Removing Laminate Flooring Under Cabinets

Stacy asks i want to remove my existing flooring but the cabinets are built on top of it.

Removing laminate flooring under cabinets.

In most cases given standard flooring heights you will install the cabinets before the floor covering. I have been installing laminate flooring since the product first became popular. Installing laminate flooring under cabinets is a very common question for homeowners. However both are doable with patience and a steady supply of heat.

The trick is cutting the tile around the cabinets using the proper tools. Remove the cabinets and screw a plywood filler piece to the subfloor about inch inside the line where it will be under the cabinets. For installations that go over existing flooring in kitchens where cabinets are already installed i leave a 1 4 gap for expansion and trim out around the cabinets with matching quarter round from the flooring supplier. This piece should be at least 2 inches wide and about inch thicker than the total thickness of the flooring including any vapor barrier or cushion.

It s possible to replace kitchen tiles on the floor or wall without removing cabinets even if they re built on top of old tiles. Just be aware if you go this route that if you replace the cabinets someday you ll have to redo the kitchen flooring as well if the cabinets aren t exactly the same footprint. If you do it before and you. Or you can cut the laminate flooring at the cabinet edge and but the new stuff up to it.

However this process can be difficult labor intensive and time consuming. Some mdf cabinets have a plastic coating and removing a plastic coating from kitchen cabinets is usually easier than removing a wood laminate. Typically cabinets come before flooring. How to cut old flooring at the cabinets.

Builders have an ongoing debate about whether it s better to install a hardwood floor before or after you put in the cabinets. Screw a strip of the same thickness to the floor next to. You ll want to add shoe molding to the toe kicks to cover the laminate edge. How can i cut the flooring flush with the edge of the cabinet kickboard a specialty toe kick saw is available that can cut flush with a cabinet under the toe space or you may be able to adapt a grinder to do the job.