Is Tasmanian Oak a Hardwood? Tasmanian Oak Flooring Explained

Yes. Tasmanian oak is a hardwood, because it comes from eucalypt trees, but it is one of the softer Australian hardwoods used for floors. It is also not an oak at all. The name covers three eucalypt species grown in Tasmania, sold together because their timber looks and behaves much the same.

Below we cover what Tasmanian oak is, how hard it really is next to blackbutt and spotted gum, what that means once it is on your floor, and where it suits best.

What is Tasmanian oak?

Tasmanian oak is a trade name. The timber comes from three species of eucalyptus: Eucalyptus obliqua (messmate stringybark), Eucalyptus delegatensis (alpine ash) and Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash). The industry body Tasmanian Timber says most of the mix today is E. obliqua, with E. regnans only a small share.

None of these trees is related to the oaks of Europe or North America, which belong to a different genus, Quercus. The word oak in the name is a trade label only.

You will see it sold as Tasmanian oak, Tas oak or Tassie oak. They all mean the same timber. Tasmanian Timber's species sheet lists furniture, balustrades, panelling, mouldings and window frames alongside flooring, at a dry density of about 650 kg per m3.

Is Tasmanian oak a hardwood?

Botanically, yes. Hardwood means timber from a flowering tree, and every eucalypt counts. Softwood means timber from conifers such as pine. The label says nothing on its own about how hard the wood feels underfoot.

For floors, hardness is measured with the Janka test: the force needed to press a steel ball halfway into the timber, given in kilonewtons (kN). A higher number means the wood resists dents better. Published figures for Tasmanian oak vary because it is a mix of species:

The lower Tasmanian oak figure comes from E. regnans, the softest species in the mix. Tasmanian Timber rates E. obliqua, the main species, at 7.4 kN, so a board with more messmate in it will sit higher. For a wider comparison, published figures put English oak at about 5 kN and northern red oak at about 5.7 kN, so Tasmanian oak is roughly as hard as true oak.

What softer timber means on a floor

A lower Janka rating does not mean the floor wears out quickly. It means the surface takes a dent more easily. On Tasmanian oak, that shows up in a few predictable places:

• Stiletto heels and dropped pans or toys, which leave small dents rather than scratches.
• Chair and table legs dragged across the same spot every day.
• Claws from large dogs running on the boards.

Felt pads on furniture legs and a rug under the dining table deal with most of this. If you are worried about rugs marking the floor, our post on whether rugs ruin hardwood floors answers that question.

Hardness is also only one measure. Tasmanian Timber argues that stability, how little the boards shrink and swell with the seasons, matters more for a floor, and that this is where Tasmanian oak does well.

What colour is Tasmanian oak?

It is one of the palest Australian timbers. Expect a straw to blonde base with soft pink and light brown tones and fine, darker streaks. It is much calmer than spotted gum, which swings from honey to mid brown on a single floor.

That pale, even base is also why it is so often stained a darker shade. Left natural, it will still shift in tone as it ages under daylight, like any timber.

The hallway above is a light oak floor laid by our regular installers. It shows the kind of soft, low contrast look many people want from Tasmanian oak.

Solid or engineered Tasmanian oak flooring?

You can buy Tasmanian oak two ways. Solid floorboards are milled from a single piece of timber and are usually fixed down, then sanded and coated on site. Engineered boards have a layer of real Tasmanian oak bonded on top of a stable multi-layer core.

The Tasmanian oak we sell is engineered. Tassie Oak from the Godfrey Hirst Pioneer Satin range is a 14mm multiply board with a 3mm Tasmanian oak wear layer. Here is what is on the specification sheet:

• 170mm wide, the widest satin board in the Pioneer range, in nested random lengths of 2100mm or 1820mm.
• Insta Clic joins, so it is laid as a floating floor with no glue or nails.
• UV cured lacquer, satin finish, micro bevel edge, and a P2 slip rating under AS 4586.
• A 3mm wear layer that Godfrey Hirst says can be sanded back and recoated two or three times.
• A 25 year Godfrey Hirst timber limited residential warranty.

If you want to understand how the layers work before choosing, read what engineered timber flooring is.

Tasmanian oak, blackbutt or spotted gum?

All three are Australian eucalypts and all three are in our engineered ranges, so the choice usually comes down to colour and how hard the floor needs to be.

Pick Tasmanian oak if you want the palest, quietest floor and the house is not hard on its floors. Pick blackbutt if you like a light floor but want a much harder surface, at 9.1 kN against 4.9 to 5.7. Pick spotted gum if you want the hardest of the three and like strong colour and movement.

Board width changes the look as well. The Tassie Oak board is 170mm wide, while the satin blackbutt and spotted gum boards in the Pioneer range are 136mm. The Swish Native Australian Hardwood range adds blackbutt and spotted gum in three grades, up to 189mm wide.

Where Tasmanian oak works best

Bedrooms, living rooms and studies suit it well. Foot traffic is lighter, furniture moves less often, and a pale wide board makes a room feel bigger. Busy kitchens, entries and homes with large dogs are where a harder timber earns its keep.

Because real timber varies from board to board, order everything for the job in one go so the boards come from the same batch. Hold a physical sample in your own light before you decide, as screens rarely show the pink and straw tones accurately.

See the Tassie Oak, blackbutt and spotted gum boards side by side in the Pioneer engineered timber range, or book a free measure and quote anywhere in Sydney.