European Oak Timber

European Oak timber is highly durable, strong, and aesthetically beautiful for construction and carving. As well as being a durable building material, European Oak timber offers a tactile and warm quality that is naturally alluring.

European oak timber is the most popular of European timber. Its light appearance and soft burring are appealing to designers, and its flexibility makes it easy to work with. Oak is extremely dense and strong with an effective natural resilience to fungal attacks or rotting. For this reason, European oak timber is a popular architectural material used in internal and external settings.

European Oak Timber Applications

Oak timber is an exceedingly durable and beautiful European hardwood which offers countless scope for building applications including both interiors and exteriors.

As one of the most flexible timbers, European Oak timber is commonly used to make Oak framed buildings, cladding, window frames, flooring and timber pergolas for shading.

European Oak timber grain

European oak grain is straight, and uneven in appearance with a coarse and interlocked grain which adds to its charm and appeal.

Oak being an open-grain wood can be stained or finished to highlight its natural patterns, giving a warm and inviting aesthetic to architectural spaces. Its durability and visual appeal makes it an excellent choice for construction for barn conversions and more. However, as an organic material, it can be susceptible to losing moisture in time, making it essential to secure well seasoned Oak timber through a trusted supplier.

Can Oak frames shrink?

Naturally, Oak timber is a living and breathing organic material which can be prone to movement due to moisture loss which naturally occurs as timber ages. Choosing an experienced supplier will enable any movement or shrinkage of the Oak to be factored in at the design phase to ensure a durable solution.

European Oak timber as a sustainable building material

The Timber Trade Federation (part of Timber Development UK) claims that every year approximately 39 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere because of everyday human activity.

The increase in the earth’s temperature caused by carbon emissions makes it imperative that we act to reverse this. Trees are an effective storer of carbon and absorb this gas into its organic matter. The Amazon Rainforest, home to some of the most endangered species including slow growing trees is now emitting more carbon dioxide than it is absorbing. Fewer trees equals higher temperatures.

The global timber industry can reduce the rate of deforestation by preventing illegal slow growing timber entering the market. European timber is sustainably sourced through FSC certified suppliers.

As a building material, European Oak timber is a renewable resource, meaning it can be replanted and grown again. Oak timber produces little waste and is a naturally renewable storing carbon that would otherwise be in the earth’s atmosphere.

High performance sustainable wood is the ideal building material creating a regenerative cradle to cradle approach to achieving a circular economy.

Are you looking to incorporate European oak into your design? Contact the team today to find out more!