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September 17, 2026
Humidity is a real challenge in both Raleigh and Myrtle Beach. Here's what you need to know before choosing laminate flooring for your home.
If you’ve lived in Raleigh or on the Grand Strand for any length of time, you already know what humidity feels like. Myrtle Beach mornings in July can hit 80% relative humidity before most people have finished their coffee. Raleigh summers bring their own sustained moisture that quietly works on your floors every single day. That same moisture that makes the air feel heavy is putting pressure on whatever flooring you choose.
That’s why flooring decisions in these markets are different. What works fine in a drier climate can warp, buckle, or fail within a few years here. The good news is that today’s laminate flooring has come a long way, and when the right product meets the right installation, it’s one of the best choices you can make for a home in either location.
This is the question we hear most often from homeowners in both Raleigh and the Grand Strand, and it deserves a straight answer. Standard laminate, the kind with a traditional high-density fiberboard core, has real limitations in high-humidity environments. When moisture levels consistently exceed 60% relative humidity, that core can absorb moisture and expand, putting stress on the locking system and eventually causing the planks to buckle or gap.
Both Raleigh and Myrtle Beach regularly exceed that threshold during their humid seasons. So if someone tells you laminate is a bad idea for a home in either location, they’re not entirely wrong; they’re just describing the wrong product.
Modern waterproof laminate is built differently. Products with a Stone Plastic Composite or Wood Plastic Composite core are dimensionally stable, meaning they don’t expand and contract the way traditional laminate does when humidity swings. Pair that with proper installation and the right underlayment, and you have a floor that’s genuinely built for life in a humid climate, no matter if that’s Raleigh or near the Atlantic.
The core is everything. Traditional laminate uses a high-density fiberboard base, which is wood fiber compressed under high pressure. It’s dense, it’s durable under normal conditions, and it’s been the industry standard for decades. But wood fiber and sustained moisture are not friends. Over time, especially in climates like Raleigh’s and Myrtle Beach’s, that core absorbs humidity from the air and swells. You’ll see it first at the seams, where planks push against each other and start to lift. Eventually, the whole floor looks like it’s trying to escape the room.
Waterproof laminate solves this with a rigid core made from stone plastic composite or wood plastic composite, materials that simply don’t absorb moisture. The plank stays stable if the air is dry in February or thick with humidity in August. It’s also significantly more resistant to the kind of surface water intrusion that happens in any home: a wet towel left on the floor, a dog that just came in from the rain, a spill that didn’t get wiped up immediately.
Beyond the core, premium waterproof laminate features sealed edges and tighter locking systems that prevent moisture from working its way into the seams from above. The wear layer, which is the protective top coat, is thicker on quality products, which matters in high-traffic homes. Look for products rated AC4 or higher if your home sees regular foot traffic, especially in a vacation rental context where you’re not always there to manage how the floor gets treated. One more thing worth knowing: the texture on modern laminate has gotten remarkably realistic.
Embossed-in-register technology syncs the visual grain pattern with a physical texture, so the floor doesn’t just look like wood; it feels like it underfoot. Most guests in a rental property won’t know the difference. That matters when your listing photos and in-person impressions drive your booking rate.
You can buy the best waterproof laminate on the market and still end up with a failed floor if the installation isn’t done right. In a humid climate, the margin for error is smaller than in a drier region, and the consequences of cutting corners show up faster.
Here’s what proper installation actually involves. Before a single plank goes down, the subfloor needs to be tested for moisture. In Raleigh condos, ground-floor units, and homes built on slabs, which is common throughout the region, subfloor moisture levels can be elevated even when the surface looks and feels dry. In Myrtle Beach, where many homes are built on or near water tables, this step is absolutely critical. Skipping that test is how floors fail within the first year.
After the moisture test, the laminate needs to acclimate in the installation environment for at least 48 hours. This gives the planks time to adjust to the temperature and humidity of the specific space they’ll live in. It sounds simple, but it’s a step that gets skipped constantly on DIY jobs and rushed contractor installs. When you skip acclimation and install planks that haven’t adjusted, you’re essentially installing a floor that’s already under stress before anyone walks on it.
From there, the underlayment matters. A quality moisture barrier with sealed seams creates a protective layer between the subfloor and the flooring above. Expansion gaps, typically a quarter inch, need to be maintained at every wall and transition point, because even waterproof laminate will expand slightly with temperature changes. And in bathrooms, laundry areas, or any space with elevated moisture risk, edge sealing adds another layer of protection.
We’ve been installing flooring across the Grand Strand and in Raleigh for over 30 years. The difference between a floor that lasts 20 years and one that needs replacing in five almost always comes down to how it was installed, not just what was installed. That’s why we back every installation with a lifetime warranty on our workmanship. Not because it’s a nice thing to say, but because we’re confident in how the job gets done.
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Owning a vacation rental or second home comes with a specific set of flooring challenges that primary homeowners don’t always face. You’re not there to catch the spill before it sits for three hours. You’re not monitoring the humidity levels when the HVAC gets left off between bookings. Your tenants are coming in from the beach with wet feet and sand-covered flip flops, or tracking in Raleigh’s red clay and moisture. They’re not treating the floor the way you would.
What you need is a floor that looks great in listing photos, because that directly affects your nightly rate and occupancy, and holds up to the reality of heavy, rotating use without constant maintenance or early replacement.
For vacation rental properties in Raleigh or Myrtle Beach, the calculus is a little different than a typical primary residence. You’re optimizing for three things at once: visual appeal, durability, and ease of cleaning between guests. Quality laminate can deliver on all three, but only if you’re choosing the right product for the environment.
Start with the wear layer. The wear layer is the transparent protective coating on top of the laminate’s decorative surface. Thinner wear layers, under 12 mil, are fine for light residential use, but they’ll show scratches and scuffs quickly in a high-traffic rental. For a property that sees multiple tenant turnovers per month, look for a wear layer of at least 12 mil, and ideally 20 mil or more on the highest-traffic areas like entryways and main living spaces.
AC ratings, the industry’s abrasion classification system, run from AC1 (light residential) to AC5 (heavy commercial). For a vacation rental that sees consistent heavy use, AC4 is the practical minimum. AC4-rated laminate is tested to withstand the kind of foot traffic you’d see in a busy office environment, which puts it well above what most rental properties will actually throw at it. On the aesthetic side, wider planks with longer boards tend to photograph better and feel more upscale in listing images. Lighter, natural wood tones are currently popular and tend to show less sand and debris between cleanings, a practical advantage that most property owners don’t think about until they’re sweeping between back-to-back bookings.
The cost advantage is also worth stating plainly. Quality laminate runs $1 to $5 per square foot in materials, compared to $5 to $15 or more for solid hardwood. For a 1,200 square foot condo, that difference can be $5,000 to $12,000 in materials alone. When you’re running a rental property as an investment, that kind of savings either goes back into the property or straight to your bottom line.
This comparison comes up constantly, and the honest answer is that it depends on the specific space and how the home is used, but there are some clear patterns worth knowing.
Solid hardwood is beautiful, and it’s the benchmark that every other flooring type is trying to replicate. But in humid climates like Raleigh and Myrtle Beach, solid hardwood is a difficult choice. It’s highly sensitive to humidity fluctuations, it requires refinishing every several years to maintain its finish, and it can be permanently damaged by standing water. The salt air that drifts in from the Atlantic doesn’t help coastal properties either. Engineered hardwood performs better in humid conditions than solid hardwood, but it still has limits, and it comes at a significant cost premium.
Luxury vinyl plank has become enormously popular over the past several years, and for good reason. It’s 100% waterproof, highly durable, and comes in a wide range of realistic wood visuals. For bathrooms, laundry rooms, and any space with a direct water risk, LVP is genuinely hard to beat. Where it falls short for some homeowners is feel; LVP has a slightly hollow, plastic quality underfoot that quality laminate doesn’t. Laminate, especially products with a thicker core and attached underlayment, feels more substantial and more like real wood when you walk on it.
For living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, and open-plan spaces in a Raleigh or Myrtle Beach home, areas that don’t have direct water exposure but do live in a humid environment, waterproof laminate sits in a strong middle position. It’s more moisture-resistant than hardwood, more realistic-feeling than vinyl, and more affordable than both. In a Raleigh home where the climate is humid but less extreme than the coast, quality laminate performs excellently across the entire house. In a Myrtle Beach home, waterproof laminate with an SPC core is the version you want.
The right answer for your specific home depends on the layout, how the space is used, and what your priorities are. That’s the kind of conversation worth having with someone who’s actually installed flooring in both markets, not a big box store associate working their third week on the job.
The humidity in Raleigh and Myrtle Beach is real, and it does matter when you’re choosing flooring. But it’s not a reason to avoid laminate; it’s a reason to choose the right laminate and have it installed correctly. Modern waterproof laminate, properly installed with moisture testing, acclimation, and quality underlayment, is one of the most durable and cost-effective flooring choices available for homes in either location, regardless of if you’re looking at a primary residence, a vacation rental, or a second property.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and get a clear answer about what will work in your home, reach out to us at American Dream Flooring And Tile. We’ll come to you, take a look at the space, and give you a straight, all-in estimate with no surprises.
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