We want to install HW floor, 3/4 in engineered or solid, in the living room, dining room and kitchen replacing carlet and laminate floor. The laminate floor in the kitchen was installed such that the refrigerator cannot be moved out from it's resting place. There is not enough clearance to the cabinet above the refrigerator to allow lifting over the lip of the laminate. I believe the same problem exists for the dishwasher although I have not tried to move it.

My question is how to deal with these clearances when installing the new floor as we do not plan to replace the kitchen cabinets. One person suggested on the refrigerator to trim the face frame. There is roughly an inch of face frame under the cabinet.

I would really appreciate any guidance that can be provided.

That's fine for the refrigerator, but it doesn't solve the dishwasher problem. You may have to install the new floor in front of the dishwasher, and pray that it won't need any service for a long time. But when it does, you'll have to disconnect and raise the countertop to get it out, and that may be án issue because the dishwasher is likely to be very close to the sink.

The real right way to do what you want to do would be to raise all the cabinets and install the floor underneath them, or at least under the fronts of them, with ordinary wood blocking under the rest of the cabinets. But that sounds like a nightmare even to me, who doesn't have to do it...

Do you know what's under the laminate? It might be vinyl over underlayment, such as particle board or luan, installed over your subfloor. When you tear everything out down to your subfloor you may find you have the clearance. Pull back the carpet where it meets the laminate to see how many layers are there. At that time check the subfloor to see what it's made of. Not all subfloors are ideal for installing an attached (glued or nailed) hardwood to. You won't know the condition of the floor until everything is torn out, especially in the kitchen where water damage is more common. One alternative for a LEVEL but not too perfect subfloor is a floating hardwood floor, installed just like the laminate. If you have floor heater vents in the laminate area you can remove the vent cover and take a peek, but it's harder to see if the metal duct comes up high.

Thanks for the comments. I would agree raising the cabinets would be ideal but that would get ugly. I was hoping to not have to go that route.


The subfloor is plywood. While I have not removed the laminate, I am fairly certainit is "floating" on the subfloor. I cannot say the subfloor is great in the area of teh sink as I will not know that until the laminate floor is removed. But, it would seem I still have the dishwasher problem. I guess I could buy a really good dishwasher and hope it lasts 10-15 years before needing removal but then Murphy always spoils that approach.

Here's something a little unconventional we did on one job. The hardwood was installed except for a section in front of the dishwasher. That area was loose laid so that it could be removed for dishwasher repair. Once the dishwasher is part way out of its space it can be tilted up over the edge of the hardwood. The same idea would work if with a "click" installed floating hardwood floor that you can take apart and put back together.

Thanks for the idea. I might be able to do something like that. Do you have a suggestion as to how far in front of the dishwasher the floor should be loose to allow removing the dishwasher?

To be safe, use a piece of plywood to simulate your new flooring. Place it a foot or so in front of the dishwaher, then pull the dishwasher out, up and over the plywood, adjusting the distance of the plywood until the dishwasher comes out easily. The distance will depend on how much clearance there is above the dishwasher and the thickness of your flooring. I hope this is useful.

Thanks for the tip.

I'm *almost* in a similar situation Paul. I'm laying laminate and to avoid the pitfalls of friends of mine who have accidentally locked their dishwasher under the cabinet I'm investing the time to pull up the MDF/Luan under the linolium in the Kitchen. It's a bear of a job but a lot easier in the kitchen where I have more room than my cramped bathrooms were when I tiled them last year.

Since I don't have the money to replace the cabinets at this time I'm just using a small saw to score the MDF/Luan at the base of the cabinets and then popping it up with a pry bar so that the cabinets are still sitting on the MDF/Luan but that it's out of the way of the laminate to come. Pulling the 10,290,867 staples per 4x8 piece of MDF/Luan is the real chore I think contractors love using their airguns.

quote:

Originally posted by LBowman:
I think contractors love using their airguns.

Darned if you do, darned if you don't... Why not just drive the staples down instead of trying to pull them all out?

I'm not sure I understand the dilemma here, unless you're hoping to avoid removing the existing finished flooring in the kitchen.

If the laminate in front of the fridge is removed, there will be no lip. Won't the fridge then come out? If the problem then becomes that the fridge won't go back in after the new flooring is installed, I would agree with the idea of cutting the face frame above the fridge to obtain the clearance you require.

Unless the house is fairly new, it is quite possible (if not likely) that the laminate is installed over the original flooring. This theory is supported by the fact that the flooring doesn't extend underneath the cabinets or appliances. Who installs appliances before the flooring is done in a new house? If this is the case, stripping to the subfloor should remedy the problems altogether. This gives you the added benefit of being able to inspect the subfloor before covering it up again.

Just my .02.