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08-13-2006, 07:59 AM
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#1
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Member
Trade:
i am a small remodeling contractor been at this most my life
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: wichita kansas
Posts: 89
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Cabinets on top of laminate flooring
What do you guys think about laying the laminate floor to the wall then the cabinets on top? the cabinets will be only fastened to the wall..the customer wants it this way ...so is it a yes or no i tell him?
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08-13-2006, 10:56 AM
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#2
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Pro
Trade:
Remodeling
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Mass
Posts: 113
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I would check with the recommendations of the flooring manufacturer.
Pergo, for example, recommends that the cabinets be installed first, but will allow for cabinets over an existing floor if they are not fastened to the floor. If they must be fastened to the floor, you have to make larger clearance holes through the Pergo to allow for floor movement.
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08-13-2006, 12:09 PM
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#3
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Pro
Trade:
General Contractor
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,370
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Blackhawk
..the customer wants it this way ...so is it a yes or no i tell him?
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As a business you have already answered your own question within your post.
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08-13-2006, 05:51 PM
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#4
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Member
Trade:
i am a small remodeling contractor been at this most my life
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: wichita kansas
Posts: 89
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Of course id do it .. what i was askng was.. can this be done with laminate flooring ...
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08-13-2006, 06:15 PM
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#5
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Remodeler
Trade:
Remodeler/Painter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Buffalo, Ky
Posts: 225
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i wouldnt lay laminate under, laminate is a floating floor and needs to be able to move. Also i think you may invalidate the warranty - if they really want ya to do it i would put it in writing you dont advise it.
__________________
Damned if im gonna do it more than once.
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08-13-2006, 06:23 PM
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#6
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Chief Toilet Mover
Trade:
Bathroom Remodeling
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Littleton, Colorado
Posts: 11,758
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I never understand the contractor who has to ask a question if they should do something because the customer wants it that way. Do things as you do them, do them that way all the time, everytime and never question yourself. Your customers should be hiring you for more than just muscle to get a job done, they should be hiring you for your professional expertese and respect your opinions and abilities and knowledge. When your customers start dictating how you do things you are nothing more than a hired-hand, which is the first step to downward spiralling profits. I've never had a problem telling a customer no, it's very liberating when you finally start doing it and amazingly your customers start respecting your abilities and paying you more for them.
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08-13-2006, 06:27 PM
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#7
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ContractorTalk Flunkie
Trade:
Remodeling and Renovation Contractor
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Murphy, NC Hometown of Eric Rudolf
Posts: 1,036
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I wouldn't warranty my labor if I was the one installing the floor knowing that cabinets would go on top. Sometimes you have to do what the homeowner insist on, but your job is to let them know what to expect doing it their way. I'd do all I could to get them to let me cut the laminate back before installing the cabinets. That's just me.
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08-13-2006, 07:19 PM
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#8
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Cpt. Chaos
Trade:
Hard Surface Flooring
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Hampton, VA
Posts: 993
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Mike Finley
I never understand the contractor who has to ask a question if they should do something because the customer wants it that way. Do things as you do them, do them that way all the time, everytime and never question yourself. Your customers should be hiring you for more than just muscle to get a job done, they should be hiring you for your professional expertese and respect your opinions and abilities and knowledge. When your customers start dictating how you do things you are nothing more than a hired-hand, which is the first step to downward spiralling profits. I've never had a problem telling a customer no, it's very liberating when you finally start doing it and amazingly your customers start respecting your abilities and paying you more for them.
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 Great post Mike
As far as an answer to the question....
NO! NO! NO! NO!....did I mention NO! lxdollarsxl hit it on the head, a floating floor moves...if you trap it with cabinets you WILL void the warranty and it WILL at some point in time, buckle.
__________________
Precision Flooring
Hampton, VA (757) 256-0848
Tile, Hardwood, Laminate, and Resilients
Installation, Sales & Repair - "We do it right the FIRST time"
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08-15-2006, 05:27 PM
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#9
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Member
Trade:
i am a small remodeling contractor been at this most my life
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: wichita kansas
Posts: 89
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Actually i have no problem tellng customers no it gets done my way. and like you say thats why they get us..but i wast so sure about laminate under cabinets so thats why i asked ..thank you all very much for your help....
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08-16-2006, 12:02 AM
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#10
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Pro
Trade:
Hardwood Flooring
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Washington
Posts: 375
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Laminate flooring is considered a temporary floor so I never recommend cabinets to be installed over laminate.
__________________
I admit...I don't know everything...but don't tell my kids I told you.
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08-16-2006, 06:54 AM
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#11
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Pro
Trade:
remodeling/specializing in kitchen & baths
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: midwest
Posts: 481
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come on donedat. laminate flooring isn't temporary.
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08-16-2006, 09:08 AM
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#12
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Pro
Trade:
Residential Contractor
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Jensen Beach, FL
Posts: 10,376
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In kitchens and baths you just know that it's going to get wet sooner or later. I have played with some different brands to see how much they expand when wet and how quickly this happens. The question would be how much force is applied, could it lift the cabinets? If it can, then I see all sorts of potential problems.
I've never done it and wouldn't recommend it.
__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.
Albert Einstein
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08-16-2006, 03:35 PM
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#13
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Pro
Trade:
Lic. GC/Remodr - Commercial/Residential/Industrial
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: New England
Posts: 2,346
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DON'T DO IT.
That is the advise from my Laminate and Flooring supplier. I had asked him this a while back to hear it from a trusted source. He said "NEVER, EVER do that.... it will eventually buckle".
2nd Source: My cabinet maker with 40 years in the business. He said the same.
The floor is designed to float, so it can expand and contract.
We have kitchen laminate flooring sitting at one job right now, while we wait for the kitchen cabinets to be finished.
__________________
- Build Well -
Last edited by AtlanticWBConst; 08-16-2006 at 03:39 PM.
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08-16-2006, 09:27 PM
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#14
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Pro
Trade:
Hardwood Flooring
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Washington
Posts: 375
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by go dart
come on donedat. laminate flooring isn't temporary.
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Yep, temporary. And I enjoy getting calls to replace it with eternal hardwood flooring.
__________________
I admit...I don't know everything...but don't tell my kids I told you.
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08-16-2006, 09:29 PM
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#15
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Pro
Trade:
Hardwood Flooring
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Washington
Posts: 375
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Actually, my avitar picture is a job that I ripped out a floating floor and partical board underlayment to install a solid Clear Red Oak floor. I even lowered two doors to the new level of the hardwood.
__________________
I admit...I don't know everything...but don't tell my kids I told you.
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08-17-2006, 12:06 AM
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#16
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Pro
Trade:
Renovations
Join Date: May 2005
Location: West Coast Canada
Posts: 1,672
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What about a water-bed or a grand piano or something else outrageously heavy? Will you be seeing problems down the road with lam?
__________________
"Too much is always better than not enough"--J.R. "Bob" Dobbs
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08-17-2006, 11:26 PM
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#17
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Flooring Guru
Trade:
Sales Manager
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Anchorage, AK
Posts: 2,785
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Should not see problems with that.
Although let's be honest...it depends on the quality you buy.
__________________
------------------------
"in 20 years you will regret more what you did not do than what you did"
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08-23-2006, 02:26 AM
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#18
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Flooring? What's that?
Trade:
Flooring
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Ohio
Posts: 185
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I respect alot of the opinions on this post but the fact of Laminate flooring under cabinetry is this, If it is not attached and a 1/4" vertical gap is left between the floor and the cabinets then the warranties are fine. But, the catch in this is that the finished look is not pleasing to some. My suggestion is to have the Cabinets installed first, lay your floor and avoid a call back. Funny thing about laminates is that you will get all kinds of mixed views about them. The supposed Expertise from the BOX stores make there installers do it the customer's way. That is one of the reasons I left installing for HD. And won't for Lowe's. They will have you install laminates in bathrooms, it is a floating floor *NOT TEMPORARY* and will be attached by the toilet and will void the warranty. Basic lesson out of this is that laminates can keep their warranties if you follow there install guides. Hardwoods are much more forgiving then laminates. If I was in your shoes, I would tell the customer to install the cabinets and then you'll install the flooring. GL
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08-23-2006, 10:41 AM
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#19
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Registered User
Trade:
GC
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: NY
Posts: 6
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I try to stay away from laminate in the kitchen. I would refin the hardwood but the customer is always right
I personally would not install lam under cabinets, but get the customer to sign a waiver to protect you should something happen.
I would install up to cabinets and either run a matching quarter round or you can try to carefully mod the toe kick so it runs perfectly under it.
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08-23-2006, 08:53 PM
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#20
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Class A Contractor "BLD"
Trade:
Remodeling and home improvements
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Virginia Beach, Va.
Posts: 1,288
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I have installed wilsonart in a powder room under a toilet 6 years ago. No problems.
Also, I left scraps outside on the wood pile for 2 years....no significant damage.
I like backyard testing.
__________________
Looks like some pros were here.
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