What are the pros or cons of installing a floor (floating floor on a slab) in a kitchen before the cabinets are installed?
My thinking is if the floor is down then all the cabinets plus stove and DW are at the same level (for the most part). As opposed to installing the cabinets then putting down the floor and making cuts for the stove and DW.
I know the more flooring will be used but that will be a small cost compared to the labor.
What are your thoughts, pro or con? Thank you
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Replies
you are right in wanting to floor the kitchen completly before cabinets and appliances. depending on the DW size, you would get it "stuck" by flooring to the toe kicks. probablly not the case with a floating floor but have seen them. we have had to lift a counter top to remove a DW scheduled for replacement.
better read the product label...
Some floating floors are not supposed to be restrained by heavy stuff like cabinets. You can always put plywood of similar thickness under the cabinets instead of finished flooring.
Cabinets last floor first.
Yo will never get a nice finish cutting floor to meet cabinets. Floating not as good as glued tongue and groove. Bit extra material but likely less labour. cheers!
Nk
Here's your con. People might change a floor more often than their cabinets. No pleasure cutting out tile or even wood flooring under the toe kick.
And there is always the danger of damaging the floor while installing the cabinets.
Dan
Don't let fear run your life.
If I had installed my cabinets prior to the floor, the guy I hired for the floor would have beat the daylights out of them. Good thing I was smarter then that. Too bad I wasn't smart enough to not hire that guy for the floor.
Do It Right: Finish It!
Cabinets, appliances, and everything else is made assuming they will rest on the finished floor - not the subfloor.
Indeed, cabinets should not 'sit' on the floor at all. (More on that later)
Yes, I've seen the kitchens where someone ran the flooring right to the edges of the cabinets. There are two major issues with this: water and crud always get in the joint, and it's a real pain pulling out the diswasher for maintenance.
Over time, things get changed, moved around. Now you have gaps all over the place, where the new piece doesn't exactly match the old piece.
When cabinets are placed on the subfloor, little effort is made to close the various openings (pipes, etc.) End result: an express lane for vermin to come into the house.
WHO likes to do the floor last? Why, the flooring guys. Less material,etc. No need to completely remove the old floor under the cabinets if you can just run up next to them ... hence, many times, the reason for the 'low' price.
I've seen many homes where there is visible evidence of several layers of flooring. It's almost like "tomb raider,"as with each you can see how the cabinet / appliance layout changed over time. This disproves the idea that the cabinets will always be in the same place,and have exactly the same footprint.
It's not just a 'deatil' for the floor guy. Just as important is that the cabinet guy mount cabinets in a manner that helps you remove them - and that the walls / ceiling concealed by the cabinets also be finished. Far too much kludge is done "because no one will see it."
(Forget adding attic insulation to save energy, when there are huge openings in the kitchen ceiling, right over the cabinets!)
This means you don't want the cabinet guy to smear glue all over the wall, then air-nail a thousand nails into the wall to "hang" the cabinets by their thin back panels . Really? Am I the only person who knows about the "French Cleat?"
Ditto for the base (lower) cabinets. If the counter is going to be straight and level ... the cabinets won't just "sit" on the floor. No, they'll be anchored to the wall near the top only, and have a variety of shims, or adjustable feet, to level the cabinet in place. The cabinet / floor gap is then concealed by the toe kick or moulding (cove base)
This idea that you just push the cabinets against the wall, then throw the counter on top ...well, that might be 'tract' home building, but it ain't 'fine' home building.
No kidding?
This means you don't want the cabinet guy to smear glue all over the wall, then air-nail a thousand nails into the wall to "hang" the cabinets by their thin back panels . Really? Am I the only person who knows about the "French Cleat?"
You've seen glue smeared and air nails?
I've done both.
I've installed floors first and cabinets first, but I have never, never installed a dishwasher on the subfloor. The floor should be done before the dishwasher.