Alpha In Tobacco Hickory SPC Rigid-Core Plank starts at $3.99 per square foot installed in Fort Myers — a warm brown hickory look built for homes that need real performance behind the wood grain. TRUCOR’s ALPHA collection puts a 20 mil wear layer and a stone-plastic composite core under that finish, so the floor can actually back up what it looks like.
Southwest Florida is hard on floors. Humidity swings, concrete slab foundations, and the salt air that drifts inland from the coast all push wood-look flooring toward warping, swelling, or delaminating. The SPC core in Tobacco Hickory doesn’t absorb moisture, which makes it a practical choice for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and anywhere near sliding glass doors.
The floating installation works above, on, or below grade, so slab homes don’t require special treatment. For rental properties and snowbird homes that sit closed for months, the rigid core holds its shape through the humidity cycles that Fort Myers summers deliver without anyone home to run the AC full time.
| Construction | SPC |
|---|---|
| Size | 7″ x 48″ |
| Thickness | 5.5 mm |
| Wear Layer | 20 mil / 0.5 mm |
| Attached Pad | IXPE |
| Installation Method | Floating |
| Installation Level | Above, On, Below |
| Click System | Valinge 5Gi |
| Edges | Micro Bevel |
| Finish | TRUWEAR |
| Warranty | Limited Lifetime Residential / 15 Year Commercial |
At $3.99 per square foot installed, Flooring Queen’s quote covers material, delivery to your home, removal of the existing floor covering, surface-level subfloor prep, the full installation, baseboard reinstallation, and transition strips at doorways. Debris and old flooring get hauled off the property — nothing left for you to deal with.
Work that falls outside that scope — significant subfloor leveling, stair nosing on multi-story layouts, or any custom inlay pattern — is quoted separately so there are no surprises. Schedule a free in-home measurement and you’ll receive a written room-by-room price before any commitment is made.
Tobacco Hickory fills roughly the same visual niche as engineered hardwood — a warm, brown-toned wood-grain floor — but the two materials behave very differently in a Florida home. The SPC core is fully waterproof; engineered hardwood has a real wood veneer on top that will swell or cup if water sits on it long enough. That matters in kitchens, bathrooms, and rooms with direct exterior access.
Where engineered hardwood has a real advantage is feel. A thicker wear layer made of actual wood gives a warmer, denser sensation underfoot and can sometimes be lightly screened and recoated. The SPC plank cannot be refinished, but its 20 mil wear layer is thick enough that most homeowners never need to. Engineered hardwood also typically runs higher on the installed price scale.
| Alpha in Tobacco Hickory | Engineered Hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | Waterproof SPC core | Water-resistant only; veneer can cup |
| Scratch resistance / wear layer | 20 mil synthetic wear layer | Real wood veneer; varies by species |
| Comfort underfoot | IXPE pad included; firm feel | Warmer, denser wood feel |
| Installed price | $3.99 per sq ft installed | ~$8.99 per sq ft installed |
| Best room | Kitchen, bath, below-grade spaces | Bedrooms, above-grade living areas |
Sweep or vacuum on a hard-floor setting — skip the beater bar, which can scuff the surface over time. Damp-mop with a pH-neutral cleaner such as Bona Hard-Surface Floor Cleaner or a product specifically labeled safe for vinyl plank. Avoid steam mops entirely; the heat and pressure can compromise the locking joints and the IXPE underlayment beneath the planks. Skip anything with bleach, wax, or abrasive compounds — none of those belong on a TRUWEAR finish and they won’t help the floor, only dull it faster. Wipe spills promptly even though the core is waterproof, because standing water at seams over a long period isn’t something any floating floor handles well. For technical guidance, see the World Floor Covering Association vinyl flooring guide.
The SPC core in Tobacco Hickory is genuinely waterproof — it will not swell, warp, or delaminate from moisture exposure the way wood-based floors can. That said, prolonged standing water at seams or under baseboards can migrate to the subfloor, so wiping up spills and addressing leaks promptly is still the right move.
The 20 mil wear layer is one of the thicker options in residential vinyl plank, and it handles dog nails and the daily drag of pet traffic well without cutting through to the print layer. Cleanup is straightforward — the surface doesn’t absorb liquids, so accidents wipe clean without staining or odor absorption into the floor itself.
SPC stands for stone-plastic composite — the core contains limestone powder, which makes it denser and more dimensionally stable than a standard flexible LVP core. In practical terms, SPC resists denting from heavy furniture better, feels firmer underfoot, and is less prone to temperature-related expansion on slabs that get warm in summer.
Tobacco Hickory is rated for above, on, and below grade, so it works in basements, slab-on-grade rooms, and upper floors without restriction. The one honest caveat is very high-traffic commercial entries — the 15-year commercial warranty covers most business uses, but extremely abrasive environments like workshops would wear any vinyl plank faster than expected.
A single room usually takes one day; a full home of 1,500 to 2,000 square feet typically runs two to three days depending on furniture moving and the number of doorway transitions involved. The Valinge 5Gi locking system clicks together efficiently, which keeps install time predictable. Your written quote will include a projected schedule based on your actual square footage.
SPC is one of the better choices for seasonal Florida homes precisely because its rigid core doesn’t react to humidity swings the way wood or laminate does. The floor won’t gap or buckle during a hot, humid Fort Myers summer with the AC set to 80 — just keep the thermostat set to prevent extreme heat buildup and the floor will be fine when you return.
Flooring Queen has installed luxury vinyl and SPC plank for homes across Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties. Single-location accountability — our installers, our supply chain, our quote. Free in-home measure: (239) 763-0770.
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Reviewed by Jack Maya, Lead Installer at Flooring Queen — 20+ years installing flooring in Southwest Florida.
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