

5,738 N

Hardness
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Oiled
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Un-oiled
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Red oak lumber machines well, with good performance in nailing and screwing, although pre-boring is recommended. It glues well and can be stained and polished to a very good finish. Being porous, red oak absorbs all treatments. The wood dries best slowly to minimise degrade, but with high shrinkage and can be susceptible to movement in performance in humid conditions. The wood is rated as slightly resistant to heartwood decay, but moderately easy to treat with preservatives. This makes red oak suitable for being thermally modified. 

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This sustainably managed species group from natural forests of North America, with excellent environmental credentials, is a key species in many export markets. Its main uses are in furniture, flooring, doors, architectural joinery, mouldings and kitchen cabinets. It is also used in certain applications for construction.

Mouldings
Flooring
Furniture
Doors
Cabinets

Examples of Use

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Kadamba gate
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