Best Flooring for a Florida Home: A Jacksonville Guide

There is no single best flooring for a house in Florida, but the choice gets simpler once you know what the floor has to handle. In a Jacksonville home, that means humid air, plus the concrete slab underneath if your house sits on one. This guide spends the most time on engineered hardwood, rigid core luxury vinyl plank (LVP) and laminate, because each comes with published humidity and slab rules. Each one still depends on two things: a slab that meets the manufacturer's moisture limit, and air conditioning or a dehumidifier that keeps indoor humidity inside the manufacturer's range.

Mr. Wright Flooring is a family-owned flooring company in Jacksonville, serving Northeast Florida since 2012. We're an authorized Mohawk retailer, an NWFA member and CFI Certified. This guide covers what Florida humidity does to a floor, why the slab matters, how engineered hardwood, solid hardwood, luxury vinyl plank, laminate and carpet handle those conditions, and what changes in a vacant, seasonal or beach home. Where we give a number, we name its source, because the rules change from one product line to the next, even within one brand.

What Florida humidity does to a floor

The Florida Climate Center defines relative humidity as the amount of water vapor in the air compared with the most the air can hold at that temperature. In a 2014 explainer, the Climate Center called Florida the most humid state in the country.

Jacksonville's own records show how humid the mornings are. NOAA's Comparative Climatic Data for the Jacksonville station, covering 1948 to 2018, shows average 7 a.m. relative humidity between 85% and 92% in every month of the year. Average 1 p.m. readings run lower, between 48% and 63%.

Wood responds to that air. The USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Wood Handbook explains that wood takes on moisture from the air around it until it reaches a balance point called equilibrium moisture content. Its tables show how far that point moves: at 70°F, wood held at 50% relative humidity settles at about 9.2% moisture content, while wood held at 80% settles at about 16%. As wood gains and loses moisture it swells and shrinks, and the Handbook lists gaps in flooring among the problems that can follow.

That is why flooring manufacturers set indoor humidity ranges, and the ranges are not the same. Mohawk's instructions for its TecWood Enhanced engineered hardwood call for 35% to 55% relative humidity for the life of the floor, while its RevWood laminate instructions allow 35% to 65%. For Florida homes in general, UF/IFAS Extension advises keeping indoor humidity around 55% or lower. It also points out that air conditioners remove moisture from the air as well as cooling it, and that a hygrometer or a thermostat with a humidity sensor can show you where your house sits.

For more on these numbers and how to keep a house in range, see our guide to flooring that holds up to Florida humidity.

Key takeaway: The Mohawk floors in this guide each have a manufacturer humidity range, and your air conditioning or a dehumidifier keeps the house inside it.

Why the concrete slab under your house matters

If your house sits on a concrete slab, moisture can reach the floor from below as well as from the air. Mohawk's TecWood instructions warn that excess moisture in any subfloor, if it is not found and corrected before installation, will cause the floor covering to fail. They also say Mohawk's warranties do not cover problems from moisture above its guidelines.

Each manufacturer sets its own moisture limit for the slab, and the limits differ even within one brand. For its SolidTech rigid vinyl, Mohawk allows up to 8 pounds of moisture per 1,000 square feet per 24 hours on a calcium chloride test (ASTM F1869), or less than 90% relative humidity with in-slab probes (ASTM F2170). For its TecWood Enhanced engineered hardwood, Mohawk sets those limits at 5 pounds or less, or under 80%. Mohawk's SolidTech instructions put the final responsibility for deciding whether the concrete is dry enough on the floor covering installer, and its TecWood instructions say not to install if the test results exceed the limits.

This is also where the word "waterproof" can mislead. Mohawk warrants SolidTech as 100% waterproof, but its SolidTech warranty says that coverage refers to topical water, like spills. It does not cover moisture coming from below the floor, hydrostatic pressure or flooding. A waterproof label does not replace a slab that meets the moisture limit.

How the floor is attached matters too. A floor can be glued directly to the slab or floated over it, and the rules change with each method. Mohawk's TecWood instructions say its engineered wood is not recommended for glue-down over lightweight concrete but can be floated there, and its RevWood laminate goes over a moisture barrier when it is installed on concrete. Our guide to glue-down vs. floating floors over concrete walks through both methods.

Key takeaway: Before a wood, laminate or vinyl floor goes over a slab, the installer should confirm the concrete meets that product's own moisture limit, and a waterproof label does not change that.

How the main types of flooring handle Florida conditions

The type of floor sets the starting point, but each product's own instructions set the rules. Here is how the main options line up with humidity and a slab.

Engineered hardwood

Engineered hardwood is real wood. Instead of one solid piece from top to bottom, it is made of several layers of wood bonded together with adhesives, according to the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA). Mohawk says its engineered hardwood is built to be dimensionally stable, which makes it suitable for every grade level where excessive moisture is not present. Its installation FAQ says Mohawk engineered floors can go over most concrete slabs that have cured at least 60 days, are free of structural defects, are clean and visually dry, and have no history of moisture problems.

It is still wood, so the humidity range applies. Mohawk's TecWood instructions require at least 72 hours of acclimation, after the HVAC, windows and building envelope are complete and running. Its TecWood instructions also say seasonal gapping between planks is not a manufacturing defect. If you are weighing engineered hardwood against vinyl plank, our engineered hardwood vs. LVP comparison puts the two side by side for a house on a slab.

Solid hardwood

Solid hardwood is one piece of wood from top to bottom. The Forest Products Laboratory explains that dry wood swells slightly in more humid air and shrinks slightly in drier air. It also recommends that wood flooring in damp, warm coastal areas be installed at a higher moisture content than in most of the country, averaging 11% compared with 8%; the Handbook bases those values on buildings without air conditioning.

Whether solid hardwood can go over a slab depends on whose guidance you follow. In a 2019 fact sheet on concrete subfloors, the NWFA says both solid and engineered wood floors can be installed over concrete that is properly prepared, and its installation guidelines say solid floors can go on-grade. Mohawk does not approve its own solid hardwood over concrete slabs, except its 3/8-inch solid products glued down with Mohawk's approved glue and sealant system. Our article Can you put real hardwood in a Florida house? covers solid and engineered in more depth.

Rigid core luxury vinyl plank (LVP)

Mohawk's SolidTech, which we carry, is a rigid vinyl plank with a wear layer over its printed design. Mohawk's SolidTech instructions highly recommend a 6-mil polyethylene vapor barrier under every floating installation, and they say the vapor barrier is not a fix for moisture problems in the slab.

SolidTech is warranted against spills, but it still has humidity rules. Mohawk's SolidTech instructions call for humidity below 65% for 48 hours before, during and after installation, and the SolidTech warranty applies only to indoor floors in dry, climate-controlled conditions. Its waterproof warranty covers spills, not a damp slab or a house without continuous climate control. You can see the Mohawk lines we carry or browse our luxury vinyl plank options.

Laminate

Mohawk's RevWood laminate installs as a floating floor and can go above, on or below grade. It is meant only for climate-controlled indoor rooms at 35% to 65% humidity, and not for a room with a floor drain or over a floor with a sump pump. Water ratings vary within the line: RevWood Essentials carries a wet-resistance warranty, under which spills left longer than 30 minutes may damage the floor, while RevWood Select carries a waterproof warranty and RevWood Plus and Premier carry WetProtect. Mohawk says none of these RevWood floors is designed to withstand water or moisture coming up from the subfloor.

Carpet

Carpet reacts to humidity in its own way. Mohawk's tufted carpet instructions call for the room to be held between 65°F and 85°F and between 30% and 65% humidity for at least 48 hours before and during installation, with the HVAC running. Mohawk also notes that carpet sometimes has to be re-stretched, especially where humidity changes a lot, and it does not treat buckling or wrinkling as a manufacturing defect.

Tile

We also offer tile flooring. This guide does not compare tile in detail, so ask about it during your estimate or a showroom visit.

Key takeaway: Two floors of the same type can carry different water ratings and warranty terms, so compare the instructions and warranty for the exact product, not just the floor type.

What changes in a vacant, seasonal or beach home

A house that sits empty for part of the year raises a different question: what happens to indoor humidity while no one is there? Mohawk's RevWood and TecWood warranties require a home that is continuously climate-controlled, and its SolidTech warranty applies to continuously climate-controlled interiors.

The Florida Solar Energy Center looked at this in a 2005 study of three vacant homes in Brevard County, on Florida's east coast. The researchers aimed to keep humidity below 70% essentially all the time and below 65% most of the time, noting that mold and mildew grow when humidity stays above about 70% for long periods. Setting the air conditioning to 85°F gave generally poor results, because the system ran too little to remove enough moisture. Leaving the house with no conditioning at all could not reliably keep humidity below 65% most of the time.

The researchers rated three approaches effective: running the air conditioning at 74°F for early-morning hours on a programmable thermostat, running a dehumidifier with a floor fan, and running the central heating system. The early-morning AC run gave mixed results in some test homes and may need longer run times or a lower setting. The heating approach held the houses at 88°F to 90°F, above the temperature ranges in Mohawk's RevWood and TecWood Enhanced instructions. It was a small study from 2005 about humidity, not flooring warranties, so treat it as a starting point for a talk with your HVAC contractor, not as a rule.

Homes on the coast face a little more humidity. In its 2014 explainer, the Florida Climate Center said coastal areas are a little more humid than inland central Florida and the Panhandle. Mohawk's TecWood Enhanced instructions say that in coastal or waterfront areas, humidity should be kept in range with an air conditioner or dehumidifier.

Grit tracked in from outside can scratch a floor. Mohawk's care guide for its wood floors calls for dual-fiber mats at every exterior door, a second set to swap in while the first is cleaned, and regular sweeping or vacuuming to remove particles that could scratch the floor. For SolidTech, walk-off mats at all exterior entrances are a condition of Mohawk's warranty. Our beach house flooring guide covers homes at the Jacksonville beaches and Ponte Vedra in more detail.

Key takeaway: For a vacant or seasonal home, decide how the air conditioning or a dehumidifier will control humidity while you are away before you pick the floor, because Mohawk's RevWood, TecWood and SolidTech warranties require continuous climate control.

How to choose the right floor for your house

These questions narrow the choice quickly:

• Does the room sit on a concrete slab? If so, a wood, laminate or vinyl product will have a moisture limit the slab has to meet.
• Will the air conditioning run all year, including when the house is empty?
• How much water will the floor see? Check whether the warranty is waterproof or wet-resistant, and remember that Mohawk's waterproof warranties cover topical water, not moisture from the slab.
• Do you want real wood? Compare engineered and solid against what the manufacturer allows over concrete.
• Is it a beach, coastal or seasonal home? Plan for humidity control and mats at every outside door.

You can buy the floor from us and have our crew install it, have us install flooring you bought elsewhere through our professional installation service, or buy the material from us and install it yourself or hire your own crew. On every project we install, an experienced team leader supervises the work and keeps it inside the manufacturer's warranty guidelines.

The best flooring for a house in Florida is the one whose rules your house can meet: a slab inside the product's moisture limit, and indoor humidity inside its range all year. If you would like help comparing options for your rooms, request a free estimate and we will measure your home at no charge. You can also call (904) 443-9473 to set an appointment to browse the selections in our showroom.