Resplendent Engineered Hardwood starts at $8.99 per square foot installed in Fort Myers — a wide-plank hickory floor in warm caramel tones from LW Flooring’s Odyssey collection. The embossed-in-register texture follows the grain honestly, and the painted beveled edge gives each plank a clean, defined profile. It reads as a real wood floor without the upkeep demands of solid hardwood.
Hickory is one of the harder domestic wood species, and that density shows in everyday use — it resists dents from furniture, foot traffic, and the general wear of a busy household. The click-lock construction sits comfortably on concrete slab foundations, which is the standard underfoot in most Southwest Florida homes, and the engineered construction handles the humidity swings that come with coastal living better than solid wood would.
The AC4 wear rating makes this floor a reasonable pick for light commercial settings, not just residential, so it holds up in vacation rentals and snowbird properties that see hard use in season and sit empty the rest of the year. The lifetime residential warranty reflects genuine confidence in the build.
| Plank Width | 7-2/3″ |
|---|---|
| Plank Length | 59-3/4″ |
| Thickness | 12mm |
| Wear Layer | Melamine – AC4 |
| Finish | Aluminum Oxide |
| Species | Hickory |
Flooring Queen installs Resplendent at $8.99 per square foot, and that price covers the full job: delivery to your home, removal and disposal of the existing flooring, subfloor inspection and standard prep, the installation itself, new baseboards, and transition strips between rooms. There are no hidden material markups — what you see is what’s in the contract.
A few things fall outside the standard price. Significant subfloor leveling — anything beyond routine grinding or patching — is quoted separately once we’ve seen the slab. Stair nosing, custom room borders, and intricate herringbone layouts are also upcharged. Schedule a free in-home measure and you’ll receive a written quote with line items before any work begins.
Shoppers drawn to hickory often ask whether to go engineered or solid. Solid hardwood at this width is vulnerable to movement in Southwest Florida’s humidity — it can cup, gap, or buckle over a concrete slab, which is why most installers won’t warranty it below grade or directly on slab. Resplendent is engineered specifically to resist that movement, making it the more practical choice for this climate.
Where solid hardwood has the edge: a thick solid board can be sanded and refinished more times over its life, which matters if you want to change the floor’s look in 20 years. Engineered boards have a finite wear layer. For most homeowners in SWFL, the stability trade-off is worth it, but if deep refinishing longevity is the priority, solid is worth pricing out.
| Resplendent | Solid Hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | Good — engineered for slab/humidity | Poor — expands, cups, voids warranty on slab |
| Scratch resistance / wear layer | AC4 melamine with aluminum oxide finish | Varies by species; no rated wear layer |
| Comfort underfoot | Warm, wood feel; 12mm thickness | Slightly firmer; thicker board possible |
| Installed price | $8.99/sq ft installed | Typically $10–$14/sq ft installed |
| Best room | Main living areas, slab-on-grade homes | Above-grade rooms, no slab contact |
Sweep or vacuum on a hard-floor setting — no beater bar — to clear the sand and grit that scratches finish over time in Florida homes. For damp cleaning, use a product formulated for aluminum oxide hardwood finishes; Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner is a widely available option that won’t cloud or streak the surface. Avoid steam mops entirely — the heat and moisture drive into the seams and can compromise the engineered layers. Don’t use vinegar, ammonia-based cleaners, or anything acidic; these strip the finish gradually and will void the warranty. Wipe spills promptly rather than letting water pool at the beveled edges. For technical guidance, see the National Wood Flooring Association consumer hardwood information.
Engineered hardwood should acclimate inside your home for at least 48 to 72 hours before installation. In Southwest Florida’s humidity, giving it the full 72 hours — in the rooms where it’ll be installed, with the HVAC running at normal living conditions — helps the planks stabilize so they don’t shift after the job is done.
Resplendent carries a melamine wear layer rated AC4, which is a surface coating rather than a thick sawn-wood layer, so refinishing options are limited compared to solid hardwood. Light screening may be possible once, depending on the surface condition, but this floor is designed to be replaced rather than repeatedly refinished over decades.
A single room typically takes one day once the floor has acclimated. A full home — say 1,200 to 1,800 square feet — usually runs two to three days, accounting for subfloor prep, furniture movement, and transition work. Click-lock installation moves efficiently, but larger homes with multiple transitions or irregular layouts add time.
Resplendent is well suited to main living areas, bedrooms, dining rooms, and hallways — essentially any above-slab or on-slab living space with controlled humidity. Avoid wet rooms: bathrooms and laundry rooms are not appropriate. Click-lock engineered hardwood is also not rated for below-grade installation, so finished basements are out, though those are rare in SWFL.
In many cases, Resplendent’s click-lock system can float over existing hard-surface floors like tile or vinyl, provided the surface is flat, secure, and the added height won’t conflict with doors or transitions. However, this depends on the condition of what’s underneath — our measure appointment includes a subfloor assessment so you’ll know before we schedule the install.
The AC4 rating means this surface sits in the upper tier of residential wear resistance, which helps against pet claws on a daily basis. It won’t be impervious to a large dog that runs and skids, but normal traffic from medium to small pets is well within what this floor is rated for. Clean up accidents quickly — standing liquid at the beveled edges is the real risk, not surface scratching.
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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