When considering a remodel in the kitchen, one of the popular questions can be do you put in the flooring before or after the cabinets? This can be an essential decision as the outcome can often be determined by whichever way you decide to go.
Flooring First
For those who may be leaning more towards laying the flooring before taking on the cabinets of the kitchen remodel, the following pros and cons can better help you in making up your mind, as well as shed a little light on the things to keep in mind as you move forward with this project.
Pros
A huge pro that flies to mind on whether to go the flooring route first is that there will be less unnecessary and frustrating cutting of every nook and cranny in your kitchen. Getting that floor in first and ahead of any cabinets allows for so much more freedom and flow of work to be done on the flooring side of the job.
Another pro to taking on the flooring first is that your layout is pretty much wide open. There is no old footprint constricting the change that is to come. Getting those cabinets out of the way and leaving your kitchen floor open as such allows you to really look at the space you have available and determine what exactly you want to do with it next.
Cons
A con to keep in mind regarding tackling your floor first is that you could potentially be creating more work for yourself in the future. If your flooring needs replacement in the future, since it is beabeth the cabinets due to flooring first, you would ultimately have to remove your cabinets in the process of replacing that flooring.
Another con could be the fact that some flooring materials expand with time and moisture, seasonal changes, etc. This expanding beneath the floor may be minimal enough to the naked eye, but to your very heavy cabinets that would be sitting atop this new flooring, it might make for another story altogether.
Cabinets First
If you are considering possibly getting the cabinets in ahead of the flooring, these pros and cons may be beneficial in helping you truly decide on which may be better for you and your home.
Pros
A cost saving pro of getting those cabinets ahead of the floor is the amount of money you will save by not paying for flooring that will ultimately sit beneath the cabinets and never be seen. Why would anyone want to pay that amount of money for a fancy job that visitors will never get to admire?
Another pro is that you no longer run the risk of scratching or damaging the new and expensive floor you so love and admire and cannot wait to have people over to see. By getting those cabinets in so nice and snug, there is no dragging or heavy work being done over the brand new and finished floor.
Cons
A major con is that by putting those cabinets in first, you now have to manipulate and rework that flooring so that it matches and fits against the cabinets that you put in ahead of the floor. This balances against the cost of flooring first and finding that you paid for floor that no one will ever see since it rests beneath the cabinets, except this cost is now for flooring you will see and that cost you to cut and rework in order to hug those cabinets as it now does.
Another con to cabinets first is you lose the aspect of free space and creativity for your cabinets and placement since the footprint from your previous kitchen cabinets is still very much there. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to see anything new or fresh when we are still faced with what was.
So, there you have it. Both options have equal weight in both pros and cons, the real choice is which do you prefer and how much are willing and planning to spend on what you want and getting it.
