Ives Engineered Hardwood starts at $8.99 per square foot installed in Fort Myers — a wirebrushed American Pecan floor in warm caramel tones from LW Flooring’s Sonoma Valley collection. The wide 7-1/2″ planks and medium variation give it a relaxed, natural character that reads as genuinely organic rather than manufactured. It’s the kind of floor that looks more settled the longer it’s in a room.
Ives is built for the main living areas of a Southwest Florida home — great rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and hallways where wood warmth matters but dimensional stability is non-negotiable. Engineered construction handles the humidity swings that come with coastal air and seasonal climate changes far better than solid wood, and the three-way installation method (float, glue, or nail-down) means it works directly over the concrete slab foundations common throughout Lee County.
The polyurethane finish with aluminum oxide adds day-to-day scuff and scratch resistance appropriate for full-time residents. The lifetime residential warranty backs it for the long term.
| Plank Width | 7-1/2″ |
|---|---|
| Plank Length | 82-5/8″ Random Length |
| Thickness | 1/2″ |
| Wear Layer | 1.2 mm |
| Finish | Polyurethane with Aluminum Oxide |
| Species | American Pecan |
Flooring Queen installs Ives at $8.99 per square foot, an all-in price that covers material, delivery to your home, removal of your existing floor covering, standard subfloor preparation, installation, new baseboards, and transition strips — plus cleanup and debris removal when the crew wraps up.
Some projects require additional work beyond standard prep: significant subfloor leveling, stair nosing on multi-story homes, or custom inlay borders are priced separately. We offer a free in-home measurement and put everything in writing before any work begins, so there are no surprises on the final invoice.
Shoppers who want real wood often weigh engineered hardwood against solid hardwood. Solid planks are milled from a single piece of timber and can be sanded and refinished many more times over their life — that’s a genuine long-term advantage. But solid hardwood is highly reactive to moisture and humidity, which makes it a poor match for Southwest Florida’s climate and especially for slab-on-grade construction. Gaps, cupping, and buckling are real risks.
Ives is built with a real American Pecan face bonded over a stable plywood core. That layered construction resists seasonal movement, qualifies for slab installation, and still delivers authentic wood grain. The trade-off: at 1.2 mm, the wear layer allows one careful refinish rather than the repeated refinishing a thick solid plank permits.
| Ives | Solid Hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | Better — stable over slab/humid air | Poor — swells, cups, gaps in humidity |
| Scratch resistance / wear layer | 1.2 mm aluminum oxide finish | Full thickness, bare or site-finished |
| Comfort underfoot | Warm, real wood feel | Warm, real wood feel |
| Installed price | $8.99 / sq ft | Typically $10–$14 / sq ft installed |
| Best room | Living areas, bedrooms, on slab | Above-grade rooms, well-controlled humidity |
Sweep or vacuum with a soft-bristle attachment a few times a week to keep grit from working into the aluminum oxide finish — fine sand tracked in from Southwest Florida driveways is one of the fastest ways to dull any hardwood surface. For damp mopping, use a hardwood-specific cleaner such as Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner or a similar pH-balanced formula; wring the mop nearly dry before it touches the floor. Avoid steam mops, rubber-backed mats that trap moisture, and any acidic or oil-based cleaners — they degrade the polyurethane over time and can cloud the finish prematurely. For technical guidance, see the National Wood Flooring Association consumer hardwood information.
Engineered hardwood from LW Flooring typically needs 48 to 72 hours to acclimate inside your home before installation. In Southwest Florida’s high ambient humidity, that window lets the planks stabilize to your interior conditions and reduces the chance of post-install gapping or swelling. Keep your AC running at normal living temperature during acclimation.
Ives carries a 1.2 mm wear layer, which is thin enough to support one careful screen-and-recoat if the finish dulls — but not repeated deep sanding like a thick solid plank would allow. Treat it as a one-refinish floor over its lifetime; good maintenance habits extend the time before you’d ever need to consider it.
Engineered hardwood bonds a real wood face veneer over a cross-ply plywood core, which resists expansion and contraction caused by humidity changes far better than a solid plank can. Solid hardwood is not recommended for direct installation over concrete slabs — the moisture wicking up through slab foundations in Southwest Florida can cause cupping and buckling. Engineered construction eliminates that risk.
Ives is well-suited for living rooms, dining areas, bedrooms, and hallways — any above- or on-grade space with controlled indoor humidity. It can be floated, glued, or nailed, so it adapts to most residential layouts. Skip it in full bathrooms, laundry rooms, or any area with standing water risk, where a fully waterproof product would be the better call.
In many cases Ives can be floated over an existing hard surface like tile, but the decision depends on the height of the existing floor relative to transitions and doors, and whether the surface is flat enough to meet installation tolerances. We assess that during the free in-home measurement and flag any prep needs in the written quote before work starts.
Engineered hardwood handles seasonal vacancy better than solid wood, but it still needs a stable indoor environment. Set your thermostat to maintain humidity between roughly 35 and 55 percent year-round — a programmable or smart thermostat makes this easy. Extreme heat and humidity buildup in a closed-up house all summer can stress any wood floor, engineered included.
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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