Flooring Installation
At City Tile & Cabinets, we believe in quality work.A new floor is only as good as what is underneath it. In Tustin that can mean a 1920s wood subfloor in Old Town, a 1990s slab under worn carpet in Tustin Ranch, or a second-floor condo in Tustin Legacy where sound rules apply. We check those conditions first and choose the material second.
City Tile & Cabinets has supplied and installed flooring across central Orange County since 1998. Our showroom on State College Boulevard is about 6 miles from Old Town Tustin and about 8 miles from The District at Tustin Legacy, and every installation is done by our own crew.
Floors We Install
Porcelain and ceramic tile. Dense, water resistant, and the easiest floor to live with in kitchens, baths, laundry rooms, and entries. Large-format porcelain, 24×24 and up, is the most requested tile and stone flooring in our showroom because it cuts down on grout lines.
Natural stone. Travertine, slate, limestone, and marble bring variation no manufactured tile matches. Natural stone needs sealing and pH-neutral cleaners, and natural thickness variation takes more careful setting.
Hardwood and engineered wood. Solid wood flooring can be refinished many times but needs a wood subfloor. Engineered wood can go over concrete, which makes it the practical wood floor for most Tustin homes. The USDA Forest Products Laboratory explains how the layered build of engineered wood keeps it stable where solid boards would move.
Luxury vinyl plank and laminate. Waterproof or water resistant, quick to install, and forgiving with kids and pets. Compare luxury vinyl and laminate for whole-house projects on a tighter budget.
What Is Under the Floor Matters More
Most Tustin homes, including nearly everything around Tustin Ranch Golf Club and in the Tustin Legacy neighborhoods near The District, sit on concrete slabs. Before anything goes down we check the slab for moisture, cracks, and high or low spots, and grind or level it as needed.
Many of the older homes around El Camino Real and Main Street in Old Town sit on raised foundations with wood subfloors. Those floors can flex, and flex cracks tile and grout. We stiffen or add plywood where needed before setting tile or stone.
In Tustin Legacy and other condo and townhome communities, many associations set a minimum sound rating for flooring on upper floors. Check your HOA rules before choosing a floating floor upstairs; the right underlayment usually solves it.
In unincorporated North Tustin, around Lemon Heights and Cowan Heights, any permitted work goes through OC Development Services rather than the City of Tustin.
Old Flooring in Older Tustin Homes
If your home was built before the 1980s, there may be old 9×9 or 12×12 vinyl tile or black adhesive under the carpet or sheet vinyl. Those materials can contain asbestos. The EPA’s homeowner guidance on asbestos advises against sanding, scraping, or grinding suspect flooring, recommends testing by an accredited professional before remodeling disturbs it, and notes that covering intact old flooring with new flooring is often the safest path.
Homes built before 1978, which includes much of Old Town per the City of Tustin Historic Resources Survey, may also have lead-based paint on baseboards and trim, which usually come off during a flooring job. The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule requires any contractor paid to disturb that paint to be a certified firm using lead-safe practices.
How a Tustin Flooring Installation Runs
- Showroom visit. Compare full-size tile, stone, wood, and vinyl samples side by side, and take samples home to see them in your own light.
- In-home measure. We measure your Tustin home, check the subfloor, and moisture test where wood or vinyl will go over concrete.
- Written estimate. Material, prep, layout, transitions, and timeline in writing.
- Removal and prep. Old flooring comes out, then the slab or subfloor is cleaned, leveled, and repaired.
- Installation. Tile is set and allowed to cure 24 to 48 hours before grouting. Wood and vinyl go down with expansion gaps at the walls.
- Transitions and trim. Thresholds, reducers, and baseboards are set so the new floor meets every doorway cleanly.
- Walkthrough. We check the finished floor with you and go over care for the material you chose.
Getting to Our Showroom From Tustin
Our showroom sits at 1535 S State College Blvd, on the stretch locals call Tile Row, one mile from Angel Stadium. It is about 6 miles from Old Town Tustin, about 7 from Tustin Ranch, and about 8 from Tustin Legacy. Full-size tile, stone, wood, and vinyl samples are laid out side by side, and you can take samples home to check them in your own light. See finished floors in our project gallery first. We are open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Large-Format Tile Needs a Flatter Floor
The bigger the tile, the less forgiving it is. Industry standard ANSI A108.02, referenced in the Tile Council of North America Handbook, calls for no more than 1/8 inch of variation over 10 feet for tiles with an edge 15 inches or longer, about half what standard tile allows. Slabs in older homes rarely meet that as-is, so leveling is often part of a large-format job. Skipping it leads to lippage, where tile edges sit at different heights, and hollow spots that crack later.
Wood Floors and Santa Ana Winds
Orange County air is dry most of the year and drier still when the Santa Ana winds blow in fall and winter. Wood shrinks when it dries, so we acclimate wood flooring in your home before installation and moisture test the slab or subfloor first, as the National Wood Flooring Association recommends. After install, the EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity ideally between 30 and 50 percent, a range that also keeps wood boards from gapping or cupping.
Plan Your Tustin Flooring Project
Visit our showroom at 1535 S State College Blvd, Anaheim, CA 92806, call 714-278-3576, or request a free quote to schedule an in-home measure in Tustin.