Wood look tile.

I think I'm going to have to do that in the whole condo. I had someone tell me it would be uncomfortable to stand on (we are retired) but I'm afraid anything else will be damaged by the heat (it won't be air conditioned while we gone 8 months a year) and humidity.

We just installed wood look tile in our entire house about a month ago. We are in Northern California. Swimming pool outside with wet feet folks and sometimes wet feet dogs! We absolutely love the tile. We too are semi retired and we don't stand for hours on our porcelain tile.

Pick a tropical wood like ipe or tigerwood. I live in St. Louis where we have the summers with high humidity like LA and winters where its so dry your hands crack. My tigerwood floors have survived!

I'll look at both! And price them, too!

We live in Florida also hot and humid. We go away for weeks at a time and would never turn off the air conditioner. It's not only the floors that get ruined, all your furniture, appliances, clothing etc, would suffer. Set the ac on high 80 or so, it won't run as often and you house won't suffer.

We're on the second floor of a five floor condo building with condos on either side of us. I do plan to leave the air conditioner on, set to maybe 82 degrees for dehumidifying, but I don't think it necessary to have full air conditioning for the hot miserable summer days.

Of course what do I know? I'm from Ohio!

Jill, why Louisiana? And only for a few months? Which months? Even the winter is oppressively muggy and humid. The weather is NOT a draw for retirees! LOL! Is there family there?

Ooh, I'm not sure 82 is low enough. I wouldn't hang any art under glass in the condo. (I live in coastal Georgia which is pretty close to La.'s temps and humidity).

There's a daughter and three grandchildren!

Oh damn! What is the minimum temperature I can set it at!

As others have said you do have to keep the a/c & heat engaged. One way to control this is to look at a remote controlled thermostat which you can control from your smart phone. NEST makes products like this, but you will then have to have internet service year round. I mentioned these hardwoods because mine survive the swings of very high humidity and very low humidity. Yes there is expansion and contracting, but they have been in for 15 years and still look great. IPE was made for your situation. I used it on my deck. It doesn't burn, rot, is termite resistant and will last outdoors in the elements for 50+ years. Should work for your situation.

It's not the heat, its the humidity that is so cruel. I would think somewhere between 78-80 would work. But check with a a/c specialist because 80 is fine if the humidity is low. That's the issue. My dehumidifier in my unit runs all the time when its 105 degrees at 90% humidity which it was last week. It is the humidity that makes it so miserable and which wreaks havoc on everything. When we had a condo in Florida, it required putting bleach in the toilets & covering the bowl with Saran Wrap. Opening all the closet doors otherwise you will have mold on everything.

A few months out of the year in a high humidity place ?? I would rent something and not buy .. unless you live all year around and have plenty of dehumidifiers , everything will get ruined from mold ! Plus mold is very unhealthy for you ... once it gets hold of a space , and it will , if you stay away for most of the year , you will be coming back to an unhealthy environment for your lungs and body ! Read up on mold and humid climates !
I live in South America and people here hire staff to air out the homes EVERY day while away in the humid places !

@skunst, we have been renting a furnished 2 bedroom apartment for a couple of months a year for the last five years. This wouldn't be possible most places, but New Orleans is a popular tourist destination and a lot of people buy houses purely for this reason, for short term rentals. Renting a furnished two bedroom apartment in a safe neighborhood (and that is more difficult than you might think) for two months a year has been so difficult (and expensive). Our house was paid off about a year ago, so the mortgage plus condo fee will cost about what our mortgage used to cost.

This thread has been so helpful in ways I had not anticipated; having input from condo and apartment owners in hot humid areas especially so. Long ago I had decided never to put wallpaper in a bathroom again (not talking about a powder room) because it is such a problem; curls up on the sides almost immediately. Apparently living in Louisiana is going to be even more different than I had thought. The knowledge I'm gaining here is a huge help. Any more suggestions would be much appreciated.

@bellburgmaggie, I put bleach in the toilets whenever we go out of town! I had never heard of the Saran Wrap; I will definitely use it because sometimes my husband returns after I have treated all the toilets and forgets to add more bleach, and I return to find a moldy toilet. This way he won't forget!

Well, you have received many wonderful tips to combat the problem with humidity , I wish you good luck !

Sort of unrelated, but we always keep out house at 78 degrees even if we're away from home only because of a baby grand piano can't handle too cold or too hot.

Caveat, we have solar so it's not so "painful".

@darzy, we also have a baby grand in Ohio and are careful with both temperature and humidity. In winter we keep the temp at 68 and in summer at 78; it seems to be the dryness in winter that makes it off key. Something else to keep in mind; something to get some moisture into the air when we're not here (in Ohio) in the winter.

At least it's on an interior wall.

Even in California sometimes the keys get damp in the winter and I need to use a hair dryer to dry off the felt on the keys to keep from sticking.

Why don't you rent out your place as a short term rental in the months that you are back in Ohio. You make money and the renters will take care of the air-conditioning and other potential problems.

We are about two hours east of New Orleans on the Gulf of Mexico. 85 will be far too hot. 78 would be the highest I would go. Our winters here rarely see 50F...normally 60's and 70's. summers are 90f+. We used wood look porcelain tile and love it here! When I spend hours in the kitchen, my feet do hurt but we bought an anti fatigue rug and that helps.

Welcome to LA! It is a wonderfully unique place!

I'm in Savannah. Hot and Humid are the norm here. I agree that you should not leave the home unregulated in the area, due to all kinds of issues. However, Hardwood floors do last as long as they are properly installed, and sealed. However, make sure that the moisture readings are read and if a vapor barrier is needed, to protect any of your floor install desires, they are installed. This alone will help save the floors from premature deterioration.

@gustaruygers, I have too many friends who are landlords (on a very small scale) who have told me tales of stopped-up toilets, burns on counters, and holes punched in walls. I don't want the hassle.

Jill-the plastic wrap is to keep the water from evaporating and sewer gas from escaping. Here in Florida, a lot of people who live here seasonally hire a service to come in once a week just to flush toilets and run the dishwasher so the water doesn't evaporate. I live here year around, and we keep our air at 79 but run ceiling fans in every room. I would say 78 is as high as you would want to go.

Humidity is a huge issue - I used to live in a pretty moderate climate, but close to the sea, and I had to deal a lot with mold and mildew, even though it wasn't that warm most of the time. I think, Jill, that you might need to look at a service to keep things under control, or assign some of your family to monitor the place from time to time.

@jmm1837, I'll have to look into that when I head back for closing.

Properly installed wood flooring wouldn't be a problem in an unconditioned space.

Ryan, in the South, an enclosed unconditioned space will have 90% humidity levels at times. It's a problem even in conditioned space, which struggles to get below 50% in the summer. Choosing engineered flooring helps, but swinging from 90%-50% is not going to have even engineered wood happy. The porous slabs create mold farms.

So porcelain tile it is!

Install an Ecobee thermostat which can be set up with multiple sensors for different rooms. Under $400 and you can monitor and adjust the a/c from anywhere in the world with your iPhone. You can read temps in the rooms and also humidity levels. It is also infinity adjustable to run just the fan to circulate air if a small window left open to turn A/C heat off as many times as you want throughout the day or night.

Wow! Sounds like a great idea, @wannabath! I should get one for my Ohio home too, especially for the months I'm in New Orleans!

I will say something for those who couldn't see why we'd buy a condo we plan to use only four months a year; this is where we plan eventually to age in place. So things we do now are also directed toward long term residence.

If tile is the best flooring for your humid zone, I would choose wood-look porcelain tile. Add area rugs for looks and style in any/every room as desired. I always have rugs in my kitchens for comfortable standing and for style.
When I am gone for weeks from my home, I leave the heat set around 50 degrees in the winter or fall and the AC set at 80 degrees in the spring and summer. If your dehumidifier works separately, leave it on.

Take a look at the new luxury vinyl tile, like Coretec. This product is waterproof, cushioned with built-in cork underlayment, and comes in more and more beautiful wood- and tile-look patterns and colors. The cost for material and installment beat tile by half. I am putting it in my new kitchen and my contractor installed it in his houseboat! It will withstand humidity very well!

@Sally Hindman, and it should be easier to stand on for elderly knees!

I think @Sally Hindman is on the right track, we're in Denver, which is dry, but basements in the older neighborhoods we work in are usually damp with humidity issues due to the poor drainage around these 100 year old homes so our basement projects we never recommend solid wood or anything with any wood content due to the potential for mold growth or expansion/contraction due to changes in moisture. It's always either carpet which can dry easily and inexpensive; tile which is waterproof or luxury vinyl tile, like Coretec or this Cali Bamboo product that we installed with great success recently.

https://www.calibamboo.com/product-white-aspen-luxury-vinyl-flooring-7904006001.html

Cali Bamboo makes a great luxury vinyl tile and the customer service is great.

No wood or vinyl product. Tile is your only option especially since you mentioned you will be in the home 4 months out of the year. Wood and vinyl need a climate controlled home with specific moisture ratings within. Area rugs come in handy to help soften certain areas.

The condo association should have rules regarding maintaining humidity levels. They do not want you to start a mold factory, which would be very expensive to fix. You will have to keep the air on and the association and/or your insurance company will require that someone check the condo unit once a month.

There is nothing in the condo rules about maintaining certain humidity levels, but I can see how having someone check in once a month makes sense. I think I will stick with my decision to install a wood-grained porcelain tile, which I can also use in the entire condo. Even though the photos of the linoleum and vinyl have been mighty tempting!

Is there anything in the association rules about types of flooring you're allowed to use? Some condos limit the types of flooring you can use due to noise issues.

@katinparadise, nothing in the condo rules about flooring. When I head back for closing I'll have to make sure.