New kitchen top to bottom what would you do first?

[lakota]

I repainted the ceiling,  drywall is almost done and then I will be painting the walls with all that said and done what would you do next? New flooring before cabinets go in or put the cabinets in and then do flooring? One thing that may influence my desicion-My budget only allows unfinished oak cabinets so I will be staining them and I dont have a garage to stain them in. I could put drop cloths over the new floor but if I wait on the flooring I can sling stain on the cabinets with impunity and not worry about the floor. What should I do?

[Curtis]

I'm in the middle of mine.  I installed unfinished oak as well, and I opted for doing the cabinets first and then flooring.  More sanding and staining to do right now.  Actually I decided to try the Minwax "Polystain" that is stain and varnish in one step.  So far, so good.

Curtis

[PowPow]

What kind of flooring?
Seems logical that you would put the flooring down after the cabinets are finished, but add a stained piece of molding around the bottom of the cabinets to finish over the edge.
You could even put the molding on when the weather prettys up and you could stain it outside.

[fatercat]

put the floor in where the counter are going to go. then install cabinets. floor will be even and go like hell with staining.

[GRIMJIM]

If it's a prefinished pergo style flooring, put it in after the cabs are installed. Just remember to leave expansion room per the instructions and nail your base shoe to the cabinets and not the flooring. You want the flooring to be able to move independently.

A helpful hint is to take a level and find the highest spot in your floor. Measure up the height of your cabinets (usually 34 1/2") and draw a level line on the wall around the room where the cabinets are going to go.

You can use 1/2" plywood spacers under the cabinets to make them the same level as the flooring once it's installed.

If your floor is very bad you may want to buy a piece of 1/4" oak plywood. Cut it into 8' strips the size of the largest distance from the floor to the bottom of the face frame and scribe it to the floor. It doesn't have to be perfect as the flooring and base shoe will cover the gap at the floor. This will give it a nice finished look.

[GRIMJIM]

Sorry, if you're using the 1/2" spacers you will need to measure up 35" to allow for those before you draw your line.

[lakota]

my house is on a concrete slab and floor has been stripped back to the bare slab which is in pretty good shape. We will probably go with sheet vinyl flooring.

[Rex in OTZ]

Did some work on a old double wide
Since it was crowded and dark thought we'd do a little to make some room and dress up the old joint, since the place was built in the 1970's they loved dark stain a little too much..........Ya think? love that retro countertop!
Gutted out old cabinets, did plumbing and wireing, moved some the old glycol lines that were behind the cabinets and roughted under floor, extended ceiling and opened up divider wall added a header and beefed pillars.
Floor had 30years of old vinyl that was not comeing up without a battle.
We laid in some 5/8" ACX right over the old flooring and laid down some nice looking vinyl flooring.....yes it looks like laminate flooring.
Cabinets are prefinished off Craigs list ready to install (they really built better than many cabinets Ive seen..not one bit of partical board on them) have neat gas cylinder dawer closers to cushion closeing, Made our own countertop of 1.1/4" tounge and groove underlayment, filled the imperfections and sanded smooth and laide in new laminate counter top turned out looking pretty good for being 240 miles out in Alaska boonies.
Yes the old phone jack needs moving in the last picture, since its been moved and coverd.
Attic insulation we went to R32 in fiberglass batting and foamed all the vaporbarrier wire penetrations.
Windows are Old 1990's era Alaska Windows Vinyl Tilt Swings. a wonderfull window if kept maintained and rigged

[SHOOTALL]

my house is on a concrete slab and floor has been stripped back to the bare slab which is in pretty good shape. We will probably go with sheet vinyl flooring.

Do the cab's first so you won't tear , rip , scratch or stain the floor. Also sheet goods don't last for ever and when replacing it will be easier to do so. On the job I have seen it done both ways but setting cabinets on a compressable floor always leads to problems in time. Like a counter top that moves away fro the wall or one that has a splice open.

[Curtis]

Good point, Shootall!  My concrete slab is so wavey I had to put loads of shims under my cabinets to get them level and rock solid.  I glued all shims in place to keep them from working out over the years of expansion/contraction, high/low humidity, etc........

One thing I've learned:  EVERYTHING MOVES!!!

Curtis

[Curtis]

Great pictures, and good job Rex.  My kitchen is also small and closed in (in the middle of the house).  Like you, I went with lighter stain.

Curtis

[Rex in OTZ]

Heres the old solid wall after some demo work, did away with the arctic entry (built on mud room) the dividewr wall after opening up and a shot after old cabinets were removed.