Laminate flooring install in gutted kitchen

[raisinhead]

I will be installing Pergo laminate in my gutted kitchen and would like an opinion on installing base cabinets 1st or completely covering floor and then installing cabs on top. All answers will be appreciated. I would love some pros and cons, even the obvious ones. Thanks in advance- Dave

 

[eric248]

Laminate , but your cabinets first , make it easy on yourself, plus you don't have to worry about damaging the floor

 

[Ken]

You cannot install cabinets on top of any floating floor. You must leave your expansion gap around them and use a quarter round or some sort of base molding to cover it. You wil void the manufacturer's warranty if you install them on top.

 

[rugaddict]

lets see if ive got this right---you are gutting a kitchen and you are choosing to put in laminate---the simple question is why?

 

[Floorist]

lets see if ive got this right---you are gutting a kitchen and you are choosing to put in laminate---the simple question is why?

Good question. If you are going to all the trouble to gut a kitchen, why install a product like laminate?

 

[eric248]

To be honest , I was thinking the same, I'm not a big fan of laminates

 

[raisinhead]

Tile too hard and cold,hardwood 5x the cost, sheet goods tacky and cheap looking. answer your question.

 

[Floorist]

Laminate can also be cheap and tacky looking. Why not engineered?

 

[Ken]

Laminate can also be cheap and tacky looking. Why not engineered?

Engineered can be cheap and tacky looking too if its cheap. Laminates are almost half of my business right now and Ive seen a lot that look better than 3/8" bruce.

 

[rugaddict]

im sure i dont have nearly the experience with laminates as you ken but its been my experience that anything without a uniclick system seems to barely hold together at all---in the last year calls for laminate installs have dwindled as the calls for lvt( luxury vinyl tile) have been booming---it looks about the same but its easier to install and its a piece of cake to replace a damaged plank---just my opinion--worth exactly what you paid for it

 

[FloorMaven]

I will be installing Pergo laminate in my gutted kitchen and would like an opinion on installing base cabinets 1st or completely covering floor and then installing cabs on top. All answers will be appreciated. I would love some pros and cons, even the obvious ones. Thanks in advance- Dave

I would install cabinets first just in case of future water damage. You could shim high enough to slip your laminate under the sides eliminating trim. You can also install the kick plate veneer to cover the expansion gap, again eliminating the need for trim. That way you get the sitting on top look without the sitting on top problems. Make sure to seal perimeter gaps and joints.

I installed some pergo Xp last week and was overall impressed with the product.

 

[QCI777]

We do a lot of new construction what they do is raise cabinets high enough so laminate will have the expansion it needs. Then they put the face board on under toe kick and cabinet molding around it. They will set the cabinets on a flat 1x4 under it leaving about a 1/2inch lift from all the edge of cabinet all way around each one. Then you can install it closer to cabinet and put final moldings after LM installation.

 

[Ernesto]

I installed some pergo Xp last week and was overall impressed with the product.

Not me, the only one I did I thought the core was junk. The plastic clips did not engage all the time and had to pound on the corners. Broke a couple too.

Then many of them were bowed.

Hearing of lots of problems with it through the inspector grape vine. Shops are refusing to install it. Some were pulling out the plastic clips.

 

[Ken]

im sure i dont have nearly the experience with laminates as you ken but its been my experience that anything without a uniclick system seems to barely hold together at all---in the last year calls for laminate installs have dwindled as the calls for lvt( luxury vinyl tile) have been booming---it looks about the same but its easier to install and its a piece of cake to replace a damaged plank---just my opinion--worth exactly what you paid for it

LVT is not nearly as popular as laminate over here. Laminate is most of my business and I have actually never had a callback on jobs where I have sold the materials to the customers. I can do a board replacement in about 10 minutes too.

 

[ernie]

Floating vinyl plamk and even strand has a smaller locking mechanism,.parts milled into it the more suseptable it is to uneven substrates.

 

[QCI777]

LVT is on the rise here, a lot of big apartment Complexes going that way. Along with carpet Tiles or with Smart strand Carpet waterproof pad. Pp swear by smart strand. They like the LVT grouted.

 

[ernie]

LVT is on the rise here, a lot of big apartment Complexes going that way. Along with carpet Tiles or with Smart strand Carpet waterproof pad. Pp swear by smart strand. They like the LVT grouted.

But I can install real time for the price of LVT grouted out here on slabs.

 

[Ken]

Dude, seriously?

 

[Floorist]

Dude, seriously?

And he has a flooring blog. Nick deleted a post with inaccurate information.

 

[Ernesto]

Dude, seriously?

You should use the quote box when questioning someones posts and integrity. Then it gets deleted and people may think your talking about the wrong persons post.

But then, thats part of what the MODS job description I would fathom.