Kitchen Or Flooring First?
This is a very common question that we’re asked time and again. It is actually possible to install the flooring both before or after the kitchen, depending on the intended installation method; floating or glued down.
Floating Installation
If you’re floating your timber or laminate flooring then you should always install the kitchen first and install the flooring around the kitchen units. This allows free movement of the floor boards as they expand and contract with humidity fluctuations. If the kitchen was sitting on top of the floating floor its weight may restrict the movement of the floorboards and potentially cause floor boards to start lifting. The end panels of the cabinets can be undercut so the flooring can slide underneath, for a clean finish. Flooring is installed just under the kick panels and all the way under any appliances (that are not built-in). The kick panels should be left off until after flooring is installed and then put in place last.
Glued Down Installation
For glued down wooden flooring you can either install around the kitchen cabinets or you can install the flooring first. We highly recommend installing the flooring first; this ensures a premium finish at the bottom of cabinet ‘end panels’ as we don’t have to cut into them on-site. It also ensures boards are installed all the way to the walls, so if you do happen to modify your kitchen in future for whatever reason, you won’t have to install any more flooring at a later date.
We install our flooring using both options on a regular basis; talk to us for advice on what is best for your project.
Oak Castle Grey
