Flooring and carpentry: hardwood, vinyl, tile and trim

Which license covers flooring in California?

Most floors fall under the C-15, Flooring and Floor Covering classification at the Contractors State License Board. CSLB describes it as preparing the surface and installing carpet, resilient sheet and tile, wood floors and other flooring, including finishing and repairing them, with one exception: ceramic tile.

Tile has its own license, the C-54, Ceramic and Mosaic Tile, for glazed, ceramic, mosaic, quarry, stone and glass tile on floors, walls and showers. A floor job that is part of a bigger remodel touching more than two unrelated trades can go to a B, General Building contractor. The license matters once the work reaches $1,000 in labor and materials or needs a permit; see how to check a license for the steps. Those classifications are California's. For a floor in Dallas–Fort Worth, ask the city whether the installer must be registered for any permit the job needs, as our Texas notes explain.

Refinish or replace a hardwood floor?

Solid hardwood can usually be sanded and refinished several times, so scratches, worn traffic paths and a dull finish are often a refinish, not a new floor. Replacement comes up when boards are cupped or soft from water, when the wood is too thin to sand again, or when a previous owner glued something over it that will not come off cleanly.

Engineered hardwood has a real wood top layer over plywood, and how many times it can be sanded depends on how thick that layer is. Ask the flooring contractor to pull a floor vent or look at an edge to see what you have before anyone quotes a full replacement.

Laminate, vinyl plank or tile: which suits the room?

Each one solves a different problem. Luxury vinyl plank stands up well to spills and pets and is common in kitchens, laundry rooms and rentals. Laminate looks like wood and resists scratches, but many products do not like standing water, so check the maker's rating before using it in a bathroom. Tile handles water and wear for a long time and suits bathrooms, entries and showers, but it is cold underfoot, hard on dropped dishes, and needs a stiff, flat base to keep grout and tiles from cracking.

Whatever you choose, read the product's installation instructions and warranty conditions. Most require a certain flatness, a moisture limit and an acclimation period, and a floor laid outside those terms may lose its warranty.

Why do subfloor and moisture matter so much?

Because almost every floor failure starts below the surface. A squeak, a soft spot, a gap that opens every winter or planks that buckle in summer usually trace back to a subfloor that flexes, is out of level, or holds moisture. On a concrete slab, moisture rising through the concrete can loosen glue and swell wood; over a crawl space, a wet crawl space can do the same from below.

A careful installer checks before laying anything: they test moisture in the slab or the wood, look for soft or damaged subfloor panels, and flatten high and low spots. Ask whether that testing is part of the estimate, and what happens to the price if rotted subfloor turns up once the old floor is out.

What if the old floor might contain asbestos?

Older sheet vinyl, vinyl tiles and the black adhesive under them sometimes contain asbestos. EPA's guidance on asbestos in the home says not to sand or try to level asbestos flooring or its backing, and never to use a power stripper on flooring that may contain it. Material in good condition can often be left in place and covered; removal and major repair belong to people trained to handle asbestos. If you are not sure what is under your current floor, ask about testing before demolition starts.

Trim, doors and finish carpentry

A new floor often brings carpentry with it: baseboards and shoe molding taken off and put back, door casings trimmed so the new floor slides underneath, doors shortened, stair treads and nosings replaced. Built-ins, cabinets and interior trim fall under the C-6, Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry classification, which CSLB describes as making and installing cabinets, doors, trim and nonbearing partitions. A flooring contractor may handle simple base and shoe, while new cabinets or a full trim package usually fit a C-6.

What to have ready before you call

• Which rooms, and their rough size. A sketch with lengths and widths in feet helps.
• What is on the floor now, and what is under it if you know: slab, plywood, an older floor below.
• Whether the house sits on a slab or over a crawl space or basement.
• Photos of any damage, squeaks you can point to, water stains or gaps between boards.
• The product you are considering, with its name and the installer instructions if you have them.
• Any stairs, built-ins, doors or trim that are part of the job.
• The year the house was built, if you know it, so older-material questions can come up early.

Questions to ask a flooring contractor

• Do you hold a C-15, or a C-54 for tile, and may I have the number to look up?
• Will you test the slab or subfloor for moisture first, and what reading is acceptable for this product?
• Is removing and hauling away the old floor in the scope?
• Who moves furniture and appliances, and who resets toilets or reconnects the dishwasher?
• How long should the material sit in the house before it goes down?

The agreement itself has to meet California's written contract rules; our page on home improvement contracts explains them.

What we do, and what we don't

The request costs you nothing. Once it arrives we phone or email you to talk through the rooms, the floor you have and the floor you want, and which licensed flooring, tile or carpentry trade the job calls for. Contractor Near Me does not install floors or build anything, holds no contractor's license, does not price the work and does not stand behind any installer. Check the license of whoever you choose before work starts.

Sources: CSLB, C-15 Flooring and Floor Covering Contractors; CSLB, C-54 Ceramic and Mosaic Tile Contractor; CSLB, C-6 Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry Contractor; CSLB, What Type of Contractor Do I Need?; CSLB, AB 2622 minor work bulletin (2024); EPA, Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos.