Hi trininty

My GC put in our cabs first, then the flooring. Flooring doesn't need to be under the cabinets. Also, what if someday you just want to change your flooring? ( We did this once) That would be difficult if your cabinets were on top of it.

KA:)

We did flooring first. If you do tile first it uses more tile - if you do tile last it takes longer because their are more cuts. Of course if your walls are not square then your cabinets running across the tile may make it appear the floor is being crooked. We did floor first because DH didn't like the look of the tiles against the cabinet as our "before" kitchen was.

Oh no! I now have one of each scenario and good reasons for both. But it appears I'm just looking for trouble so I'm thinking about agreeing with my DH (Yes, I didn't tell you,once again, we had different opinions.) Or maybe I just wanted more time to decide about my final choices on my cabinet layout.
Thank you both.

You can do it either way; it's a personal preference thing (as long as you make sure your cabinet people knows which way you're doing it and whether they need to prepare anything special). We are doing the floor ourselves and have a cabinetmaker. He gave us the choice---basically, if we do it first it's easier to lay the floor but there is the risk of damage to it when the cabinets are installed, though obviously we'll cover it. If we do it last, there is more cutting involved and the cabinets either need to be on a platform the same thickness as the floor or the boxes need to be built slightly higher to compensate for the thickness of the floor.

We opted to do it first because we're tiling under appliances that will later be surrounded by cabinets, so it seemed far simpler to do it that way. But unless one or the other of your contractors feels strongly about it, it's up to you.

I don't think it makes much difference in replacing the floor later, though. I've seen people leave cabinets with flooring under them in place and just cut out and replace the center floor. Either way your cabinets will be at floor height---it's just that if they don't have flooring under them, they'll have plywood or something comparable.

All subs always want to be last because they're worried their bit will be messed up.

It's a lot easier doing the floor tile first. If the guidelines are centered in the middle of the room you shouldn't have a problem with crooked look. Some people put plywood under the cabinets to save on tile and keep things level. Having a flush level floor is a lot better for getting your appliances in and out. When the tile is done you can cover it with brown paper and/or masonite to protect it from stray tools and all that. Tile is pretty tough though. Accidents happen, but they could just as easily happen to the walls or cabinets.

Hi trinity..

Just wanted to come back and clarify that even though we put in the cabs first, we put flooring underneath where the stove and fridge are as well. Maybe that's a given but I just thought I would add that to my answer.

KA:)