One major consideration of both architects and engineers when building homes are what materials to use for different parts of the project. These materials matter on several levels like what material should the exterior of the building be if it’s going to be in the city where the temperature is hotter than it is in rural areas. For tropical homes, however, there are fewer design variables and the major consideration is ambient temperature as well as humidity above all else.

In today’s article, we try to explore 3 wood materials that are great floor tiles for tropical homes especially if you are constructing on a tight budget.

Basic Hardwood

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In tropical countries like the ones in most of South East Asia, there are numerous hardwoods that are well adapted to a specific climate. In the Philippines, for example, Narra is both popular for furniture as well as flooring because it expands and shrinks (depending on humidity) very minimally making it suitable for tropical homes.

Reclaimed Hardwood

If you’re on a really tight budget, then this might work for you. Reclaimed hardwood comes from structures that are already for demolition so not only can you avail of them cheap (or buy them from owners of the to-be-demolished building yourself), you can even salvage your own. The only thing is that you must also know a thing or two about repurposing wood or have them re-milled so that they fit in properly for your home.

Wide-plank Hardwood

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Wide-plank hardwood might be a little bit of the more expensive tropical home choice but it’s definitely the best on this list. Not only is it stylish and easy to manage (clean, maintain, polish, etc.), it is also very breathable and it feels good barefoot on hot days and cold nights. It’s as versatile as it is comfortable.

Aside from hardwood floor tiles, however, there are a number of other different types of floor tiles that are climate appropriate (especially for tropical homes that do not have air-conditioning or humidity controls). We will touch on them on our next articles.