American Red Oak Skirting Boards and Architraves

Skirting boards and architraves are small parts of a room that make a big difference. Solid oak gives a warm, quality look and takes oil, wax, stain or paint well. We supply American Red Oak skirting and architrave in a choice of profiles.

What we sell

From our skirting boards and architraves range, in American Red Oak:

• Skirting boards: 20 x 120mm and 20 x 145mm, 2.7m lengths
• Architraves: 20 x 68mm, 2.4m lengths
• Profiles: planed square edge, torus, chamfered and pencil round
• Pack sizes: packs of 10 lengths, and packs of 3

A pack of 10 skirting lengths gives 27 linear metres. We also sell Scandinavian Redwood and American White Ash in the same profiles, if you want a different look or budget. See skirting boards and architraves for the full list.

About American Red Oak

According to the product pages, the oak is solid premium North American hardwood, top joinery FAS grade (First and Seconds). In general, FAS means long, clear boards with few knots, chosen for fine joinery. Red oak has a warm, pinkish light-brown colour and an open grain. It is a hard, stable timber that finishes well.

The boards are kiln dried for interior use, factory sanded and sealed, ready for your chosen oil, wax, stain, lacquer or paint. Lightly sand before the first coat, as the product page advises.

Choosing a profile

• Planed square edge: clean and minimal, a good fit for contemporary rooms.
• Pencil round: a softly rounded top edge; understated and practical.
• Chamfered: a flat angled edge that catches light; works in both modern and traditional spaces.
• Torus: a more traditional rounded moulding.

The architrave comes in the same profiles, so you can match door frames to the skirting.

Choosing a height

The 145mm skirting suits larger rooms, period properties and higher ceilings, according to the product page. The 120mm board is a more modest height for standard rooms. A useful rule of thumb is to look at the proportion against ceiling height and the door architrave. Holding a strip against the wall before ordering is easy and cheap. Ask us about samples.

How much do I need?

Measure the room perimeter, subtract door openings, and add about 10% for mitres and offcuts. One pack of 10 x 2.7m gives 27m. The product page gives an example of a 4 x 4m bedroom needing around 1 pack. For architraves, count the door openings and allow for two sides and a head; the 2.4m length makes this easy to calculate.

Fitting tips

• Acclimatise the boards in the room for around 48 hours.
• Mitre or scribe internal corners; mitre external corners.
• Pre-drill hardwood to avoid splitting.
• Fix with grab adhesive and/or pins, nails or screws into the wall.
• Check for hidden cables and pipes before fixing.
• Fill, sand lightly and finish.

Finishing

Hardwoods like oak look excellent under a clear hard wax oil or lacquer that shows the grain. You can also stain or paint it. For very dark floors or walls, a stain can help the skirting blend in; for a clean traditional look, a clear finish keeps the oak colour. Test on an offcut, as red oak can take colour differently than expected.

Why choose hardwood skirting over MDF or softwood?

Skirting takes knocks from vacuum cleaners, furniture and shoes, so a hard timber can be a sensible choice. Oak is dense and hard-wearing, and with an oil or lacquer finish you can see the grain rather than hiding it under paint. Softwood and MDF are usually painted, which suits many interiors, and our Scandinavian Redwood range in the same profiles is a lower-cost alternative. Red oak is also a good match if you are fitting oak flooring or oak doors, although exact colour matching between species and batches varies, so compare in daylight.

Matching with the rest of the room

Use the same profile on skirting and architrave for a coordinated look. If you are adding a fireplace feature, our oak mantel beams are a different species (European oak), so expect some colour difference from American Red Oak.

FAQs

Is it solid oak or veneered?
The product pages describe solid American Red Oak.

Can I paint it?
Yes. It is supplied sanded and sealed, ready for paint, oil, stain or lacquer.

Is there a matching architrave?
Yes, in 20 x 68mm in the same four profiles.

Is it for interior use only?
Yes, it is kiln dried for interior use.

Order or ask us

Prices include VAT and UK delivery. Request a quote for larger projects, book a site meeting, or see free timber samples. Call 0161 504 0011.