Which should be fitted first in a kitchen refit, floor tiles or cabinets?

[Villanousvillans]

I’m going to have my kitchen upgraded. Dumb question, which shall I have done first, the new floor tiles or the cabinets?

Floor usually goes down last. Always has when we’ve had a new kitchen.

I prefer to have the flooring go all the way to the walls under the cabinets, so flooring comes first.

Costs a bit more, but I hate it when you take off the plinth and the flooring doesn't extend underneath and it's all awful there. I know, I'm weird.

Floor first.
That way it properly goes under the cabinetry and appliances.

Cabinets first floor last. You don’t want to drop anything on the floor mid refurb and damage it,

If it’s ceramic/stone tiles definitely those first. If you are fitting anything other than cushion vinyl it’s best to fit the floor first or at the very least make sure the kick plates are left off so the floor can be stuck down and that there is enough clearance to accommodate the flooring and any prep like screed, ply or hardboard and refit the kick plates. Hard floor layers charge more as it’s a specialised skill (right adhesive for area etc, v easy to mess it up and if not prepped/ laid correctly it will bubble/lift within 6 months). They generally don’t want to try and fit a ply subfloor around existing units.

so much depends on your subfloor and what you are having laid. Have you asked the kitchen company?

Gosh, controversial!

I have this done too.

I prefer floor first too

It actually depends on the floor type. We have engineered wood and it was recommended that it go down first. I prefer this as the layout can be changed in future without affecting the floor. However LVT always goes around the cabinetry.

High quality kitchen installers and hard floor fitters always recommend floor first - there are plenty of ways to protect it during kitchen install and your cabinets will sit nicely.

if you really want to fit a fully stuck down floor after then you need to check with flooring company about clearances etc required as you won’t be able to have it cut and tucked like you would with cushion vinyl (still the best value as can be laid on newspaper and replaced when you get bored :-). ).

Wondering the same myself. Kids are renovating a place which needs a new kitchen and in current one the tiles have gone up to and around cabinets. They were asking me what I would do and I wasn’t sure but I’m be inclined to pull out kitchen and put down new flooring wall to wall and then cabinetry as otherwise if kitchen is replaced again down track whoever is doing it will have the same issue if missing flooring/additional flooring with a new kitchen design. Will be interesting to see what they decide.

Always floor first here, it needs to go wall to wall and the cabinets go on top.

This. It depends what your flooring is.

Floor first and then put that black plastic sheeting over it (it's kind of flat corrugated sheets- they sell it in B&Q) while the kitchen is being fitted.

This is for porcelain tiles

Depends if the flooring is going to be the whole room or just the bits you see, we did the whole floor when we re-did the kitchen. The old kitchen was just up to the cupboards.

We're doing: ceiling (putting it up at the mo), plaster board the walls, floor down (lime stone), plastering ceiling and walls, cabinets then any tiling.

I like the idea of flooring going to the walls so that a) if you change cabinets anytime it's all there for you underneath and spills. IF there's ever any leakage under the cabinets it's not going to seep into anything porous and get mouldy.

If it’s tiles (and real wood, I think), they go in first.

If it’s anything else, you do the kitchen then the floor and then the kick boards. That’s what every kitchen fitter and flooring person we’ve asked round to quote has said. It’s a huge waste of money to pay for flooring you’ll never see, you’re risking that any leaks will damage the floor rather than the concrete, and if you have the kitchen replaced in future it would likely have marked the floor anyway.

Floor floor floor.
That way you can lay it right to the walls and seal the edges. Then if you have a flood or major spill you don't have a pool of water seeping into your subfloor under the cabinets.

We always do floor first as it goes under the cabinets to the wall.

Wish I’d tiled all the way. It’s a bloody nightmare replacing fitted appliances

I’ve always had floor first.

@Villanousvillans
As others have said it depends on the floor material. Tiles or real wood- do the whole room first.
Other materials- can work around kitchen.

Thanks everyone.

I do the floor first, wall to wall. It makes changing any appliances so much easier.

when you're doing a kitchen the extra cost of wall to wall flooring is minimal.