If you add flooring on top of old flooring, you end up with one of two scenarios:

1) The new floor raises the level of the floor overall, but you don't add flooring into the DW space (because it will make your DW too tall to fit under the counter). The DW must then drop down into the "hole" left by the raised floor. It's a major pain (we did this at one point years ago) and may actually prevent you from getting a DW in there at all, not to mention removing it in the future. Adding new flooring like this also reduces the toe kick space and makes your counters relatively shorter - liveable if not optimal.

2) You add new floor over the old and into the DW space. The space is now too short and no DW will fit in there.

So, you can do #1, but I don't recommend it from personal experience. Another possibility is to cut the old flooring at the cabinet fronts and rip it out including the spaces for the DW, fridge, and stove. Install the new flooring and everything will be the right height.

Another possibility is to remove all the lower cabinets, tear out the old flooring and install the new. We left the original asphalt tiles that we had on our floor when we put in the bamboo because they were thin and because they probably were stuck down with asbestos adhesive. We used plywood under all the cabinets except for where the fridge, stove, and DW go. In those spots we installed bamboo. Obviously, this is a major pain and involves all kinds of stuff like moving the sink and sink plumbing and the countertops. It may impact a backsplash. In our case, we were doing the cabinets anyway so it was not complicated like your issue. Labor intensive as it is, your best bet may be to cut around the existing cabinets and remove the old flooring before installing new.

No, we've already removed the three levels of tile, so technically I think we could just lay the bamboo around the cabinets. I don't like the idea of having to "box" in the dishwasher though...I guess I'll have to measure and see if the dishwasher will fit if we put the bamboo there too.

Luckily, there are no issues with backsplash or counter/sink...we're doing a pretty big remodel, just not replacing the cabinets. The counters and sink are already gone. It seems easier to not remove the bottom cabinets, but cleaner if we do and run the wood underneath. Ugh.

Lots of people don't remove the cabinets to lay flooring underneath, or even put in their new flooring under new cabinets - probably a 50/50 proposition. We put plywood under everything except the refrigerator (not really sure why) to raise the cabinets and other appliances to the same level as the finished floor.

Hey Leslie,
Can you clarify what you mean by "box in the dishwasher"? Is there's a risk that you won't be able to slide the dishwasher in/out?

I encountered a bad situation once where the dishwasher could not be removed because tile was installed in front of it and the resulting opening height, between the tile and counter, was insufficient to remove the dishwasher. In that case it was necessary to remove the floor tile or lift the counter in order to remove the dishwasher, which resulted in us not having a functioning dishwasher for years.

Exactly - that's what I'm afraid of. I guess what I really need to do is get the exact measurement of the dishwasher height and then see if I run the flooring into the open space for the dishwasher if it will fit under the counter. If it will not, then we will need to remove the cabinets and run the floor under them to ensure that the dishwasher fits. I don't like the idea of not being able to access the dishwasher if we run the flooring in front of it.

Then I'm confused. All that matters is the height of the opening between the counter and the flooring in front of the dishwasher. If the floor beneath the dishwasher is lower, then you'll have to raise it during install (using the leveling feet) and lower it in order to get it out, but still, I it's the floor in front of it that could potentially prevent removal, not the floor underneath it.

But if the floor underneath the dishwasher could be raised up to the level of the finished floor with a piece of plywood, and still fit the dishwasher in the existing space (under the existing counter), wouldn't that solve the problem?

I'd definitely match the floor height as sjhockeyfan recommends, but even if you didn't I don't understand why it wouldn't be possible to install/remove the dishwasher, albeit with some additional height adjustment.

Leslie- according to the Kenmore instructions you can buy an extra 1/2 inch in height by removing the rear wheels of the dishwasher. I don't know if this is true of other brands. I would just make sure I put some felt pads on the bottom to protect floor from scratches.

We just installed bamboo throughout the downstairs, including the kitchen. Did not install under cabinets. I had my contractor put a piece of plywood as the floor in the dishwasher opening. We ran the bamboo in just far enough for the front piece/toe kick of the dishwasher to cover--about 2" into the opening. I did that because I figured that if there ever was a failure and water leaked out, I could remove and replace the plywood. It would be much harder to remove and replace the bamboo. Might be an option for you if you are able to work through all the height issues. Good luck!

I've had bamboo in our kitchen for over 5 years now and we've had no problems with water (or other) damage. (I have 2 young kids and a yellow lab).

I did remove the old vinyl flooring before putting down the bamboo. The vinyl tore out and there was some residue left on the plywood subfloor. I applied a paper barrier which was recommended by the flooring shop and used 1 1/2" staples.

I would take up the linoleum or vinyl. If it's true linoleum, the tiles may have become brittle over time and they may start to crack or break when you shoot nails through them.

I would not use glue and staples together. The only thing that the glue/adhesive will do is to stick the bamboo to your paper barrier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Laminate Wood Flooring