There are many different species of Oaks available for hardwood flooring. The two that consumers are most familiar with are Red Oak and White Oak.
Red Oak flooring is the more traditional choice of the two Oaks. Red Oak is popular for its light golden to reddish pink tones and its more unique and "wilder" grain patterns. Red Oak has a Janka hardness rating of approximately 1290.
White Oak flooring has been noted as being harder than Red Oak with a Janka hardness rating of approximately 1360. White Oak flooring has less pronounced finer graining and warmer golden brown tones. White Oak flooring is also more stable. Because it is harder, it accepts stain color more evenly than Red Oak flooring does. White Oak has been known to have been used for hundreds of years in the building of boats, truck beds, wooden wagon wheels and wine barrels because of its structural integrity.