[kab0906]

I'm choosing to put this here instead of the house forum because I'm looking for experiences and answers from Florida residents.

We have a 2 level house. Currently, the ground floor is all tile but the upstairs (except the wet areas which are also tile) are fully carpeted.

I hate carpeting, plus hubby has allergies and getting rid of the carpet will help.

Thing is, all places I have lived for many years (excluding short term apartments) have had real hardwood floors. Stapled down oak tongue and groove floors. This is what I'm used to - this is what I like.

But Florida is the most humid place I have ever lived. We do have AC that has humidity control. In the winter I am likely to open windows for fresh cool air.

What I'm asking for is experiences with real wood floors in Florida (we are Tampa Bay area).

I will *not* do tile upstairs. I will also *not* do LVP. My DD's apartment is lvp and I just spent 3 days walking on it and I found it more uncomfortable than tile. Way too hard.

Would I do better with laminate wood floors or just go for real tongue and groove.

FYI - our house in KY we installed the wood floors ourselves - real wood floors - so that's a bonus for having real wood. We can put it in ourselves. I've never installed laminate before.

[beachmouse]

We went the engineered hardwoods route, which is layers of things with a ‘real’ hardwood layer on top and they’ve held up very well for 13 years. They’ve even eventually healed themselves when a backed up heat pump drain line caused what appeared to be damage in our bedroom- just let them dry out for a couple of months and the floors go back to normal.

Here’s the brand we used-

https://uafloors.com/en

[FL_Expert]

We have engineered hardwood too. It looks nice, but it’s fragile and hasn’t held up well in areas that have gotten wet. I’d do LVT next time.

[Ghaati]

We have LVP flooring in our house and find it 100% suitable and comfortable. And definitely cool against our bare feet. If yours was harder than tile (seriously?) then your installer either glued the planks directly to the sub-floor, or the cushioning or vapor barrier they selected wasn't thick enough.

[Lillie767]

I installed engineered hardwood in every room except where it would get wet.

I had Triangulo installed (glued, not floating). They have a very large selection of woods, colors, and widths. https://www.triangulo.us/engineered/

It's been six years and still looks good. Occasionally large dogs stay with me. No problems. Engineered wood is very different from laminate.


If you are installing on a slab, you should do a moisture test. If you decide to have engineered wood installed, have it delivered to your home with enough time to acclimate to your household temps and humidity before installation. https://www.finehomebuilding.com/202...loor-correctly


I wanted solid hardwood floors also and was told by family and neighbors that I probably would have a problem with the hardwood because of the humidity (despite A/C on 24/7) and the slab base. I heeded their advice, and I am not sorry.

I got over not having solid hardwood floors. One of many changes to which I had to adapt after moving to Florida.

[Corrie22]

every house I lived in growing up had hardwood floors...those houses are still there....the floors are still perfect

[kidyankee764]

We have concrete flooring on our first level and engineered hardwood, which is absolutely beautiful, on our second floor. In our second floor laundry room and in all bathrooms, we have tile. We felt okay going the engineered hardwood route on the second floor where we don’t have kitchen appliances or the likelihood of moisture.

I think concrete flooring is underrated. We like it a lot.

[sinatras]

stone (stone composite or stone tile) floors are best for florida, always have been always will be

many people go cheaper and do ceramic or porcelain tile

stone floors help cool the home when it's hot and humid outside; its why my dog lays on the travertine in summer and on the area rugs in winter

wood floors are gorgeous but too hot for florida (compared to stone/tile), among other negatives (for florida)

stone and terrazzo is what has always been installed in florida homes going back to the late 40s; you almost never saw wood in florida homes

now you see wood in florida homes (b/c northerner transplants insist on it) but i would never have it; native floridians know better

in addition to the temperature disadvantages and humidity/moisture problems, termites love wood floors (engineered or real)! two of my south tampa neighbors (northerner transplants who installed wood) had termites in their wood floors. one real one engineered. guess what they did. they got rid of the wood floors.

carpenter ants (which florida is overrun with) also think wood floors are delish!

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

We have concrete flooring on our first level and engineered hardwood, which is absolutely beautiful, on our second floor. In our second floor laundry room and in all bathrooms, we have tile. We felt okay going the engineered hardwood route on the second floor where we don’t have kitchen appliances or the likelihood of moisture.

I think concrete flooring is underrated. We like it a lot.

terrazzo, a preferred florida flooring type, is made with cement

love polished concrete floors, another good choice for fla

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by sinatras

terrazzo, a preferred florida flooring type, is made with cement

love polished concrete floors, another good choice for fla

Yeah, we have polished concrete. I was nervous about the look, especially because it was so pricey, but it came out amazing. Highly recommend, and maintenance free.

Terrazzo seems a bit dated to me.