Mumbai in July, Chennai or Kochi most of the year, a ground-floor flat in Kolkata: Indian conditions are hard on floors. Humidity makes wood-based floors move, wet slabs push moisture upwards, and termites travel through walls and slabs looking for cellulose. Here is how to choose and install a floor that copes — and what no floor can promise.
How humidity affects each floor
- Solid wood absorbs and releases moisture with the seasons. Boards swell in the monsoon and shrink in dry, air-conditioned months, which shows as gaps or “cupping”. It needs a stable indoor climate.
- Engineered wood is far more stable than solid because its cross-layered core resists movement, but the top layer is still timber. Keep indoor humidity roughly between 40% and 60%.
- Laminate has a wood-fibre core. In high humidity and with wet mopping, unsealed edges can swell. Choose boards with sealed edges and a tested water-resistance figure, and keep them out of wet areas.
- SPC and vinyl have no wood fibre, so the core does not swell with humidity. That is why SPC has become the default recommendation for coastal cities and ground floors. It does expand slightly with heat, so it still needs expansion gaps and protection from strong direct sun.
The slab matters more than the floor
Most moisture problems come from below. A new slab can take months to dry, and ground-floor slabs without a damp-proof layer can stay damp all year.
- Have the slab moisture measured before installation (a hygrometer or carbide test — part of our site measurement).
- On ground floors and new slabs, lay a polyethylene moisture barrier under floating floors.
- Fix leaks, rising damp and broken tiles first; no floor covering solves them.
- Acclimatise boxes flat in the room for about 48 hours before installation (wood as the manufacturer specifies).
Termites: what each material means
Subterranean termites are common across India and feed on cellulose — wood, paper, and wood-fibre boards.
- SPC and vinyl: no wood fibre in the core, so nothing in the floor for termites to feed on. This is a property of the material, not a guarantee for your skirting, door frames or furniture.
- Laminate (HDF) and engineered wood: wood-based. Ask what treatment the core has, and treat the slab.
- Solid wood: choose naturally resistant species or treated timber, and treat the slab and battens.
Whatever floor you choose, the effective protection is a professional anti-termite treatment of the building — chemical barrier at the slab and wall junctions, done by a licensed pest-control company, with a service warranty from them. Do it before the new floor goes down.
Our recommendations by situation
- Coastal city, ground floor, kitchen: SPC with a 5–6 mm core and attached IXPE, moisture barrier underneath.
- Upper-floor bedrooms with air-conditioning: SPC, laminate or engineered wood all work.
- Real wood in a humid city: engineered rather than solid, glued to a dry, flat screed, with the room air-conditioned through the monsoon.
- Balconies and terraces: WPC decking on a proper joist system with drainage, not an indoor floor.
If you are unsure what your slab or room can take, ask us. A free measurement visit includes a moisture reading and a flatness check, and our type comparison sums up the trade-offs.