Contessa Engineered Hardwood starts at $8.99/sq ft installed in Fort Myers — a warm caramel hickory floor from LW Flooring’s Odyssey collection. The wide 7-2/3″ planks carry an embossed-in-register texture and painted beveled edges that give each board a hand-crafted feel. It reads as genuine wood without the fragility that comes with solid hardwood in coastal climates.
The Contessa is built for the main living areas of Florida homes — great rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and hallways where you want the warmth of wood without the anxiety that comes with it. At 12mm thick with a hickory species profile, it handles everyday furniture loads and heavy foot traffic without flexing or denting the way thinner planks can.
Southwest Florida’s combination of high humidity, concrete slab foundations, and salt air makes solid hardwood a risky choice for most installations. Engineered construction handles the moisture-driven expansion cycles that slab floors generate, and the Lifetime residential warranty backs that durability long-term. It’s also a practical pick for snowbird homes that sit unoccupied through the summer — the engineered core is more forgiving of temperature swings than solid wood.
| Plank Width | 7-2/3″ |
|---|---|
| Plank Length | 59-3/4″ |
| Thickness | 12mm |
| Wear Layer | Melamine – AC4 |
| Finish | Aluminum Oxide |
| Species | Hickory |
Flooring Queen installs Contessa at $8.99 per square foot, and that price covers the full project: delivery to your home, removal of your existing floor covering, standard subfloor preparation, the install itself, new baseboards, transition strips between rooms, and debris removal when the crew leaves. What you see on paper is what you pay for a straightforward installation.
Certain conditions do add cost. Significant low spots or high spots in a slab that require leveling compound fall outside the standard scope, as do stair nosing pieces, decorative inlays, or rooms with a lot of angles and cut work. Call us or schedule a free in-home measure — we walk the space, identify anything that might affect the final number, and put it all in writing before work begins.
Engineered hardwood and solid hardwood look nearly identical once installed — both are real wood on the surface. The difference is what’s underneath. Solid hardwood is milled from a single piece of wood, which means it expands and contracts significantly with humidity changes. Over a concrete slab in Fort Myers, that movement leads to cupping, gapping, or squeaking within a few years. Engineered hardwood uses a cross-ply core that resists that seasonal movement, making it the far safer choice for Florida slab construction.
Where solid hardwood wins: a thick solid plank can be sanded and refinished more times over its life, extending its appearance for decades. Contessa’s AC4 melamine wear layer is durable but has more limited refinishing potential. If longevity through repeated refinishing is your priority, solid hardwood is the honest answer — just not over a Florida slab.
| Contessa | Solid Hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | Moderate — avoid standing water | Low — swells with moisture |
| Scratch resistance / wear layer | AC4 melamine, aluminum oxide finish | Varies by species; no rated wear layer |
| Comfort underfoot | Warm, real-wood feel | Warm, real-wood feel |
| Installed price | $8.99/sq ft installed | $10–$14/sq ft installed, typically |
| Best room | Main living areas over slab | Raised wood subfloors, upper stories |
Sweep or vacuum with a soft-bristle attachment several times a week — grit and sand tracked in from outside are the primary culprit in wear-layer scratching. For damp mopping, use a hardwood-specific cleaner like Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner or a product approved by LW Flooring; avoid anything acidic, oil-soap based, or vinegar-based, as these dull the aluminum oxide finish over time. Never use a steam mop — the heat and moisture can penetrate the seams and compromise the core. Felt pads under furniture legs go a long way toward protecting the AC4 surface in high-traffic spots. For technical guidance, see the National Wood Flooring Association consumer hardwood information.
Engineered hardwood from LW Flooring typically needs 48–72 hours of acclimation inside your home before installation. In Southwest Florida’s high humidity, this step matters — the planks need to adjust to your indoor climate so the click-lock joints seat properly and you don’t end up with gaps or buckling after the install. Keep boxes flat, off the slab, and with the HVAC running at normal living temperature.
Contessa can be lightly refinished, but the AC4 melamine wear layer limits how aggressively it can be sanded. Most engineered floors with this wear layer construction support one careful refinish, sometimes two, depending on how much material is removed each time. It won’t match the multi-decade refinishing life of a thick solid plank, but it’s enough to freshen the surface if it dulls over years of heavy use.
Engineered hardwood has a real wood veneer bonded to a layered core, while solid hardwood is one piece of wood all the way through. That cross-ply core in engineered construction resists the expansion and contraction that Florida’s humidity causes — which is critical when you’re installing over a concrete slab. Solid hardwood over a slab in Southwest Florida is a known risk for cupping and gapping; engineered is the standard recommendation for good reason.
Real wood flooring generally appeals to buyers and photographs well, which matters in the Fort Myers market. Engineered hardwood in a warm hickory tone like Contessa reads as a quality finish in listings. It won’t guarantee a higher sale price, but it’s unlikely to hurt you the way worn carpet or dated vinyl does. Buyers in Southwest Florida often factor flooring replacement costs into offers, so a floor in good condition removes that negotiating point.
Engineered hardwood handles seasonal vacancy better than solid hardwood, but the HVAC system still needs to run. Set your thermostat no higher than 80°F and keep humidity in check — if the house goes hot and humid for months, any wood floor can develop problems. The engineered core tolerates climate cycling more gracefully than solid wood, but it’s not a substitute for basic climate management in a vacant Florida home.
Ongoing care for Contessa is low-cost. A bottle of Bona Hardwood Cleaner runs $10–$15 and lasts months with regular use. You’ll need a microfiber mop and a soft vacuum attachment — both one-time purchases. There’s no grout to seal, no wax to apply, and no scheduled professional maintenance. If the finish eventually dulls after many years of heavy use, a light screen-and-recoat by a flooring pro is the main potential future expense.
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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