Where we work, and what this coast does to a floor

La Cumbre Floor Covering & Design is based in Carpinteria and works across Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Floors here deal with damp marine air, dry sundowner winds, drywood termites, and a lot of houses built in the 1920s and 30s. Call or text (805) 698-9745 to ask about your town or get a free estimate.

Where we work

• Santa Barbara. The main hub, with about 85 percent of the jobs.
• Montecito. Where most of the parquet and custom work happens.
• Carpinteria. Home base.
• Goleta, Summerland and Santa Ynez. The rest of Santa Barbara County we drive to.
• Ventura, Ojai, Oxnard and Camarillo. Ventura County.

“Santa Barbara is our main hub at 85%, but we truly enjoy serving Ventura, Ojai, Camarillo and Santa Ynez whenever the opportunity comes.”La Cumbre Floor

The air: marine layer and sundowners

NWFA notes that humidity can differ widely between an oceanfront house and one a few miles inland. On the South Coast, UC Santa Barbara geographers found low stratus over the city in about 30 percent of morning hours across 52 years, and cloud overhead about a third of the time year round.

Then the sundowners and Santa Anas dry everything out. The National Weather Service recorded humidity near or below 10 percent above Montecito in a 2008 sundowner. Wood shrinks in air that dry, so gaps can open during dry spells and close when humidity comes back. NWFA’s target is 30 to 50 percent. See floor care.

Termites

UC IPM says western drywood termites are common along the Pacific coastal region of Southern California. They live inside dry wood above ground and leave six-sided pellets from kick-out holes smaller than 2 mm. Once they’ve damaged a floor, we cut out and replace the eaten boards and repair the subfloor. See termite damage.

The houses

• Within 11 days of the June 29, 1925 earthquake, Santa Barbara created an Architectural Board of Review, described as the first in the country, and Spanish Colonial Revival building peaked afterward (City of Santa Barbara design guidelines). The style’s features include clay tile roofs and decorative tile used as baseboards or door surrounds.
• Bungalow Haven, a proposed historic district in Santa Barbara, grew between 1900 and 1940 and is over half Craftsman.
• The Riviera was developed from 1913 with a required tile-roofed, white-stucco style. Hope Ranch’s current development began in 1925. The Samarkand hills were first developed in the 1920s. Summerland was founded in 1883.
• In Ventura, most first lots in Pierpont Bay were built between 1926 and 1930.

Floors in older houses have usually been through a lot, with carpet laid over wood, additions that mix species and decades of repairs. The owners of a 1919 Santa Barbara bungalow rolled up the carpet and found original oak (Arts & Crafts Homes). See whether yours can be refinished.

Rules that touch a floor job

• Work hours. The City of Santa Barbara allows construction 7 am to 8 pm daily under Municipal Code 9.16.040, and the City of Ventura also allows 7 am to 8 pm. Other cities and the county vary. A Montecito Association FAQ lists shorter hours, so confirm for your address.
• Jurisdiction. Montecito is unincorporated and falls under Santa Barbara County. The City of Santa Barbara has its own permit counter.
• Old flooring. Santa Barbara County’s air district classes resilient flooring as a Category I nonfriable asbestos-containing material in its notification form. Qualifying renovations need 10 working days’ notice; single-family homes are generally exempt. See the lead and asbestos notes.
• Debris. Carpinteria requires a waste plan with at least 65 percent diversion for demolition, new construction and alterations of 1,000 square feet or more. Smaller jobs submit a form. The CARE carpet-recycling program takes carpet. The City of Santa Barbara names Habitat for Humanity ReStore and The ReUse People for salvage.
• Condos. Many coastal buildings need HOA approval and an acoustic rating for new hard flooring.

Call or text

We answer calls and texts Monday to Saturday, 8 am to 10 pm, in real time even from a job, and come to look usually within one to three days. Call or text (805) 698-9745. We speak Spanish: se habla español.

Sources

1. NWFA, local conditions and floor performance, 2017
2. UC Santa Barbara Geography, Santa Barbara clouds
3. National Weather Service Western Region, 2008 sundowner event above Montecito
4. UC IPM, drywood termites
5. City of Santa Barbara, Spanish Colonial Revival design guideline; Bungalow Haven historic district documents
6. Santa Barbara Independent: 1925 earthquake (2021); Samarkand (2023)
7. Riviera Association; City of Ventura (Pierpont Bay); Arts & Crafts Homes
8. City of Santa Barbara, noise guide (PDF); City of Ventura, noise FAQ
9. Santa Barbara County APCD, asbestos notification