Essex Engineered Hardwood starts at $8.99 per square foot installed in Fort Myers — a wide-plank, embossed-surface floor in a natural wood tone that works equally well in a coastal cottage or a modern inland home. LW Flooring’s Shires collection keeps the look grounded and honest, with real material character rather than high-gloss flash. Flooring Queen handles the full installation across Southwest Florida.
At 9 inches wide and 60 inches long, each plank makes a room feel open without effort. The embossed finish masks the fine scratches and scuffs that come naturally from everyday life, and the polyurethane surface shrugs off the humidity swings Fort Myers homeowners deal with year-round.
The loose-lay or glue-down installation method makes Essex a practical choice for the concrete slab foundations common throughout Southwest Florida. Glued direct to slab, it stays stable even when salt air pushes indoor humidity higher in summer. A lifetime residential warranty backs it for the long haul.
| Plank Width | 9” |
|---|---|
| Plank Length | 60” |
| Thickness | 5mm |
| Wear Layer | 20 mil |
| Finish | Polyurethane |
| Species | Loose Lay |
Flooring Queen installs Essex at $8.99 per square foot, and that number covers quite a bit: delivery to your home, removal of your old flooring, standard subfloor preparation, the full installation, baseboards, transition strips where needed, and cleanup and disposal when the crew is done.
Some jobs carry additional costs — significant floor leveling, stair nosing, intricate inlays, or custom border work fall outside the standard scope. The best way to get a firm number is to schedule a free in-home measure. You’ll walk away with a written quote that accounts for your specific rooms before any commitment is made.
The honest comparison between Essex and solid hardwood comes down to dimensional stability. Solid hardwood expands and contracts with humidity changes — a real liability in a coastal Florida home where indoor moisture levels shift dramatically between summer and the dry season. Essex, as an engineered product, is built with a layered core that resists that movement, making it more predictable on slab installations.
Solid hardwood can be refinished more times over its life, which appeals to buyers thinking decades out. Essex has a 20 mil wear layer, which allows at least one refinish, but it’s not a floor you’ll sand repeatedly. In return, you get better moisture tolerance and comparable visual warmth at the same installed price point.
| Essex | Solid Hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | Good — stable on slab, handles humidity | Low — swells, gaps, cups with moisture |
| Scratch resistance / wear layer | 20 mil polyurethane wear layer | Varies; thicker but raw wood surface |
| Comfort underfoot | Warm, wood feel underfoot | Warm, wood feel underfoot |
| Installed price | $8.99/sq ft installed | $8.99–$14+/sq ft installed |
| Best room | Living areas, bedrooms, slab installs | Bedrooms, above-grade rooms only |
Sweep or vacuum Essex regularly using a soft-bristle attachment — avoid beater-bar settings, which can dull a polyurethane finish over time. For damp mopping, use a hardwood-specific cleaner such as Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner or a similarly pH-balanced formula; never use steam mops, as sustained heat and moisture can soften the adhesive bond on glue-down installations and stress the wear layer. Avoid ammonia-based or wax-based products, which leave a film that dulls the finish and makes future re-coating more difficult. Clean up spills promptly rather than letting liquid sit at seams. For technical guidance, see the National Wood Flooring Association consumer hardwood information.
Essex engineered hardwood typically needs 48 to 72 hours to acclimate inside the installation space before work begins. In Southwest Florida’s high-humidity climate, skipping this step can cause the planks to shift or gap after install. Keep your HVAC running at normal living conditions during that window.
Essex has a 20 mil wear layer, which is thick enough to support at least one light refinish over the life of the floor. It is not designed for repeated sanding the way a thick solid hardwood is, but one careful refinish — done by a professional — is realistic if the surface ever needs it.
Engineered hardwood handles seasonal vacancy better than solid wood, but it still needs a stable environment. Keep your HVAC or a dehumidistat running while you’re away to maintain consistent indoor humidity. Wild temperature swings in a closed-up Florida home can stress any wood-based product, including Essex, over time.
Essex can be installed using a loose-lay or glue-down method, which gives some flexibility over existing hard surfaces — but the condition of what’s underneath matters. During the in-home measure, our team will assess flatness and adhesion before recommending whether the old material stays or comes up first.
Wood flooring generally reads well to buyers in this market, and engineered hardwood in a wide-plank format like Essex tends to photograph and show better than tile or vinyl in listing photos. It won’t guarantee a higher sale price, but it rarely hurts and is rarely flagged as a negative by buyers or inspectors.
A single large room typically takes one day. A whole-home project — say, 1,500 to 2,000 square feet — usually runs three to five days depending on layout complexity, the number of transitions, and whether any subfloor work is needed. Your written quote will include a projected schedule specific to your job.
Flooring Queen has over 20 years of experience installing engineered hardwood across Southwest Florida — slab foundations, humidity, the realities Florida throws at real wood. We install everything ourselves. 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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