In both of our old houses we ran the flooring under the cabinets and appliances and are doing the same in our new build. There may be a small material saving but the installer doesn't have to cut/install around islands, cabinets etc. It's a cleaner look, IMO.

Yes, he said he doesn't want to damage it bringing in the counters, quartz, and appliances. Well shoot.....now what do I do? I mean, ultimately it's up to me. Soooo many choices and we haven't even started yet!

We like to put the floors in first but only just up to the toe kick (toe kick covers any gap) and under the edge of the end cabinets (no shoe needed) under dishwasher, range and fridge. Then be put on only two coats of finish, cover with Ram board or equivalent. Last coat of finish goes after the cabinets and counter are done. Will require moving appliance though which need to be in place for the counter folks.

Prefinished floors we do the same thing, just need more care during install and Ram board is a must. Don't put ram board where the cabinets go though :0

Just put down some 1/8" masonite type hardboard to protect the floors. A 4 X 8 sheet only cost about $10.

Graham

It's done both ways, so it won't be a crisis either way.

If you go floors first, but need to save on expensive hardwood, you can install same-thickness plywood under the cabinets, island and appliances. Just be sure to install the finish wood the depth of your toe kick recesses. Or, sort your hardwood and use the less than perfect pieces under the cabinets.

For protection, we put down Ram Board over the installed-first hardwood floors, which is a heavy duty cardboard. It cost a couple hundred dollars, but we did the whole floor of the house. We didn't have any damage from the cabinet installation. The hardwood was actually covered for several months during the construction.

Ram Board Product Site

Floors first, cover with Ram Board or Masonite, then final coat of finish after all other trades are gone.

I should mentioned this is prefinished/hand scrapped hardwood - 3/8" think with plywood underneath.

"because you can't install cabinets on top of a floating floor."

Sure you can, you just can't screw the cabinets to the floor.

I wouldn't for a pre finished engineered floor. They often discontinue colors and sizes and if u need to replace will you be able to get same thickness later down road?

We installed ours afterwards because we were using reclaimed hardwoods and the material wasn't ready. We used pieces of it to set the cabinets and appliances on and we did fully install the floor under the appliances once we got to that point.

If you wait till after the cabinets are installed to put in the flooring then the countertops will be the wrong height for your dishwasher and stove unless u put something under your cabinets to make them as high as your wood floors would make them be. If he doesn't put any wood under your dishwasher then when you need to replace the dishwasher you will have a problem getting it out

You need the flooring under the fridge, range (if you have one), and DW. You don't need it under cabinets attached to the floor. You should cover your floors as shown when moving the appliances into place.