If you are remodeling your kitchen, including the walls, cabinets, flooring and appliances – there are a few things to consider whether you should install kitchen cabinets or floors first? This is a question that lingers in every kitchen renovation. Let’s answer this in detail.
When Should You Install Cabinets Before Flooring?
In most cases, cabinets or kitchen islands are installed before the flooring. The floor covering is installed before appliances.
Floor covering is the surface you walk on, like laminate, vinyl, wood, or tile. It’s not the subfloor or underlayment.
The flooring should fit neatly against the cabinets or island with a small gap. This gap is covered with baseboard or shoe molding attached to the cabinet base.
- Pros of Installing Cabinets Before Flooring
Installing kitchen base cabinets before the flooring can save you money. Expensive hardwood flooring often ends up hidden under cabinets, wasting material. To avoid this, use a cheaper flooring option under the cabinets and appliances. You can also use plywood risers to keep the floor level. - Cons of Installing Cabinets Before Flooring
Installing kitchen cabinets first comes with a few drawbacks. It makes future kitchen renovations harder. Since the floors are cut specifically to fit your cabinets and appliances, you’ll need to stick to the same kitchen layout.
Cutting floors to fit around cabinets also takes extra time. You’ll need to measure your cabinets and appliances carefully, buy the right amount of flooring, and cut it to match the base cabinets exactly. This process can be time-consuming and detailed.
When to Install Flooring Before Kitchen Cabinets?
Sometimes, design issues like odd appliance heights or construction problems require flooring to be installed first. This can help raise the total height.
The flooring’s thickness, which can be 2 inches or more, can make up for the lost height.
To avoid wasting flooring, you can use plywood risers under the cabinets and appliances instead.
- Pros of Installing Flooring Before Cabinets
Working on your kitchen flooring first has many benefits, especially if you need to fix appliance height issues or save money. Many homeowners start by installing floors to solve problems like short appliances, uneven countertops, or low cabinets.
Depending on your chosen flooring, you can raise appliances by up to two inches. Some homeowners also use plywood risers under cabinets to achieve standard countertop height and level the kitchen surfaces.
Another benefit of installing floors first is avoiding the need to cut the flooring around cabinets and appliances. This creates a clean, seamless look and saves time. Cutting flooring to fit around appliances can be tedious and time-consuming, so placing floors first makes the process easier and faster. - Cons of Installing Flooring Before Cabinets
One downside of installing floors first is wasting materials. Flooring under the cabinets will be hidden, making it a waste of time and money to install.
Floor materials can also affect the renovation. Wood floors expand with changes in temperature and moisture. Floating floors need space to expand and contract too. If you install floors under the cabinets, they may not have room to move. This can cause the flooring to buckle, get damaged, or come apart.
Another issue is replacing the flooring later. You would need to remove the cabinets and appliances to replace all the floors. This can be a big hassle if you don’t plan to change your kitchen layout.
Final Words
There are many things to consider whether to install cabinets or flooring first. Talk to kitchen remodeling expert at AMS Designer Floors & Interiors In Cypress to make this decision easy for you. Call us at (281) 780-9990 for detailed inquiries.