wood laminate under or around cabinets?

[Max Power]

redoing kitchen, now empty. Do I run the wood laminate all the way to the corner and put cabinets on top or leave the space cut out for the cabinets?

[Joe]

Many posts on this topic recommend laminate to the cabinets, shims to keep cabinet height same as it would be if laminate to the wall. Problems with dishwasher installations and service a re cited as one reason to do so. HTH

Joe

[postacct]

I just dropped in here for this very same question, then did a search for 'flooring under cabinets'.

One interesting suggestion was to cover the cut-out area where the cabinets will be placed with pylwood of equivalent thickness to provide for a smooth transition for pulling out appliances.

[HeyBub]

Good. Further, I'd laminate under the cabinets and inch or so - whatever's convenient - then set the cabinets on top. This will save bunches of cutting and trimming of the laminate in trying to dodge the woodwork.

[aemeijers]

Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Why pay for floor you will never see? But the flip side of that, is if you are paying somebody to do the install, doing all the cuts and fitting around the cabinet bases can be a PITA. If you are doing the work yourself, you will have to judge what your time is worth.

Not that I would actually install laminate in a kitchen, but if I was in your situation, I'd split the difference- diagram out very carefully where the cabinets will land, and install laminate just past that line. Fill the void with something cheap of the same height. If you have a dishwasher, good luck- they always leak eventually, and laminate does not handle leaks from the side very well. (does anyone make catch basins for DWs like they do for washing machines?) At a minimum, I'd caulk the heck out of the lower edges in the dishwasher space, and see if there was some way to invisibly seal all the joints for several feet in front. There is a reason people quit using wood or wood-derived flooring in kitchens and bathrooms.

-- aem sends...

[HeyBub]

But some laminate is NOT wood. It's plastic. And impervious to water (also spears, fuming Nitric Acid, dog poo, motor oil, bullets, freezing, roller skates, and rabid squirrels). It is, however, vulnerable to flame.

The actual laminate in use can be tested by immersing a sliver in water for a few days and see if it swells, cracks, or otherwise goes bad.

[J.A. Michel]

I ran laminate up to but not under the cabinets. I did run full flooring back to the wall under the stove and dishwasher.

[Toffee Monday]

If this is a floating floor. Never set cabinets on top of laminate. A floating floor must never meet a verticle surface.

This coming from a 3x Certified installer.

[HeyBub]

Why?

I don't think even floating floors scoot all over the place. If the floor has an urge to move - and the cabinets are anchored to the wall - the floor will either slide or figure moving is too much trouble and give up on the idea.

[Toffee Monday]

I really don't want to copy & paste basic installation for floating floors. But in a nut shell, a floating floor will buckle or come apart at the seams, if it is anchored. That is why it is a "floating" floor.

The floor must be able to expand & contract with changes in humidity.

It is much wiser to follow manufacturer instructions, and see what voids a warranty, than just figuring this way or that way.

[HeyBub]

Ah, good point. I suspect, however, that the floor will find a way. But why take chances?