Expedition Engineered Hardwood starts at $8.99/sq ft 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 natural grain of the hickory, giving it depth you can feel underfoot. It’s a grounded, organic look built for homes that want real-wood character without the limitations of solid hardwood.
Hickory is one of the harder domestic wood species, and the AC4 wear layer on Expedition means it holds up under active households — dogs, kids, dropped keys, rolling chairs. The 12mm thickness provides a solid feel underfoot, especially over concrete slabs common across Southwest Florida.
The click-lock installation floats above the substrate, which gives it room to move with the humidity swings Fort Myers sees between summer rainy season and the dry winter months. That flexibility matters in coastal homes where salt air and seasonal humidity shifts can stress a floor that’s glued or nailed tight.
| Plank Width | 7-2/3″ |
|---|---|
| Plank Length | 59-3/4″ |
| Thickness | 12mm |
| Wear Layer | Melamine – AC4 |
| Finish | Aluminum Oxide |
| Species | Hickory |
Flooring Queen installs Expedition at $8.99 per square foot, all in. That price covers delivery to your home, removal of your current flooring, routine subfloor preparation, the installation itself, new baseboards, and transition strips between rooms. Old flooring and debris are cleared from the site when the crew leaves.
Extensive leveling compounds, stair nosing, or unusually complex room layouts with custom borders or inlays will add to that base price — your estimator will flag those items before any work begins. Request a free in-home measure and you’ll receive a written quote scoped to your actual space, no guesswork.
Solid hardwood is also a real-wood floor, but it’s milled from a single piece of timber — which means it expands and contracts more aggressively with humidity changes. In Southwest Florida, where indoor humidity can swing 30 points between seasons, solid hardwood over a concrete slab is a genuine risk: cupping, gapping, and squeaking are common complaints. Engineered hardwood like Expedition uses a cross-ply plywood core that resists those seasonal movements, making it a far more stable choice for slab-on-grade homes in this region.
Solid hardwood can be refinished more times over its life, and some buyers still prefer it for perceived authenticity. But for the vast majority of SWFL homeowners, engineered construction is the practical answer without sacrificing the real-wood surface they want.
| Expedition | Solid Hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | Moderate — avoid standing water | Low — swells readily with moisture |
| Scratch resistance / wear layer | AC4 aluminum oxide finish | Varies; no standardized wear rating |
| Comfort underfoot | Warm, wood feel; 12mm thick | Warm, wood feel; typically 18-20mm |
| Installed price | $8.99/sq ft | Typically $10–$14/sq ft installed |
| Best room | Living areas, bedrooms, light commercial | Above-grade rooms; not over slab |
Sweep or vacuum on a hard-floor setting daily to keep sand and grit — both common in Fort Myers homes — from scratching the aluminum oxide finish. For damp mopping, use a well-wrung microfiber mop with a hardwood-safe cleaner like Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner; avoid soaking the surface or letting water pool near seams. Skip steam mops entirely — sustained heat and moisture can loosen the click joints and swell the core over time. Never use vinegar, ammonia-based products, or oil soaps, as these dull the finish and can leave residue that builds up with repeated use. For technical guidance, see the National Wood Flooring Association consumer hardwood information.
Engineered hardwood should acclimate in your home for at least 48 to 72 hours before installation, though Fort Myers humidity levels can sometimes warrant the longer end of that window. Leave the boxes in the room where they’ll be installed with the HVAC running at your normal setpoint so the planks adjust to your actual living conditions.
Expedition carries a melamine AC4 wear surface, which is not designed for sanding and refinishing the way a thick hardwood veneer would be. The finish is engineered for durability in place rather than periodic resurfacing — if the surface is damaged beyond spot repair, plank replacement is the recommended approach.
Engineered hardwood is built with a real-wood face bonded over a cross-ply core, which makes it dimensionally more stable than a solid plank cut from a single piece of timber. Over a concrete slab — the standard foundation in Southwest Florida — solid hardwood is prone to cupping and gapping as humidity shifts; engineered construction resists those forces more reliably.
Real-wood flooring — including engineered hardwood — consistently tests well with buyers in the Southwest Florida market and tends to hold value better than carpet or budget vinyl. It won’t guarantee a higher sale price on its own, but it’s rarely a detractor and frequently a selling point, particularly in mid-range and above homes.
Expedition is well suited for living rooms, dining areas, home offices, and bedrooms — anywhere above or on grade with controlled interior humidity. Avoid wet areas like full bathrooms or laundry rooms where standing water is likely. The click-lock floating method works over concrete slabs, which covers most ground-floor installations in Southwest Florida.
Engineered hardwood tolerates seasonal vacancy better than solid wood, but it still needs a stable environment. Keep your HVAC or a dehumidifier running while you’re away — ideally holding indoor humidity between 35% and 55%. Without climate control, the core can swell or gap during Southwest Florida’s humid summer months, and repeated extreme cycling can stress the click joints over time.
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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