In almost all cases, you should not install kitchen cabinets on top of a floating floor. A floating floor is designed to expand and contract in response to changes in temperature and humidity. To move correctly, the floor needs to be able to slide under the baseboards or into the wall cavity where an expansion gap is provided. If you install fixed cabinetry on top of the flooring, you are essentially pinning the floor to the subfloor in a way that prevents this necessary movement. When a floor is pinned by heavy cabinets, the resulting stress is transferred to the nearest locking joints, which can cause the planks to separate, buckle, or peak. This is a common installation error that can lead to permanent damage and is typically excluded from manufacturer warranties. The industry-standard practice is to install the kitchen cabinetry first, level it on the subfloor, and then install the flooring up to the base of the cabinets, leaving the appropriate expansion gap covered by quarter-round or base shoe molding.
Key considerations
- cabinets on floating floor
- LVP under kitchen cabinets
- laminate under cabinets
- floating floor under cabinets
- kitchen LVP
- laminate installation