Tahiti Engineered Hardwood starts at $8.99 per square foot installed in Fort Myers — a wide-plank European White Oak floor finished in a natural tone with a wirebrushed texture that reads warm and unfussy. It’s part of LW Flooring’s Paradise Island collection, built around relaxed coastal interiors. The 10-1/4″ plank width and low color variation give rooms a clean, unhurried look without fighting the furniture.
At 5/8″ thick with a 4 mm European White Oak wear layer, Tahiti is a solid choice for the main living areas of a Southwest Florida home — great rooms, dining rooms, home offices, and primary bedrooms where real wood character matters. The three approved install methods (float, glue, or nail) mean it works over both concrete slabs and wood subfloors, which covers most of what Flooring Queen sees in Fort Myers construction.
The wirebrushed finish hides fine scratches better than a smooth surface would, which helps in high-traffic households or vacation rentals. Lifetime residential warranty coverage backs it up for the long term.
| 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 Tahiti at $8.99 per square foot, and that number is meant to be straightforward. It covers delivery to your home, removal of your existing floor covering, standard subfloor preparation, the installation itself, base molding, and transition strips between rooms. Old flooring materials are loaded out and disposed of as part of the job.
Work that falls outside the standard scope — significant subfloor leveling, stair nosing, intricate inlays, or custom borders — is quoted separately. Schedule a free in-home measurement and we’ll walk through the full scope with you before any work begins, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Shoppers choosing between Tahiti and solid hardwood are usually weighing stability against refinishability. Solid hardwood can be sanded down more times over its life, which appeals to buyers planning a forever home. But in Southwest Florida’s humidity and on concrete slabs — which is most of the region — solid hardwood moves more seasonally and can’t be glued or floated; it needs a wood subfloor and careful moisture management.
Engineered hardwood like Tahiti is designed specifically for slab-on-grade installs and handles the humidity swings here better than solid. You get a real oak surface, the same visual result, and a meaningful wear layer. The trade-off is a finite number of refinishes rather than an indefinite one. For most Southwest Florida homes, engineered is the more practical choice.
| Tahiti | Solid Hardwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | Moderate — engineered core resists movement | Lower — solid wood swells/gaps more |
| Scratch resistance / wear layer | 4 mm oak wear layer | Varies; full-thickness sanding possible |
| 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 | Slab or wood subfloor, main living areas | Wood subfloor only; avoid slab installs |
Sweep or vacuum Tahiti regularly — fine sand and grit tracked in from Southwest Florida’s beaches are the biggest enemy of any wood finish. Use a hardwood-specific cleaner like Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner or a similar pH-balanced formula; avoid anything with wax additives, steam, or diluted vinegar, which can dull the polyurethane finish over time. Do not use a beater-bar vacuum attachment directly on the planks. Wipe up standing water immediately — engineered oak tolerates humidity well but is not waterproof at joints. Area rugs under furniture legs help protect the finish in high-traffic spots. For technical guidance, see the National Wood Flooring Association consumer hardwood information.
LW Flooring recommends acclimating Tahiti in the installation space for at least 48–72 hours before install. In Southwest Florida’s climate, where indoor humidity can shift significantly between air-conditioned seasons and summer, giving the planks time to stabilize in your specific environment helps prevent post-install gapping or cupping.
Yes — Tahiti’s 4 mm European White Oak wear layer is thick enough to be lightly sanded and refinished. Most engineered floors with a wear layer in this range support one to two careful refinishes over the floor’s life, depending on how aggressively the surface is abraded each time. That’s meaningful longevity for a real-wood floor.
Tahiti handles seasonal vacancy well as long as the home’s climate control stays active. Keep your HVAC set to maintain indoor humidity between roughly 35–55% year-round. Engineered hardwood is more dimensionally stable than solid wood during temperature and humidity cycling, but prolonged exposure to extreme heat or unconditioned air can still cause movement or joint separation.
LW Flooring backs Tahiti with a lifetime residential warranty and a 5-year light commercial warranty. Residential coverage typically addresses manufacturing defects in the wear layer, finish, and core. Normal wear, improper installation, or moisture damage from flooding are generally excluded — review LW Flooring’s warranty documentation for the full terms before purchase.
Tahiti works well in living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and home offices — anywhere that sees normal foot traffic and stays climate-controlled. It can be installed via float, glue, or nail, making it compatible with both slab and wood subfloors. Avoid full bathrooms, laundry rooms, or any space with standing water risk, where a waterproof product would be more appropriate.
A single room typically takes one day once the floor has fully acclimated. A whole-home project — say, 1,000 to 1,500 square feet — usually runs two to three days of active installation, not counting the required acclimation period beforehand. Flooring Queen will outline a specific project schedule in your written quote based on the actual square footage and site conditions.
Engineered hardwood is the only wood we recommend over SWFL slabs, and we install it every week. Our team handles substrate moisture testing, layout, install, and trim from one source. Written installed 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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