Cracked floor tile
A crack running across several tiles means the base moved, so new grout alone won't hold.
Tile and Flooring Installation in Sherman Oaks, CA
Tile that sounds hollow, vinyl lifting at the seams, a slab that isn't flat. Know what's under the floor before choosing what goes on top.
- Floor tested before bidding
- LA cost figures, cited
- Lead-safe demo, pre-1978
Pry up one cracked tile in a 1970s Valley kitchen and you'll often find tile set on a mortar bed about an inch thick, sometimes over wire lath, sometimes over a wood subfloor that has moved. That's the reason one loose tile is rarely just one tile. Tile and flooring installation in Sherman Oaks, CA is mostly about what's under the surface, and the surface is the smaller half of the job.
The first visit is quick and a little dull. First we tap the tile with a knuckle, walk the room in socks to feel the dips, lay a 6-foot straightedge across the slab or subfloor and look at the thresholds where one material meets the next. Those four checks tell us whether you can lay right over what's there, or whether it all has to come up.
The Census counts 76% of homes in ZIP 91423 as built before 1980. Floors from that period are rarely flat, rarely dry and sometimes hide materials that need testing before anyone touches them.
Tile and Flooring Installation in Sherman Oaks, CA and Nearby Towns
Besides Sherman Oaks, floor calls come from Studio City, Encino and Woodland Hills, where slab and raised-foundation houses from the 1960s are common.
Signs It's Time for Tile and Flooring Installation
Flooring tells you it's failing in quiet ways. These are the six we see most.
Hollow-sounding tile
Tap it with a knuckle. A drum sound means the bond let go and the tile will pop loose.
Vinyl lifting at seams
Moisture from the slab pushes seams up, and the edge catches a sock or a chair leg.
Uneven floor
A marble rolls to one wall, and a table rocks. The slab or subfloor has settled or sagged.
Worn grout
Crumbling, stained or sunken grout lets water through to the bed under the tile.
Carpet in the wrong rooms
Carpet in a kitchen, hall or bath holds spills, odors and dust that hard flooring would not.
Tile and Flooring Installation for Homes and Rental Units
Houses are the main place we do tile and flooring installation in Sherman Oaks, CA. Condos and rental units come with different floor rules.
Houses
Ranches from the 1960s sit on either a concrete slab or a raised foundation with a plywood or plank subfloor. The two want different prep: slabs need grinding, patching and moisture checks, while raised floors need extra screws and sometimes a layer of plywood. You hear which kind you have, and what that does to the price, before the tile is picked.
Book a design visitCondos and rentals
In a condo, many HOAs require sound-rated underlayment for hard flooring over a neighbor's ceiling, and they will want to see the product sheet. For rentals, the Census shows 37% of homes in 91423 are owner-occupied, so a lot of floors are rental floors. Porcelain tile or a click-lock plank is the usual choice.
Book a design visit
What We Do, in Order
Tile and flooring installation in Sherman Oaks, CA goes in the same order every time, because each layer carries the next.
- 01
Test and measure
Tap the old tile, run a straightedge across the floor and check heights at every threshold.
- 02
Written scope and price
Each room is a line, with prep work listed apart from the flooring itself.
- 03
Demo and prep
Pull the old floor, grind or patch the base, and level it to the flatness the new tile needs.
- 04
Set, grout, finish
Lay the new floor, grout it, seal where needed and fit the base trim and thresholds.
Living at Home During the Work
A floor job is different from a wall job: you can't walk on it. Tile needs a day to set before anyone steps on it, and the new grout needs more time before it sees water. The work goes room by room, so you always have a path to the bed, the bathroom and the front door.
Furniture moves, and that's the part people forget. Beds, couches, bookcases and the refrigerator all have to go somewhere. The crew can shift what's in the way, but a bookcase full of books is yours to empty. Plan on a staging room (or a corner of the garage).
Dust is smaller than you'd expect, except for the day the old floor comes up. A wet saw cuts the tile outside, a HEPA vacuum runs on demo day and plastic goes across doorways. Pets should be somewhere else when the old floor comes up.
What to Do Before Demo Day
Measure the clearance first. Dishwashers, fridges, and doors all have to clear a thicker floor. A new tile floor, with its bed, can rise 3/4 inch or more, so a dishwasher that slid out before may now be stuck. Tell us what's in the room and we measure the rest.
Order tile with 10% extra, and keep the box labels. Tile lots vary in shade, and a missing tile in five years is hard to replace if the lot is gone. For plank flooring, let the boxes sit in the room for a couple of days so they match the room's humidity.
Ask us about testing. Older vinyl floor tile and its adhesive can contain asbestos, as the EPA explains. We test before we pull it up.
Out-of-Level Slabs and Old Subfloors
The hard version of tile and flooring installation is a floor that isn't flat. Large tile, 15 inches or more on a side, wants a surface within about 1/8 inch over 10 feet. Many 1960s slabs are off by far more, with a high spot at a crack and a dip by the sliding door.
On a slab, we grind the highs and fill the lows with a self-leveling compound, then let it cure before tile. On a raised foundation, the fix goes the other way: screw the subfloor down tight to stop squeaks, add 3/4 inch plywood where it flexes, and check the joists from the crawlspace if a spot feels soft.
Old floors in pre-1978 housing add one step. EPA rules require firms doing renovation in that housing to be lead-safe certified, so demo is done with plastic, damp wiping and a HEPA vacuum, not a broom.
- High spots ground, low spots filled
- Subfloor screwed down and plywood added
- Cracks bridged with a membrane
- Lead-safe demo in pre-1978 houses
What It's Like Living Through It
Tile and flooring installation in Sherman Oaks, CA looks simple on paper. Here is how it goes in a lived-in house.
- How long
- One room of tile over a good base runs about 3 to 5 days, with a day or two more for grout and cure. A whole-house floor over bad slabs takes weeks. You get a dated room-by-room schedule.
- Mess and dust
- Demo is the worst of it: tile coming up in chunks and dust drifting past plastic. Wet cutting happens outside, and we sweep and vacuum every evening.
- Do I need to be home
- For the tile pick, the layout walk and the final check. A lockbox covers the days in between.
- Permits
- Floors alone are generally cosmetic, but when they are part of a kitchen or bath remodel, that job may need an LADBS Express Permit, and LADBS says to call for inspection before any work is covered or concealed. Our check comes before the bid.
- If something isn't right
- Flag the uneven tile or grout line and we return to fix it. A lippage edge, a hollow tile or a grout line that is off gets fixed, and we walk the floors with you before the job is closed.
Tile and Flooring Installation Cost in Sherman Oaks
A flat price per square foot for tile and flooring installation in Sherman Oaks, CA would be a guess, and no cited source gives one. JLC's 2025 remodeling cost report prices whole rooms, where new floors are one line.
| Job | Figure |
|---|---|
| Midrange bath remodel Tile floor and shower tile are part of this job | $27,143 |
| Minor kitchen update, midrange Cabinets stay and new floors can be part of the refresh | $29,765 |
| Major kitchen remodel, midrange New cabinets, counters, flooring and lighting | $86,214 |
Tile and Flooring Installation Questions
Can new tile go over my old tile?
Sometimes. A new layer can go on top when the old tile is tight, flat and the extra height doesn't trouble doors and appliances. But hollow or cracked tile means the bond has failed, and anything laid over it will fail too. Tapping the floor tells us in a minute which one you have.
How much does tile and flooring installation cost in Sherman Oaks, CA?
No cited source gives a Los Angeles price per square foot, so we won't invent one. That report priced a midrange bath at $27,143, with the floor included. Prep, tile size and room count move the price most, and each room gets its own line.
Is tile or vinyl plank better in a kitchen?
Porcelain tile lasts longest and shrugs off water, but it is hard and cold underfoot, and dropped dishes break. Vinyl plank is warmer and quieter and costs less, but it can dent and doesn't hide a bad slab as well. For a kitchen you plan to keep 20 years, we lean toward porcelain.
What if my old floor has asbestos?
Don't sand or break it. Some vinyl tile and black adhesive from the 1950s and 1960s may contain it, and a lab test confirms. Positive? A licensed abatement firm removes it, or the floor can sometimes be covered in place. We stop and tell you before going further, because that choice is yours.
Does a flooring replacement need a permit?
Generally not for flooring alone, since it is cosmetic. When the floor is part of a kitchen or bath remodel, the job may need a permit, and LADBS lists those without structural changes under its Express Permit program. Ask at the first visit and the city gets a call before the bid.
About us. Valley Oak Kitchen & Bath is an owner-run kitchen and bath remodeler working in Sherman Oaks and the nearby Valley neighborhoods. John runs each job the same way: a design visit first, a written scope, and the trades in the right order. More about us.
Tile and Flooring Installation in Sherman Oaks, CA
Loose tile or an uneven slab? Call John. We'll check with a knuckle and a straightedge and tell you what we find.