Citrus Heights has something most of the newer suburbs do not: original hardwood under the carpet. A lot of 1960s houses here were built with oak strip flooring that was covered in the 1980s and forgotten. Before you buy anything new, it is worth pulling back a corner of carpet in a bedroom closet — refinishing a floor that is already there is cheaper than any product we could sell you, and it is a better floor than most of what is sold today.
Check what is under the carpet first
Original oak strip flooring, typically two and a quarter inches wide, appears in a large share of the older houses in Sunrise Ranch, Birdcage Heights and Sylvan Old Auburn. If it has not been sanded to the nails, it can be refinished — sanded, stained if you want a different tone, and sealed — for $4 to $7 per square foot, which is less than installing new engineered hardwood and often less than good vinyl plank.
What rules it out: earlier sandings that have taken the wear layer down to the fasteners, water damage that has cupped boards badly, or a subfloor that has moved. We check the thickness at a threshold or a vent opening during the measure and tell you honestly which situation you are in, including when the answer is that you do not need us at all.
Raised foundations, crawlspaces and moisture
Many houses here sit on raised foundations rather than slab, which changes the checklist. Under the floor we look for a vapour barrier — often missing or torn on a house of this age — for standing damp, and for the soft spots around a bathroom or laundry where a slow leak has been feeding the subfloor for years.
Fixing those while the floor is up is inexpensive. Laying a new floor over them guarantees a callback: a torn barrier keeps pushing moisture into whatever you install, and a soft subfloor section telegraphs through vinyl within months. This is the most common reason a cheap flooring quote in this city turns out not to be the cheapest.
What to install when the old floor is gone
Luxury vinyl plank is the practical default — waterproof, stable, quiet with a good pad, and forgiving over the slightly uneven subfloors these houses have.
Laminate works in bedrooms and living rooms on a tight budget.
Engineered hardwood gives real timber where there is no original floor to save, and it is stable over both raised and slab construction.
Tile in bathrooms, laundries and entries, with proper backer board and movement joints over a wood subfloor rather than tile laid straight onto old underlayment, which is why so many 1980s tile floors in these houses have cracked grout lines.
Cost and how the day goes
Installed with tear-out, standard prep and trim: luxury vinyl plank $4–8 per square foot, laminate $4–7, engineered hardwood $8–14, tile $10–20, refinishing original oak $4–7. Subfloor repair, vapour-barrier replacement and levelling are separate visible lines rather than hidden in the rate.
A typical Citrus Heights house of 1,200 to 1,600 square feet takes two to four days for a full replacement, or three to four days for a refinish including drying time between coats — during which the house is not walkable, which we plan with you rather than announcing on the morning.
We move furniture, protect the route in, haul the old material away, and either reset the baseboards or finish with shoe moulding, which we state at the quote.
Sequence with the kitchen
If the kitchen is being remodeled, the floor goes in first and cabinets sit on top of it. Cutting a floor in around existing cabinets leaves a seam at every appliance and a step where a dishwasher later has to be pulled out. Doing both together is also cheaper than two separate mobilisations.
See the material in your own room first with the free AI preview, then book the free in-home measure. We also do kitchen remodeling and custom cabinets here, so the whole job runs on one schedule.
Neighborhoods we serve in Citrus Heights
We install and refinish floors across Citrus Heights — original oak refinishing in Sunrise Ranch, Birdcage Heights and Sylvan Old Auburn, subfloor repair and vapour-barrier work in the raised-foundation homes around Arcade Creek and Rusch Park, and full vinyl plank replacements in Stock Ranch, Mariposa and Oak Hills.
Reviews from Citrus Heights and nearby
New engineered oak flooring throughout the downstairs. Crew was fast and the finish is flawless. You can tell they do this every day.
Customer service answered every question before we signed. The open-plan kitchen opened up the whole downstairs — exactly what the design preview showed.
Three kids and the new laminate floors wipe clean after juice, markers, you name it. Best money we've spent on the house. Installed fast too.
Recent work you can price
Flooring Installation in Citrus Heights — FAQ
What does flooring cost in Citrus Heights?
Installed with tear-out, prep and trim: luxury vinyl plank $4–8 per square foot, laminate $4–7, engineered hardwood $8–14, tile $10–20. Refinishing original oak runs $4–7 and is usually the cheapest good option when the floor is still there.
How do I know if I have original hardwood under my carpet?
Pull back a corner in a bedroom closet, or look at the edge of a heat vent. Many 1960s houses here were built with two-and-a-quarter-inch oak strip that was carpeted over later. We check the remaining thickness at the measure and tell you whether it can be refinished.
Is refinishing cheaper than new flooring?
Usually yes — $4 to $7 per square foot against $4 to $14 for new material installed, and you keep a solid timber floor that is difficult to buy today. It only fails as an option when earlier sanding has taken the wear layer down to the nails.
What is under a raised-foundation house that matters?
A vapour barrier that is often torn or missing at this age, any standing damp, and soft subfloor around bathrooms and laundries from slow leaks. Repairing those while the floor is up is inexpensive; covering them guarantees the new floor fails.
How long will my house be out of action?
Two to four days for a full replacement of 1,200 to 1,600 square feet. A refinish takes three to four days including drying between coats, and the floor cannot be walked on during that — we plan the schedule around it with you in advance.
Why did my 1980s tile floor crack along the grout?
Almost always because it was laid over an old underlayment without proper backer board or movement joints. Any tile we install over a wood subfloor gets the correct substrate first, which is the difference between a floor that lasts twenty years and one that cracks in three.