An older home kitchen remodel in Santa Clarita, and the rules its build year sets off

A kitchen in a house from the 1960s or 1970s meets rules a newer one does not. Most of them turn on a date, and the dates are written down.

Updated September 2026. Every rule and figure checked at its own source, listed at the end.

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Short answer

The build year decides which rules wake up. About 54 percent of housing in ZIP area 91321 dates from 1979 or earlier, against about 15 percent in 91354. In a building put up by 1980, the state construction asbestos rule presumes sprayed ceiling finish and pipe insulation contain asbestos, and treats vinyl and asphalt flooring laid by then the same way until it is shown otherwise. Wiring put in from 1965 to the mid 1970s may be aluminum (Census Bureau ACS table B25034, Cal/OSHA asbestos rule, 8 CCR 1529, CPSC Publication 516).

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The build year decides which rulebooks apply

Three dates matter more than anything else about an older kitchen. The first is 1980: in a building put up by then, the Cal/OSHA asbestos rule presumes some materials contain asbestos. The second is the stretch from 1965 to the mid 1970s, when new homes, additions and rewired circuits may have been wired in aluminum (CPSC Publication 516).

The third is 1978. With a few exceptions, housing built before 1978 counts as target housing under the federal lead rules (40 CFR 745.103). A fourth date belongs to plumbing: a house built by January 1, 1994 can have its older fixtures pulled into a permitted kitchen, which the code requirements page covers.

The sections below take them one at a time, starting with how many Santa Clarita homes are old enough for them to matter.

The Valencia page follows the 1994 plumbing date through one community.

Render of one example galley kitchen before the remodel, with honey oak cabinets, a tiled counter, a white electric range and a fluorescent light box on the ceiling. — **Render** · One example kitchen, before.

How much of each ZIP was built by 1979

The Census Bureau ACS table B25034 counts housing units by the decade they were built. Adding the decades up to 1979 gives the share of each ZIP code area old enough for all three dates above to matter. The Census groups years by decade, so the table cannot split out 1978 exactly.

The figures cover every kind of housing unit, including condos, apartments and mobile homes, and a Census ZIP code area does not follow the city line. The spread is still wide: 91321 has more than three times the share of 91354, and 91355 has a larger share of pre 1980 housing than 91350 (Census Bureau ACS table B25034).

Render of a quiet street of single story tract houses from the 1960s, with low dry hills at the end of the block. — **Render** · Houses from the 1960s and 1970s.

Housing units by ZIP code tabulation area, from the Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024 five year estimates, table B25034. Estimates with margins of error; the error on the 1979 or earlier count runs from about 110 to 565 units. Every kind of housing unit is counted, and the areas do not follow city limits. Read in September 2026.
ZIP code area	Share built by 1979	Built 1979 or earlier	Built in the 1960s and 1970s	All housing units
91321	54%	6,103	4,674	11,338
91351	45%	4,826	4,198	10,796
91355	36%	4,413	4,165	12,235
91350	28%	3,849	3,190	13,985
91390	26%	1,769	951	6,692
91387	20%	3,013	2,731	14,901
91354	15%	1,664	1,579	11,386
91384, Castaic area, unincorporated county	12%	838	458	7,270
91381, Stevenson Ranch area, unincorporated county	3%	191	133	7,616

What demolition can find in a kitchen built by 1980

California's construction asbestos rule names two kinds of presumed asbestos containing material: "thermal system insulation and surfacing material found in buildings constructed no later than 1980." Surfacing material means anything sprayed or troweled on, and the rule gives acoustical plaster on ceilings as its example (Cal/OSHA asbestos rule, 8 CCR 1529).

Flooring gets its own line. "Asphalt and vinyl flooring material installed no later than 1980 must also be considered as asbestos containing" unless the employer determines otherwise by the method the rule sets. The rule protects workers, so it binds employers and building owners on construction work (Cal/OSHA asbestos rule, 8 CCR 1529).

EPA's own list of places asbestos may be found in a home includes vinyl floor tiles, the backing on sheet vinyl and its adhesive, textured paint and patching compounds on walls and ceilings, and hot water pipes wrapped in asbestos material (EPA, Learn About Asbestos). A kitchen remodel can reach every one of them.

Looking will not settle it. EPA says you generally cannot tell whether a material contains asbestos by looking at it unless it is labeled, lists planning a remodel as a reason to have it checked, and does not recommend taking samples yourself (EPA, Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos).

Render of an old sprayed on textured ceiling in a dated kitchen, with a fluorescent light box and oak upper cabinets. — **Render** · An older sprayed ceiling finish.

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Why a kitchen floor gets surveyed down to the joists

Where the air district rule calls for an asbestos survey before renovation, the survey has to identify "all layers of flooring materials to the joist level," plus material inside wall or ceiling cavities as needed. Where one floor was laid over another, every layer counts (South Coast AQMD Rule 1403).

The person doing it has to be certified by Cal/OSHA and has to have passed an EPA approved Building Inspector course (South Coast AQMD Rule 1403). EPA suggests using one firm to assess and a different firm to remove, so nobody is checking their own work (EPA, Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos).

The survey rule has limits of its own (South Coast AQMD Rule 1403), and the remodel timeline sets them out with the notice clock: a single family house removing less than 100 square feet skips the survey, a condo or townhouse does not, and an owner living in a single unit house who does the work personally is outside the rule. EPA notes that federal law does not require training or accreditation for this work in detached single family homes and that some states do (EPA). The survey, license and registration rules on this page are California's.

What the new floor has to meet once the old one is out is on the flooring and backsplash page.

Render of a square cut in an old kitchen floor, showing the layers of flooring down to a wooden joist. — **Render** · Every layer, down to the joist.

Who may remove it at 100 square feet or more

Once a job reaches 100 square feet or more of asbestos containing material, a contractor may not do the asbestos work unless it holds the C-22 Asbestos Abatement classification or its qualifier has passed the state asbestos certification exam (California Business and Professions Code 7058.5).

The exam exception in Business and Professions Code 7058.5 is narrow. It covers the installation, maintenance and repair of vinyl asbestos floor materials and a few other products, and removal is not on that list. A kitchen contractor without the certification can still bid and carry the job, as long as a C-22 or certified firm does the asbestos part (California Business and Professions Code 7058.6).

The same work also runs through Cal/OSHA. The firm registers with it, sends written notice of each job with the address and the start and projected completion dates, and posts a danger sign readable at 20 feet (California Labor Code 6501.5). Asbestos related work means disturbing material with more than one tenth of 1 percent asbestos by weight (California Labor Code 6501.8).

Render of a kitchen doorway sealed floor to ceiling with taped plastic sheeting and a zipper door. — **Render** · A work area sealed off with plastic.

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Wiring put in from 1965 to the mid 1970s

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission says homes built before 1965 are unlikely to have aluminum branch circuit wiring, and that cable installed "between 1965 and the mid 1970s in new homes, in additions, and as part of rewired/new circuits may contain aluminum wiring" (CPSC Publication 516).

Those two decades hold the largest older blocks in the table above: about 4,674 units in 91321, 4,198 in 91351 and 4,165 in 91355 were built in the 1960s and 1970s. The Census counts when a building went up. It cannot say what wire is in the walls (Census Bureau ACS table B25034).

CPSC says aluminum cable is marked "Al" or "Aluminum" on the jacket every few feet, and that cable marked copper clad is a different product outside its repair advice. In that advice, where aluminum branch wiring is present, every appliance wired straight to it, dishwashers included, has to be repaired along with the outlets, switches, junction boxes and panel. The larger range and dryer circuits are outside that publication (CPSC Publication 516).

CPSC lists the repairs it treats as permanent. Which one fits a given kitchen is a question for the licensed electrician on the job, and the appliances and electrical page covers the circuits and the City electrical plan (CPSC Publication 516).

Render of an old kitchen outlet pulled forward out of its wall box on dull silver colored wires. — **Render** · Wiring from the 1960s and 1970s may be aluminum.

Next in the sequence

The four older home questions

Does an older kitchen in Santa Clarita have asbestos?

A house cannot be judged by its age alone. EPA says you generally cannot tell by looking and suggests having materials checked before a remodel (EPA). For workers, the state rule presumes sprayed ceiling finish, pipe insulation and flooring from 1980 or earlier contain asbestos until shown otherwise (Cal/OSHA asbestos rule).

Who can test for asbestos before a kitchen remodel?

Where the air district rule requires a survey, the surveyor has to be certified by Cal/OSHA and have passed an EPA approved Building Inspector course (South Coast AQMD Rule 1403). EPA suggests a different firm from the one that removes it (EPA).

How can I tell if a house has aluminum wiring?

CPSC says aluminum cable is marked "Al" or "Aluminum" on its jacket every few feet, and that it is most likely in wiring installed from 1965 to the mid 1970s (CPSC Publication 516). A licensed electrician can confirm it.

Which Santa Clarita ZIP codes have the most older homes?

In the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimates, 91321 has the largest share of housing built in 1979 or earlier, about 54 percent, followed by 91351 at about 45 percent and 91355 at about 36 percent. Leaving out the Castaic and Stevenson Ranch areas, 91354 is lowest at about 15 percent (Census Bureau ACS table B25034).

Sources

Every rule and figure on this page was read at the document that states it, in September 2026. The Census figures are estimates with margins of error. This page describes the rules and gives no legal, health or electrical advice.