Does The Floating Floor Or The Cabinet Go In First

I have been installing laminate flooring since the product first became popular.

Does the floating floor or the cabinet go in first.

If installing a floating floor the answer is simple. Those are all good reasons to lay a kitchen floor after the cabinets are in. My question is how to insure the cabinets are will be the same height since hardwood floors will be installed under the dishwasher and the oven. It seems it s recommended to install cabinet first before installing the hardwood floor.

I have an existing kitchen and want to redo the floor to be hardwood floor and replace the cabinets. Put all the base cabinets in place then mark a line on the subfloor corresponding to the front edge of the toekick. Also of note like the last example floating floors are prohibitive because cabinets are entirely too heavy and will surely prevent the floor from being able to expand and contract naturally. But if you have to install the flooring first here s a method that will avoid some of the problems i just described.

Floor covering or finish flooring is the surface that you see and walk on not the subfloor under the underlayment or underlayment between subfloor and finished layer. A new flooring can still be installed it just becomes a little trickier because the new flooring will essentially have to not. For installations that go over existing flooring in kitchens where cabinets are already installed i leave a 1 4 gap for expansion and trim out around the cabinets with matching quarter round from the flooring supplier. However when installing a wood flooring nail down or glue down there are more factors to consider.

It s a popular reason for installing wood floors after putting in the cabinets. Typically cabinets come before flooring. Install the cabinets first because heavy cabinetry cannot sit on top of a floating floor or it will restrict movement and increase the chances of flooring separation.