Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - I still can't figure out if I have Red or White Oak floor?

I am stuck, I know that after the finish is applied, they are alike but I was hoping to get the right species down in my hallway and have it match the rest of the rooms.
I have read the end grain is the best way to tell the difference but I don't have a sample of both species. I have an old piece of scrap in the basement that I assume is the same species.
So....how do I tell? I can tell you that my house is a Cape style, built in 1947 and I am in Connecticut. I really can't distinguish the grains apart from another.
Also, is the Red Oak a redder wood than the white, I mean, is the white red at all???

DanO

Can you take a picture and upload it to a sharing site like www.photobucket.com then past the IMG url in a post?

The rays are different. These are the dark lines along the grain of the wood. I don't remember which is which, but one is short (like 1/8 - 1/4") and the other is long (typically 1" or more).

Somehow, somewhere, find a piece of flooring that you can take to a "GOOD" store that specializes in wood flooring. With little more than a glance, they can tell you what type of wood you've got. (More than likely red oak, which is, and was, much more prevelant than white oak).

Use a miter box if you have one to make a fresh cut across the grain of the piece you have and look at the end grain straight on. If the pores appear open like tiny straws, it's most likely red oak. Also it will have a slightly pinkish cast in the heartwood, white in the sapwood. If the pores are closed it's white oak and the color is more tan or slightly golden looking. The rays Mitch17 mentions are called medulary rays, and run perpendicular to the growth rings.Good luck

I am stuck, I know that after the finish is applied, they are alike but I was hoping to get the right species down in my hallway and have it match the rest of the rooms.
I have read the end grain is the best way to tell the difference but I don't have a sample of both species. I have an old piece of scrap in the basement that I assume is the same species.
So....how do I tell? I can tell you that my house is a Cape style, built in 1947 and I am in Connecticut. I really can't distinguish the grains apart from another.
Also, is the Red Oak a redder wood than the white, I mean, is the white red at all???

DanO

yes. red oak is reddish brown, especially the heart wood. white oak is a more closed grain and is whiter. the heart wood is always darker than the sap wood on just about all woods. none(unless it is specifically selected) is going to be ALL white or ALL red. white oak, over time and finish, will darken to resemble red oak. red oak will also darken over time. red oak us uaually a little cheaper and more readilly available. taking a piece of what you have to a mill will be the best way to find out. the clerk at Lowes and Home Depot probably will not know. if the color is the problem, it could be stained a little to match. because of the light aging the wood, anything you buy will NOT match unless you work with it. my house has oak(red)flooring and i used white oak to replace some boards. i stained the wood(after testing) and no one can tell the difference. good luck1

OK, I looked at the end grains on a few pieces on the floor and I do see small pores in the wood, only with the magnifying glass could I see the pores. The grain, the growth rings do appear pinkish, so I am going to assume it is Red Oak.
I am not too concerned seeing it is going into a dark hallway anyway, I am going to refinish all the adjoining rooms in the future also so I think that as long as I get the same board width, I am good and if the colors vary, I will just start a new trend anyhow.

DanO