I know that hardwood is used in Florida all the time but I am wondering how this works with all the humidity. Would an engineered floor get wrecked if there was no electricity for a few days such as in the huricane season? This summer we had no power and by the end of the evening after just a half a day the tile floors were slippery with moisture. Would this cause damage? What humidity would I have to maintain the house at and how much could this vary. Thanks.

I wouldn't be concerned about a few days.

Ya, engineered is pretty safe for longer periods of higher then normal inside humidity.

With a solid, you would see dramatic effects in a week.

If you are concerned, I suggest you try an engineered flooring or ( a bit of a pitch here for a new product) Teak!

Have had great success with it AND it is one of the only environmentally certified products out there (the plantation kind)

Hey new guy(teak importer), Welcome,

A couple of notes about teak. It has been used for floors for very many years (a long time) so not a new product. It is one of the most stable woods available. So stable in fact, that is it the prefered wood for wood boat decks. Resistant to rot, warping, cupping, or any movement. You can soak the stuff in water and it will not suffer ill effects. However, it is low on the hardness (Janka) scale, around 1000, about where N. Americam Black Walnut is. So if buying a true teak floor, expect denting and such. It also has quite a bit of variation in appearance. Nor is it inexpensive. One of the first truly exotic woods available for floors. Unless you are enamored with it's appearance, there are better woods for floors.
http://www.floorings.com/tech/hardness.shtml
http://www.floorings.com/wood/teak.shtml
http://www.wflooring.com/Technical_Info ... k_true.htm

THANKS!!

Agree on the hardness and appearance--The plantation stuff is pretty--well--exotic!! Not too expensive though--about the same as Oak
At any rate-I really enjoy this forum--new to the business and LOTS of good info