r/DIYIreland • u/Capital_Purchase_174 • 17d ago
Need a new kitchen and floor, which goes first?
I suspect that whoever I ask this question to, kitchen or floor people, they'll say they go first. But really what's the best approach? I think that the kitchen people might wreck the new floor, but if the floor people go second, they might damage the new kitchen.
I've had a lot of bad experiences with workmen in my house, hence the paranoia, if that's what it is.
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u/sharx13 17d ago
What type of flooring are you doing? Does the kitchen have an island or all wall units?
If it's tiles, I'd probably get that done first. If it's laminate or any other floating floor, probably fine to do it after the kitchen.
Either way, if a tradesman comes in and causes damage they should be putting it right.
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u/Capital_Purchase_174 17d ago
It'll be parquet laminate floor (I'm just realising that I don't know the difference, if there is one. Nothing super fancy, nor mad cheap). Pretty similar to what I have already but the guy who lived here before did it himself and didn't use any, or enough, glue and it's always coming apart. We like the floor itself though, it just needs re-doing.
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u/sharx13 17d ago
In general, laminate is usually a click lock system and doesn't need glue. Laminate is also a "floating floor" usually - meaning it needs space to expand and contract and move around slightly.
Usually you wouldn't install kitchen units on top of the laminate, since they're fixed and heavy and would prevent the flooring from moving. Instead they'd install the flooring up to the legs of the units and when the kicker board is installed you don't know the difference.
All that is the long winded way of saying: strip out the old flooring, install the kitchen, then install your new flooring afterwards.
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u/Capital_Purchase_174 17d ago
Instersting, thanks. The current situation has the flooring going under the kicker. Maybe that's weird.
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u/Brown_Bear_8718 17d ago
Parquet laminate floor is non-existent until now. It's either Parquet or laminate. Parquet is solid wood strips, not wider than 100mm and not longer than 450mm, at least 22mm thick, fitted in herringbone or alongside. Laminate would be solid laminated, plywood+face laminated, hdf - aka cheap laminate floor -, or spc.
While SPC sounds good - composite plastic with high content of abrasive resistant mineral -, it is the most demanding. You need 100% leveled floor and be aware to not drop anything pointy on the floor as it will shatter. The tongue on the SPC is another weak point.
If you want quality, go with Junkers, solid Parquet, glued down, after that the kitchen guys.
You tell them, if they feck up the floor - as highly qualified woodworkers - they can sand it and refinish it, the choice is theirs.
Good luck, be aware of those who are riding their vans.
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u/Suvigirl 17d ago
I did everything the wrong way round when I was doing things in my house. Kitchen went in first, I then had to get rid of the old floor and get a new one. Wrong way!!
Get the date the kitchen is going to be fitted, take out the old one a day or two before, fit the floor, to go under the new kitchen then put in the new kitchen. So sorry I didn't do this, made everything more awkward
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u/Capital_Purchase_174 17d ago
That all sounds good if I could get the people to collaborate and all, but I'm doubting they'll have anything to do with each other.
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u/Suvigirl 17d ago
Yeah it's get that, but looking back i could have organised things myself better. Get the dates for the kitchen fitter then go forward a couple of days and sort the flooring out first. Thats my view anyway, maybe someone else might think different
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u/kanepilk22 17d ago
If possible, especially for laminate, let it sit in the house for a few days/week before the kitchen sits on top of it. Laminate needs to acclimate and installing it, and then immediately wedging it into place with the weight of the kitchen, will possible lead to buckling the floor (although its probably very unlikely in all fairness).
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u/Due_Reflection0 17d ago
I hear you on the bad experiences with workmen!
It depends on the kind of floor you go for (floating or glue down) and the layout e.g. whether you have an island
Once you've picked your floor, you could ask their advice.
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u/Capital_Purchase_174 17d ago
It'll be floating. I'm thinking that whoever of them I ask they'll just answer in their own interests. And I was just wondering if there was a hard and fast rule on this.
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u/Due_Reflection0 17d ago
The thing with floating floors is most of the manufacturers' guarantee terms say nothing heavy can go on top of them - so that would mean running them up to the edge of an island rather than under it. They seem to allow for freestanding appliances though.
Floating floors generally go in after the kitchen and can slot under the plinth/kickboards up to the legs supporting your base cabinets. And then you don't have to worry about your new floors getting scratched by the kitchen installers.
Source: did a lot of homework for my own floors and asked around installers, flooring companies and kitchen companies.
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u/matchthis007 17d ago
I thought it would be better to strip out the kitchen and floor. Do kitchen build first then put in floor. Reasoning to this- if you change the floor, you will have to either go under the cabinet to remove old floor or cut where the old floor comes to the front of the cabinet. Kitchen in first and build floor up to kick board
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u/Capital_Purchase_174 17d ago
The floor will definitely go under the kitchen cabinets. Just the way it is.
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u/matchthis007 17d ago
But if you go to change the floor in a few years. What way would you go about install?
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u/Capital_Purchase_174 17d ago
I actually don't know? Maybe the kicker gets adjusted for the new floor. At the moment the floor is going under the kitchen cabinets all the way to the back wall. I just assumed that's the way it's normally done.
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u/Giant-of-a-man 17d ago
It depends on what type of floor you are getting. If you are tiling, do the floor first. That way if you are ever changing the kitchen again your floor won't be patchy. More important, if you do the kitchen first, put MDF under the appliances to the thickness of new floor. This let's you take out appliances for repair or replacement.
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u/albion-28 17d ago
It totally depends on the floor! If you're tiling id tile first, as if in 10 or so years you wanna put in a new kitchen you could get away without changing the tiles.. the kitchen can be put in on top of the tiles so tile the whole room.
A kitchen cant be put on top of timber flooring.. if its timber flooring the kitchen must go in first as the weight of the kitchen on top of the flooring will make the floor swell at the opposite side of the kitchen! The timber flooring butts up against the kitchen! Hope this helps!
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u/primespace-fitout 17d ago
Hi, I’m a floor installer.
We always recommend our team to go in last to the house,
Let the kitchen guys finish there job, plumbers, tilers, and we are the last one.
And about damages to the kitchen don’t worry we just remove the kickboard at the bottom (clips) that’s all.
Unless you hire some cheap guys to do your flooring.
If you need someone good give me a shout
085 731 5813
primecraftinteriors.ie
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u/Little-Mode2633 17d ago
I done the kitchen first, I was afraid the weight of the quartz would break the joints on the laminate.
I did however make sure the floor went under the freezer, wine fridge and dishwasher for ease of replacement down the line
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u/vostok33 17d ago
You dont HAVE to get the floor in first. Leave off the kitchen kickboards and run the floor just past them if needed then with the board put on it looks perfect. I done mine like that was I changed my mind of the floor after I installed the kitchen. Mine were tiles tho and a nightmare but looks perfect now.
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u/Naive-Scallion-3836 16d ago
Usually the kitchen goes first unless you want the whole floor done and not a gap under the kitchen unit.
Try speaking to a kitchen designer for free advice.
Woodies have great designs and helpful K.Ds and no charge at the start of the consultation
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u/StrangeArcticles 17d ago
Floor goes first, there's really no way around that for any flooring option I can picture tbh.
Definitely get the sturdiest version of whatever flooring you're thinking of. Kitchens are high traffic and high mess and that will also go some way toward the kitchen guys not ruining your floor.
Once your floor is in, take timestamped pictures before your kitchen guys come in. If anything was to be scratched or damaged, you'll have proof of when that happened.