Nevis Engineered Hardwood starts at $8.99 per square foot installed in Fort Myers — a wirebrushed European White Oak in warm beige tones, part of LW Flooring’s Paradise Island collection. At 10-1/4 inches wide, the planks read as genuinely expansive underfoot, and the low-variation grain keeps the look calm and cohesive across a whole room.
Wide-plank European White Oak at 5/8″ thick sits on a stable engineered core, which means it handles Southwest Florida’s humidity swings and concrete slab subfloors far better than solid wood would. The wirebrushed finish adds subtle texture that helps mask the fine sand and grit that gets tracked in from the coast.
The lifetime residential warranty makes this a reasonable choice for a primary home, and the 5-year light commercial coverage holds up for a rental or seasonal property. Float, glue, or nail installation means there’s flexibility for the slab-on-grade construction that’s standard throughout Lee and Collier counties.
| Plank Width | 10-1/4″ |
|---|---|
| Plank Length | 86-5/8″ Random Length |
| Thickness | 5/8″ |
| Wear Layer | 4 mm |
| Finish | Polyurethane with Aluminum Oxide |
| Species | European White Oak |
Flooring Queen installs Nevis at $8.99 per square foot, and that price covers the full job: delivery to your home, removal of your old flooring, standard subfloor preparation, the installation itself, new baseboards, and transition strips between rooms. Old flooring debris leaves with our crew — nothing is left behind for you to deal with.
Certain conditions add to the base price. Heavy leveling work on an uneven slab, stair nosing, or any custom border or inlay work will be quoted separately. Contact us to schedule a free in-home measurement; you’ll receive a written scope and price before any work is scheduled.
Solid hardwood and Nevis come from the same species — European White Oak — so the look and feel at the surface are essentially identical. The difference is structural. Solid hardwood expands and contracts with humidity changes; in Southwest Florida’s climate, that movement can cause gapping in dry months and cupping during summer. Engineered hardwood’s layered core resists that movement, and it can be glued directly to a concrete slab without a moisture barrier fighting you the whole way.
Where solid hardwood wins: it can be sanded and refinished more times over its lifespan, making it a longer-term investment if you’re willing to maintain it. Engineered hardwood with a 4 mm wear layer can be refinished, but not indefinitely. For SWFL conditions specifically, the engineered format is the more practical choice.
| Nevis | Solid Hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | Resistant to humidity; not waterproof | Poor — swells and cups with moisture |
| Scratch resistance / wear layer | 4 mm wear layer, aluminum oxide finish | Full-thickness sanding surface, no fixed layer |
| Comfort underfoot | Warm, solid wood feel | Warm, solid wood feel |
| Installed price | $8.99/sq ft installed | Typically $10–$14/sq ft installed |
| Best room | Living areas, bedrooms, main floors on slab | Above-grade rooms, low-humidity climates |
Sweep or vacuum regularly using a soft-bristle attachment — skip the beater bar, which can scratch the wirebrushed surface over time. For damp mopping, use a hardwood-specific cleaner such as Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner or a WOCA Wood Floor Soap diluted to the manufacturer’s recommendation; both are pH-balanced and won’t cloud the polyurethane finish. Avoid steam mops entirely — the heat and moisture can penetrate the finish and compromise the wear layer. Don’t use vinegar, ammonia-based sprays, or all-purpose household cleaners; they break down the aluminum oxide finish faster than normal wear would. For technical guidance, see the National Wood Flooring Association consumer hardwood information.
LW Flooring recommends acclimating Nevis for at least 72 hours in the room where it will be installed. In Southwest Florida, where interior humidity can shift quickly between air-conditioned interiors and outdoor air, giving the planks time to stabilize prevents gapping or slight buckling after the floor goes down.
Yes — Nevis can be lightly sanded and refinished thanks to its 4 mm European White Oak wear layer. That thickness supports one to two refinishing passes depending on how aggressively the floor is sanded each time. It’s not the same depth as solid hardwood, so plan accordingly rather than assuming unlimited refinishes.
A single room generally takes one day once the floor has acclimated. A whole-home project typically runs two to four days depending on square footage, subfloor conditions, and how many transitions and doorways are involved. The wirebrushed plank format isn’t unusually complex to install, so scheduling is mostly driven by project size.
It depends on the condition and height of your existing tile. Nevis supports float, glue, and nail installation, so going over a smooth, well-bonded tile surface is sometimes possible with the float method. Lippage, loose tiles, or height conflicts with doors and transitions usually mean removal is the cleaner path — we assess this during the in-home measure.
Nevis is not waterproof — it’s a wood product, and prolonged standing water will damage the wear layer and can reach the core. Surface spills wiped up promptly are not a problem. However, consistently wet areas like a laundry room or a bathroom with a history of flooding are not appropriate applications for this floor.
Real hardwood floors — including engineered — are a recognized selling point in Southwest Florida real estate, particularly in the mid-to-upper price tiers where buyers expect them. The honest caveat: buyers in this market also prize tile for its cooling properties and moisture tolerance, so hardwood is a positive signal but not a universal advantage in every price range.
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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