You’re planning to remodel your kitchen, bathroom or another part of your home, but the flooring is already worn out. Should you replace the flooring now and get it out of the way?
Usually, no.
In most cases, if you’re planning a significant remodel in the near future, it makes more sense to include the new flooring as part of the remodeling project rather than installing it beforehand.
There are exceptions, but getting the order right can save you money, prevent damage to brand-new flooring and produce a much better finished result.
Why Flooring Usually Comes Later in a Remodel
Think about everything that might happen during a remodeling project.
Cabinets may be removed. Walls might move. Plumbing or electrical locations could change. New islands, vanities or built-ins may be installed. Contractors will be carrying tools, materials and debris through the space.
That’s not an ideal environment for a floor you just paid to have installed.
Even when flooring is carefully protected, construction creates opportunities for scratches, dents, chips and other damage.
More importantly, your remodel may change where flooring actually needs to go.
If you’re planning both projects, it generally makes sense to coordinate them from the beginning.
What Happens If You Install Flooring First?
Installing flooring before a remodel can create some interesting surprises later.
Imagine replacing the floor in your kitchen and then deciding six months later to change the cabinet layout. Once the old cabinets are removed, you discover that the new flooring doesn’t extend underneath them.
Now the remodeling contractor has to find matching flooring and patch the exposed areas.
If the flooring has been discontinued or the color has changed slightly between production runs, that simple patch can become considerably more complicated.
The same problem can happen when walls are removed, kitchen islands change size or bathroom fixtures are relocated.
Your beautiful new floor was designed around the old room.
Now you’re building a new room on top of it.
Should Flooring Go Under Kitchen Cabinets?
This is one of those questions where the answer depends on the type of flooring and the design of the kitchen.
Some flooring materials can run beneath cabinetry. Others, particularly certain floating floors, generally need room to expand and shouldn’t be permanently trapped beneath fixed cabinets.
That’s why flooring and cabinetry shouldn’t be treated as two unrelated projects.
Your contractor needs to know what flooring you’re using, how it is installed and where cabinets and appliances will be located before determining the proper sequence.
What About Hardwood Flooring?
Hardwood introduces its own considerations.
If you’re installing hardwood as part of a kitchen or whole-home remodel, the flooring needs to be coordinated with cabinets, trim, transitions, doors and adjoining rooms.
You also have to consider the possibility of damage during construction.
There’s little benefit in installing a beautiful hardwood floor and then spending the rest of the remodel covering it with protective material while people carry cabinets, countertops, lumber and tools across it.
Planning the flooring as part of the complete remodel gives everyone involved a chance to determine the best installation sequence.
What About Tile Flooring?
Tile is commonly used in Colorado kitchens, bathrooms, mudrooms and other high-use areas.
With tile, planning becomes even more important.
Changing the location of a shower, vanity, toilet, kitchen island or wall can affect where tile needs to be installed. The height of the finished floor can also affect transitions, doors, cabinetry and other components of the remodel.
If the room is already going to be substantially renovated, installing tile first often creates more problems than it solves.
Luxury Vinyl Plank and Floating Floors
Luxury vinyl plank has become a popular flooring choice because it’s attractive, durable and available in an enormous variety of styles.
Many LVP products are installed as floating floors.
A floating floor needs to be able to move slightly as temperatures and conditions change. Permanently installing heavy fixed cabinetry over certain floating floors can interfere with that movement.
Again, this is why the flooring choice needs to be part of the remodeling plan rather than an independent decision made before construction begins.
What If You’re Remodeling Only Part of the House?
This is where the answer gets a little less obvious.
Suppose you’re remodeling the kitchen but want new flooring throughout the kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway.
Now we’re not simply deciding when to install a kitchen floor. We’re figuring out how one continuous flooring surface will work throughout several connected spaces.
Transitions matter.
Floor height matters.
Doorways matter.
And if walls are being removed to create a more open floor plan, you want to know exactly what the finished layout will be before the flooring is installed.
A little planning at the beginning can eliminate a lot of awkward transitions and patchwork later.
Can You Keep Your Existing Flooring During a Remodel?
Absolutely.
Not every remodel requires new flooring.
If you already have quality hardwood, tile or another floor that’s in good condition, it may be possible to protect it throughout construction and incorporate it into the new design.
That’s a conversation worth having before demolition begins.
Sometimes an existing hardwood floor can be refinished. Sometimes flooring can be extended into a remodeled area. Sometimes keeping the existing floor saves a substantial amount of money without compromising the finished project.
The important thing is to make that decision before construction starts.
When Does Flooring Actually Get Installed During a Remodel?
There’s no single answer for every project because the sequence depends on the flooring material and what’s being remodeled.
Generally, the messy structural and mechanical work happens first.
Demolition, framing, plumbing and electrical work are completed before the project moves toward its finished surfaces. Drywall, painting, cabinetry, trim and flooring are then coordinated based on the materials being used.
A good remodeling contractor doesn’t simply follow a generic checklist.
The project is planned so each trade and material goes in at the point that makes the most sense for that particular home.
What If Your Flooring Is Really Bad Right Now?
Here’s the tougher question.
What if your flooring desperately needs replacement today, but you aren’t planning to remodel for another two or three years?
Then replacing it now may make perfect sense.
You shouldn’t live with damaged or unsafe flooring for years simply because you might eventually remodel.
The key is to think ahead.
If you know a future kitchen or bathroom remodel is likely, choose flooring with that future project in mind. Buy extra material if practical. Keep the manufacturer, product name, color and model information.
Most importantly, tell your flooring installer about your future remodeling plans.
A little foresight today can make that eventual remodel much easier.
Plan the Entire Remodel Before You Start Buying Materials
This is really the bigger lesson.
One of the easiest ways for a remodeling project to become more expensive is to make individual decisions without considering how they affect everything else.
The flooring affects the cabinets.
The cabinets affect the countertops.
Moving a wall affects the flooring.
Changing the shower affects the plumbing and tile.
Changing the lighting affects the electrical work.
Everything is connected.
That’s why a complete remodeling plan is so valuable. Instead of solving one problem at a time, you’re designing the finished space and then determining the smartest way to build it.
Planning a Remodel in the Denver Area?
If you’re considering new flooring along with a kitchen, bathroom, basement or whole-home remodel, talk to Accell Construction before you start tearing things out or ordering materials.
We’ve been remodeling Colorado homes for more than 25 years, and owner Nick Haag and his carefully selected crew handle the work without turning your project over to a parade of subcontractors.
We can look at the entire project, determine what should stay, what should go and in what order everything should happen.
Sometimes the best remodeling advice isn’t about what you should do.
It’s knowing when you should do it.
Call Accell Construction at (303) 257-2061 to talk with Nick about your project or request a free estimate.
