Should I Install Flooring Or Cabinets First

One reason to install new flooring before cabinets is to create a level surface for your cabinets to sit on.

Should i install flooring or cabinets first.

Installing flooring first but if you have to install the flooring first here s a method that will avoid some of the problems i just described. The one exception to this rule is if you are installing floating hardwood flooring these should be installed after the cabinets have been installed. First the quantity of flooring needed will decrease by the area under the cabinets. Of course you can avoid many of these trappings by starting with the cabinets and installing them first.

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. Also your floor is less likely to experience damage in the form of dents or scratches when you put the cabinets in first. Typically cabinets come before flooring. Given a choice should base cabinets be installed on top of the finished flooring or shimmed to floor thickness and install flooring as final step.

It seems it s recommended to install cabinet first before installing the hardwood floor. And the newer vinyl planks are having issues with this reduced expansion gap. Read on to find out more. That is why it s important to install the flooring first so that if you decide to change the kitchen appliances or cabinets you will still have the same flooring covering the entire area.

Put all the base cabinets in place then mark a line on the subfloor corresponding to the front edge of the toekick. But if you do decide to install your cabinets first fear not. 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. While it uses more flooring material the installation requires less cutting and fitting.

Besides protecting the finished product there are other benefits to installing the flooring after cabinets. I can see reasons for doing it either way. No time or money will be wasted on hidden flooring. This gets a lot of the heavy objects out of the way prior to putting down your new precious flooring material.

When installing cabinets first you need to tell your cabinet makers counter top installers of the clearance needed for the dishwasher with the extra added height of the floor. In most cases given standard flooring heights you will install the cabinets before the floor covering.