Flooring experts chime in on cost effective flooring for homeowners hit hard by December storms

OXNARD, Calif.—One of the top expenses homeowners are dealing with following the December storms is replacing damaged flooring.

We spoke to Hueneme Bay residents like Luz Rodriguez a few weeks ago who say remediation costs are going through the roof.

“Their bill is going to be 9000. And that's it. That wiped out my savings,” said Rodriguez.

Local flooring expert Raydell Gonzales says he’s noticing a trend in customers opting for waterproof flooring.

“We've been seeing a lot of rentals come in because of the Hueneme area getting hit or in that vicinity. They're definitely coming into the store because we have a lot of recurring customers that do rentals and they have been coming in asking for flooring, especially since. So a lot of them are laminate and carpets and it can't be reused,” said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez says that a special type of vinyl flooring with a stone composite core is the best investment homeowners can make to protect themselves from future water damage and mold build up.

“ There's no mold that's going to be built up on these materials because they have antimicrobial padding. This was not on this at all, but you can salvage these. You need to remove the planks so you can reduce them again. But you definitely need to pull the planks off the floor foundation, make sure it's dry, and then we can reuse the planks, installing it again,” said Gonzalez.

In addition to withstanding flooding, the SPC flooring will also hold up better during earthquakes.

“ It wouldn't crack because it assembled this your foundation. So it's not anywhere near it's still click and locks and expands and contracts and it moves,” said Gonzalez.

Right now the average price for most stone composite core vinyl flooring runs at $3.99 per square foot.