Wood – Which comes first – Flooring or Kitchen Remodel

hardwood-floorkitchensremodeling

My wife and I are going to upgrade multiple parts of our house but we really want two key areas completed first, but we're not sure where to start or if we should do then at the same time, which is why I'm here.

We want to install hardwood flooring throughout our house, but we also want to upgrade our kitchen (where hardwood will also be). The kitchen is a galley kitchen that will be remodeled with a new IKEA organization cabinet system/etc and we will also want that new hardwood floor in the kitchen.

Being that I'm a construction noob, which should come first? Hardwood flooring or kitchen? Or does it not matter? Or, is it best done at the same time?

Any tips or help would be appreciated. I just want to make sure I don't open Pandora's box unknowingly by attempting one without doing the other first.

Best Answer

The simple answer is if you are going to put down hardwood in the kitchen, it is usually better to install the entire floor before you put down the new base cabinets. It is much harder to fit hardwood to cabinets than to put the cabinets on top of the floor. If you were using vinyl sheet goods, I would advise putting down the subflooring then install the cabinets and fit the sheet goods to the cabinets.

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Wood – Where should I start laying nail down hardwood flooring and how to make it straight

First, remember to lay your wood perpendicular to the floor joists. Laying it parallel can cause a waving effect which is unpleasant.

Next, find the longest, longest, straightest wall which is perpendicular to the joists. Measure out two feet from the wall all the way down the wall. Then find the best line down these marks, snap a chalk line, Measure back to the wall about 23 and 5/8 inches. Snap a this line. Line up your first run of floor against this line, tongue side out (nail through the tongue).

As for room to room, if they are really out of square with each other, try building a transition between rooms:

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This allows you to lay each room separately, allowing each room to be square.

Wood – Ideas for levelling partial flooring for kitchen furniture

If it's not visible, just got for a manufactured board, e.g. plywood, OSB, etc. For 3cm, you may be looking at two pieces stacked on top of each other. If it's on concrete, install a moisture barrier first. To secure the boards, I'd avoid the temptation to use a Ramset and permanently drive the names into the cement, since the next time the flooring is redone, you can take the opportunity to do it right and pull everything up and go wall to wall. Instead, secure it with a few cut nails. Again, this all assumes that none of this is visible.

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Best Answer

Related Solutions

Wood – Where should I start laying nail down hardwood flooring and how to make it straight

Wood – Ideas for levelling partial flooring for kitchen furniture

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