Installing new floors and cabinets can significantly update the look and feel of your home. However, deciding the proper installation order can impact the success of your remodel. Careful planning is required to avoid potentially costly mistakes. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through the key considerations, best practices, and frequently asked questions to help you determine whether to install the floors or cabinets first.
Introduction
When renovating your kitchen or bathroom, installing new floors and cabinets are typically major components of the project. The order you choose to install them in can have implications for your budget, timeline, and overall workflow.
Generally, there are two schools of thought:
- Install the floors first, then the cabinets.
- Install the cabinets first, then the floors.
Below, we will explore the pros and cons of each approach to help you make an informed decision for your unique remodel. Carefully weighing the benefits and challenges of both options can ensure your project stays on-time and on-budget.
Do You Install Floors or Cabinets First?
Option 1: Install Floors First
Installing the new floors prior to the new cabinets has some distinct advantages:
- Avoids damage to floors: Floors are susceptible to dings, scratches, and other damage when installing cabinets on top of them. Installing cabinets requires moving them into place, leveling, and anchoring. Doing this on top of finished floors can easily damage them.
- Easier to install flooring: Having an open floor space with no cabinets makes most flooring installations much easier. Things like large tile, planks, or sheet flooring are simpler to maneuver and cut accurately without cabinets in the way.
- Better fit: Floors are typically more uniform than walls or cabinet bases. Setting cabinets on top of finished floors provides a very even surface to install against. Irregularities in floors are easier to fix than adjusting cabinet bases.
- Safer for cabinets: Some flooring materials like solid hardwood require time to acclimate to the environment. Flooring also needs time to set, bond, and cure depending on the material. Installing cabinets on top of unfinished floors risks damaging the flooring.
- Enables changing cabinet footprint: If modifying cabinet placement during the project, finished floors allow you to slide cabinets around to test layouts. Unfinished floors must be cut cleanly to install cabinets securely.
However, there are some downsides to installing floors first:
- Transition height challenges: Floor heights may not align perfectly with existing finishes leading to uneven transitions that must be remediated.
- Toe-kick challenges: Toe-kicks on cabinets may not fit finished floor height perfectly which requires adjustment.
- Staining or dust risks: Staining and dust from cabinet installations may damage freshly installed floors despite protections.
- Scuffing risks: Moving cabinets across floors risks scuffing, scratching, or denting floors despite precautions.
- Flooring matching challenges: Batch variations in flooring could make it hard to perfectly match to existing floors if doing project in phases.
Option 2: Install Cabinets First
Installing cabinets prior to floors also has some advantages:
- No damage to cabinets: Floors can be installed without risk of damaging, scuffing, or denting cabinet bases or faces during the installation process.
- Easier cabinet adjustments: Any leveling or adjustments needed for cabinets is simpler to do with exposed subfloors. Shims can be added or removed effortlessly.
- Consistent toe-kick height: Toe-kick height and fit is easier to keep consistent across cabinet runs before floors go in.
- Better fit: Cabinets can be shimmed and adjusted to account for any unevenness or irregularities in the subfloor prior to flooring installation.
- Room for error: With exposed subfloors, minor cabinet location issues or changes are simpler to remedy before new flooring goes in.
- Easier flooring install: Flooring can easily be installed up to or beneath cabinet bases. No need to cut around cabinets or work underneath them.
Some potential cons to installing cabinets first include:
- Transition height challenges: The cabinet height may not align perfectly with other existing finishes leading to uneven transitions.
- Scuffing risks: Installing subfloors risks scuffing or scratching cabinet bases despite protections.
- Staining risks: Certain floors like concrete can dust and stain cabinet bases during installation and finishing.
- Blocked access: Cabinets can block access to parts of the floor making installation more difficult for some materials.
- Matching challenges: Variations in flooring from batch to batch makes it hard to achieve consistent look.
Best Practices for Order of Installation
If evaluating your specific project and goals, a few best practices can help guide your decision making:
- For wood or tile floors, install cabinets first to avoid damaging the flooring during cabinet installation.
- For vinyl, laminate or reclaimed floors, install floors first to get a clean and level surface for cabinet installation.
- When changing floor layout or footprint, install floors first to facilitate adjustments.
- For concrete floors that require grinding or polishing, install cabinets first to prevent dust damage.
- If the toe-kick height and transition to other floors is critical, install floors first to control height.
- When matching existing floors closely, install new floors first to allow for batch variation.
- For irregular subfloors, install cabinets to shim and level properly, then install floors last.
- With a tight timeline, installing floors and cabinets simultaneously using protection can expedite.
FAQs About Installation Order
Below are some common questions homeowners have when deciding whether to install floors or cabinets first in a kitchen or bathroom remodel:
Should you install tile floors or cabinets first?
For tile floors, it is generally best practice to install the cabinets first. This prevents the tile from being damaged during cabinet installation. Tile can crack or chip if cabinets are installed on top.
Should you install hardwood floors or cabinets first?
With solid hardwood floors, it is also advisable to install the cabinets first prior to the flooring. The installation process for hardwood can risk dinging, scratching, or denting cabinets if installed after.
Should you install laminate floors or cabinets first?
For laminate floors, either order works fine. Laminate is durable and resists scratches well. One benefit of installing floors first is getting a very smooth surface for cabinet installation.
Should you install vinyl floors or cabinets first?
Vinyl floors are also durable and flexible when installing cabinets. Going floors first provides the most level surface and avoids scuffing. But vinyl won’t easily scratch or chip if cabinets go first.
Should you install stone floors or cabinets first?
Natural stone flooring is susceptible to damage from cabinet installation, so it is usually recommended to install stone floors after the cabinets are in place.
Should you install concrete floors or cabinets first?
For polished concrete, installing cabinets first avoids issues with dust staining and damaging cabinets during concrete grinding and polishing.
Should you install reclaimed wood floors or cabinets first?
With varied thicknesses in reclaimed wood flooring, going floors first allows the cabinets to be shimmed level rather than vice versa. The rough surface also avoids cabinet scuffs.
Conclusion
Determining whether to install floors or cabinets first is an important consideration when remodeling your kitchen, bathroom or other living spaces. It can impact your project budget, timeline, and overall outcome. Generally, more delicate or rigid floors like wood, tile or stone will benefit from going after cabinet installation, while flexible and durable floors like vinyl or laminate provide flexibility in order. Following the best practices and evaluating the nuances of your specific project can help guide you to make the right choice. Proper planning considering all the factors explored above will set your remodel up for success.