Cabernet Engineered Hardwood starts at $8.99/sq ft installed in Fort Myers — a wirebrushed, handscraped American Hickory floor from LW Flooring’s Sonoma Valley collection. The walnut tone runs through mixed 3-inch and 7½-inch planks, giving it the character of a traditional hardwood floor without the limitations that come with solid wood in Florida’s climate.
Cabernet is a practical fit for living rooms, dining rooms, home offices, and bedrooms — spaces that see daily traffic but aren’t exposed to standing water. The engineered Hickory construction handles Southwest Florida’s year-round humidity better than solid wood, staying stable over concrete slab foundations where moisture vapor is a constant concern. The micro-beveled edge and medium-variation wirebrushed texture also hide the fine dust and sand that inevitably works its way indoors along the coast.
Seasonal homeowners and landlords will appreciate the lifetime residential warranty. The polyurethane-and-aluminum-oxide finish is built for repeated foot traffic, not just light use.
| Plank Width | 3″ & 7-1/2″ |
|---|---|
| Plank Length | 82-5/8″ Random Length |
| Thickness | 1/2″ |
| Wear Layer | 2 mm |
| Finish | Polyurethane with Aluminum Oxide |
| Species | American Hickory |
At $8.99 per square foot installed, Flooring Queen’s price covers the full scope of a standard job: delivery to your home, removal and disposal of the existing floor covering, floor prep for typical conditions, installation of the Cabernet planks, and finishing details including baseboards and transition strips.
Certain conditions fall outside the standard scope and carry an additional charge — significant subfloor leveling, stair nosing, or custom layout patterns like herringbone. Before any work begins, we schedule a free in-home measurement so you receive a written quote scoped to your actual rooms, with no surprises once the crew arrives.
Shoppers who want the look of real wood often weigh engineered hardwood against solid hardwood. Solid planks are thicker and can be sanded down and refinished more times over their life — a legitimate advantage in a dry, stable climate. In Southwest Florida, though, solid hardwood over a concrete slab is a problem: slab moisture causes solid boards to cup and buckle, and most solid hardwood warranties exclude below-grade and on-grade slab installs entirely.
Cabernet’s engineered construction — a real Hickory face bonded to a cross-ply core — resists that movement. The 2mm wear layer allows one careful refinish if needed. You still get genuine wood grain and warmth underfoot; you just get it in a form that holds up to the conditions here.
| Cabernet | Solid Hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | Handles humidity; avoid standing water | Poor over slab; cups with moisture |
| Scratch resistance / wear layer | 2mm wear layer, aluminum oxide finish | Thicker face; no set wear-layer spec |
| Comfort underfoot | Warm, real wood feel | Warm, real wood feel |
| Installed price | $8.99/sq ft installed | Typically $10–$14/sq ft installed |
| Best room | Living areas, bedrooms over slab | Above-grade rooms, wood subfloor only |
Sweep or vacuum Cabernet regularly — Hickory’s open-grain texture from the wirebrushing can trap fine grit that scratches the finish underfoot if left too long. Use a hardwood-specific cleaner like Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner or a comparable pH-balanced formula; avoid anything water-based applied in large amounts, steam mops, or oil soaps, all of which can penetrate the finish over time. For the micro-beveled joints, a barely-damp microfiber mop works better than a wet mop. Reapply a compatible floor refresher every two to three years to maintain the aluminum oxide finish’s protective sheen. For technical guidance, see the National Wood Flooring Association consumer hardwood information.
Engineered hardwood from LW Flooring typically needs 48–72 hours to acclimate inside your home before installation. In Southwest Florida’s humidity, this step matters more than it does in drier climates — the planks need to adjust to your interior conditions so they don’t shift after the job is complete. Keep boxes flat and the HVAC running at normal living temperature.
Yes, Cabernet can be refinished, but plan on one careful sand-and-coat — not the multiple rounds you’d get from a thick solid plank. The 2mm wear layer is enough for a light screen-and-recoat to refresh the finish, or one conservative full refinish if the floor sustains deeper scratches over many years.
Engineered hardwood is the right call over concrete slab in Southwest Florida because its cross-ply core resists the moisture movement that causes solid hardwood to cup and buckle. Solid wood warranties typically exclude slab installs for exactly this reason. Cabernet’s construction gives you genuine American Hickory on the surface without fighting the floor’s natural tendency to move with humidity.
Whether Cabernet can float or glue directly over existing tile depends on what we find at the measure — height transitions, tile flatness, and adhesion all factor in. The product supports float, glue, or nail installation, so there are options, but the existing surface has to meet flatness tolerances first. We assess this during the in-home measurement.
Cabernet is not waterproof. The polyurethane finish resists surface moisture and the occasional spill, but prolonged standing water will penetrate the seams and damage the wood core. Wipe up spills promptly. For rooms with regular water exposure — laundry rooms, bathrooms — a waterproof LVP or tile is the better fit.
A single bedroom or main living area usually runs one day. A whole-home install covering 1,000–1,500 square feet typically takes two to three days, including prep. The mixed-width format — 3-inch and 7½-inch planks together — adds a small amount of layout time compared to a single-width product, but it’s not a significant factor on most jobs.
Real hardwood in Florida needs an installer who’s worked through every season here. Our crew knows how to acclimate, fasten, and finish wood floors so they don’t gap in January or cup in August. Free written quote: (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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