Laminate Floor and Cabinets in Kitchen Remodel - Which first?

Question

I'm redoing my kitchen with new cabinets and new flooring. The problem is that I have conflicting information on what should come first, lay the laminate floors down and then the cabinets.. or put the new cabinets down and then the flooring. The idea is with putting the floor down first, it will look clean under the cabinets. But I've been told if you put the flooring down first, the floor won't float and then you'll have creaking. Any thoughts? Please only people who work in that industry, no guessing with opinions...

Answer 1

just did ours...the cabinets come first if your changing them out and not repainting....the cabinets most likely won't be the same size.Generally, floors don't run under the cabinets just the stove and fridge. Laminate comes after...ours looks great...we have baseboards painted the cabinet color around the cabinets. They sell matching quarter round(we used by the sliding door) and matching 5 in ones where stairs and carpeting meets. The creaking is due to bad wood underneath and the use of underlayment is also used to prevent that and primarily used for a moisture barrier. Do not use under dishwasher. Seal edges with matching caulk they sell...behind fridge, ect...This is the 3rd house we did this to. Good luck...enjoy...

Answer 2

doing the floor first would be a bad idea. Like was said before, the floor would buckle. It needs the space to expand and contract. Use trim pieces to cover the much needed gap between the flooring and the side of the cabinets. For the front of the cabinets, if you can, leave the toekick boards off until after the floor is installed. It will give you that clean look you are after on the front where you will see it much more than beside the fridge or stove. Flooring us usually replaced much more frequently than cabinets anyway, and you wouldn't want to have to deal with ripping out a floor that has cabinets sitting on it.

Answer 3

The floor WILL float where you walk on it, just not under the cabinets.
Not only will it look cleaner under the cabinets, but if you EVER change cabinets again and the new ones aren't EXACTLY the same size as the old ones, you'll have to re-do the floor then.
The underlayment of the laminate flooring is what reduces the noise level on the floors, btw., and there are several 'grades' of underlayment you can get.
Home Depot has brochures on all these products and will give you good advice on matching your wants with the right product.

Answer 4

Creaking will be the least of your problems if you place the cabinets on a floating floor. The flooring will buckle since it will not be able to "float" with expansion and contraction. Looking clean is the job of the molding you place on the bottom of the cabinets to cover the 1/4 to 1/2" gap you need to leave to allow expansion.

Answer 5

we had laminate (pergo) floors a few years ago, then had a little accident involving the fridge's ice maker leaking. it was overnight, and by the next day, the floor in the kitchen was warped, totally damaged. even days after mopping, water was seeping thru the cracks. we ended up tearing it out and tiling.
to answer your question, i would do the floor first, like the first person said.