Redoing a kitchen and will be installing cork laminate folor planks from lumber liq.
Knowing that a floating floor is not to be “attached’, i am curious as if it is acceptable to run the flooring planks under the new cabinets before thay are installed. Is it alright to have the planks under the lower cabinets? I realize the weight of the lowers will obviously keep the flooring from moving, but is it acceptable to do it this way and just let the floor planks expand and contract outside of the “buried’ planks?
Personally i think it is horrible to run flooring “up to” cabinets, like you often see with tile, but want to make sure that proper technique comes before my personal opinion 😉
Replies
Kitchen, Dishwasher, Frig Water.
Having done several repairs / tearouts in kitchens with laminate flooring I would block up the new cabinets (so you don't lose height and the dishwasher fits-Stove is right height and the frig slips under the upper cabinet) to the height of what will be the top of the lam. floor.
Then run your flooring, taking it into the dishwasher space (or line the DW space from behind the toekick to the wall with plywood of similar height. Same for the frig and stove space.
Use a 3/4 toe kick cover instead of the cheap 1/4". You may want to run slightly under the cabs-use your blocking to just behind the front edge of the toe kick and end panels.
Good info.
Were the "reapirs/tearouts" you mentioned, due to the fact that the laminate flooring was installed below the cabinets and not being able to "move"?
Nope
Water damage.
I've run it under cabs but-only just a bit-have elevated the cab toe kicks so the flooring has just made it under the cabs-shoe provided the rest of the leeway recommended by the manufacturer.
As for the "blocking" you
As for the "blocking" you suggested, what do you think of the idea of ripping pieces of the actual laminate flooring and attaching them to the bottoms of the cabinets, thereby achieving exact height once floor is installed? Cutting the blocks a little short of the fronts would be a good idea as you mentioned for the toekick to cover. Unfortunately, the toekicks that came with the cabinets are the 1/4" :(
Mick
Here's the best method I've decided on and use in my work.
First, ALL floors are not level or flat.
So, just putting ripped laminate on the cab bottoms is still going to need to be shimmed to level the cabs. Further, you need to be up a bit more than the exact thickness of the flooring (so you can slide it under a bit-since your toe kick cover is only qtr inch) Also, many cab boxes are industrial flake-particle board-not a good idea to edge fasten to that-it separates when penetrated with a fastener.
I keep all my plywood rip scraps, then spend an hour chopping them to 3" blocks (length only, x whatever ripped dimension I have) I use these according to thickness of shim I need, then fine tune with cedar shims. If I have a long straight , flat consistent run, I may lay down the whole rip-full length and shim off from there.
Lam floor-3/8's, pad-1/8"strong, air-1/8"...................so perhaps a strip of 5/8's ply to start.
I'll hold it back from the front of the toekick line a half inch, still allowing the flooring to slip under but not touch the blocking. A shoe is probably necessary but you could use what is called scribe molding-a more flat and thinner x3/4 tall molding offered in matching finish from the cab company.
Sounds like a good technique!
Just some food for thought here, but after being in a house today with laminate flooring, i couldn't help but notice the "tremendous" entertainment center that ran almost the entire length of the laminate floor. now this unit, stocked to the hilt with "objects of weight", was obviously far more weight than any kitchen cabinets that would be going in the kitchen of reference in my post. Along with the etertainment center on one wall, the other side consisted of massive pieces of furniture and large standing sjelves that to the eye appeared to be of considerable weight also.
I had to ask, how long has it been since the laminate was installed , along with all the "weighted" material resting on top? the answer was: many years ago, and never had a problem. Now i must add, there was no way this floor was "moving freely" with that amount of weight (on each end no less)!
So my question is, what gives? How can it be that attaching kitchen cabinets (half the size and weight) of the monstrosity resting on the laminate mentioned above, be any different than what I witnessed in this particular home,when it comes to allowing the floor to move freely. Which by the way, showed no sign of problems at all.
Obviously there would be warranty issues should a problem arise in the future in a cabinet over laminate insrall, but I'll tell ya', from what I saw today, if that set up didn't buckle from "not being allowed to move freely", I don't know what would make a laminate buckle? Outside of water accidents etc.......................................just sayin..............
Food for thought ;)
It should be noted that there are several different types of laminate flooring, with different installation requirements.
floating floor is a floating floor.....no? I saw no difference from an installation standpoint from what i referenced. maybe you can elaborate on what you are referring to. I would imagine that the floor either needs to be free to move, or not. is there a laminate floor plank that doesn't require the necessary "movement" required by manufacturer, that you know of? Curious if so.
Mick
You bring up a good question and one that I've never bothered to ask a manufacturer..........
but,
You are supposed to leave perimeter movement space for a nail down floor. How does that move when each board is nailed to the floor?
If protected from moisture, engineered or lam. flooring are more stable than a regular wood strip floor. Water damage isn't the only thing that causes problems in any of the above-flooring pulling moisture from below can expand any of these products beyond even the normally advised expansion space around it.
True wood expands along its width, laminate can in all directions, engineered, mostly in width.
The fridge, stove and other things sitting on the floor weigh alot. I've also seen heavy objects all over laminates with no apparent problem. However, introduce a damp crawl or a leaking patio door, or a burst water line and nothing holds down flooring.
So I guess my real answer is I have no stink'n idea.
I'm with ya' on the above. and I agree, I have no stinkin' idea either! :)
If you just use the flooring for blocking, the weight of the cabs will tighten it down to where you can't slide the flooring under. Probably would work with an extra shim (like a piece of scrap linoleum).