http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=287x7055mopinko (1000+ posts) Sun Nov-09-08 09:46 PM
Original message
cabinets on finished floor, or sub-floor?
there is probably a preferred answer to this question, but i am wondering if that is set in stone, or if there are pros and cons to either answer. logic tells me that you would set them on the sub-floor, but i googled and found the opposite.
Wash. state Desk Jet (1000+ posts) Sun Nov-09-08 11:21 PM
Response to Original message
1. I'm not looking at it but, I can tell you this, it is not uncommon to find cabinets set on the sub flooring. I can tell you this because I rip cabinets out before I install new cabinetry. Although that is not always the case . Much of the time it is though!
Nothing in construction is set in stone these days,unless of course you are setting stone ,although stone masons are few and far between, or expert stone masons are Time and cost may call for placing the cabinets on the sub flooring. The less finish flooring there is to cover the les time and material expense.
1,st. question in relation to your project is what case scenario does your kitchen call for.And what does your kitchen design call for? And which answer would you prefer,pro or con ? !you really don't have enough information up there to offer any type of assistance.
mopinko (1000+ posts) Sun Nov-09-08 11:46 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. well, first, it isn't a kitchen
it's a library. and it isn't actually a subfloor. there is a finished floor, but there will be another floor over it.
seems to me that putting them on the finished floor makes it harder, as it is an old house, and there will be some shimming involved, no doubt. it also seems dumb to pay for floor that you can't see.
i guess i see the point that you don't want to have to replace the floor if you ever remove the cabinets. but i don't really see how you would do that big of a remodel and not do both. and floor that were under a cabinet for years are not gonna look like the rest of the floor, anyway.
so?
Wash. state Desk Jet (1000+ posts) Mon Nov-10-08 01:18 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. I would think that I would run the floor than install the cabinets in that order.
Given it's the library ,I would run the entire floor.Matching cabinet base molding will compensate for inconsistencies in the floor ,or nothing is square and level in a old house,or most any house after a few years.
Not seeing it, I see what what you mean about running the new floor under the cabinets ,but ,at the same time that's a project judgment call. The last cabinet install in that category I did was floor to ceiling ,there were no flaws. The house was built in the early sixties.
If it is in the budget ,I think I would recommend running the full floor. Again ,that's without looking at it.And what is the thickness of the new flooring ?I mean as a installer, If the shoe fits, you know!. i might feel inclined to set the cabinets in place and see how it appears against the new flooring, sort of a in a lay out. Do you have a long level ? or two four footers ? Can you put some pics up ? And who is installing the floor and cabinets ? By the way, I don't use google, I have my own construction library !
And, is this the same house you fired the architect from? And where are we now? !
mopinko (1000+ posts) Mon Nov-10-08 09:14 AM
Response to Reply #3
5. i would be hiring out the work.
probably to separate people. i will be looking at custom, but not sure yet if i can afford that, or if i think it will be worth it.
i see the point about someone wanting to remove them someday, but intend to do quality cabinets that would not fall apart anytime soon.
and yes, this is the house, mine, and we are trying to get some other work done in the meantime. a mutual friend has spoken to the architect about one more "carefully planned" version. i am hesitant, as i was hoping that i would have an architect do something besides draw up my ideas. that is about as much as i would care to interact with this ass. but, otherwise it is pretty much money down the drain. now that the election is over, he moves up my list. my plan was to write out an explanation of what happened, with intent to file it with his professional organization, and the state board. at the same time, i will draw up as much of the plan as i am able, on top of what he did. i would rather get money back (i think i should be able to get the retainer returned) than have him polish and stamp. we shall see.
i have a line on another architect. but what i am looking for does not grow on trees. at least i should be able to get the drawings of the existing building, and not have to start all the way from scratch.
I bet the primitive hires out the work to a non-union carpenter.
Primitives are that way, shouting solidarity with the working man, and then sticking something up the working man's rectal aperture.
Wash. state Desk Jet (1000+ posts) Mon Nov-10-08 11:31 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. Gook luck with that, (That Architect ) .
We discussed that some time back. I must say I am surprised he is still around to haunt you. I do recall indicating that he was bilking you for thousands at a pop. And as I recall you came to that conclusion yourself and fired the guy.
On the floor and cabinets, I think you are right, wait for the installer to look over the situation on location and see what he suggests. Your house as I recall, calls for no less than craftsmanship.
Craftsmanship by a professional carpenter, a competent carpenter, by the way, a union carpenter.
mopinko (1000+ posts) Tue Nov-11-08 08:35 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. he is just hanging because i have not settled. he is fired.
but i still do not have the work product of that, which my construction manager neighbor insists is mine. i need to write up a complaint, and shake him down. i just haven't had the time. but you are right, he was scamming.
and i am trying to make myself a house that will still be in good shape in 50 years, when my wake is held here.
check out this house this guy is an architect. he doesn't do residential, but did give me a name. hoping i might get his builder, as well.
Warpy (1000+ posts) Mon Nov-10-08 03:27 PM
Response to Reply #2
6. If the cabinets are sitting on finished hardwood and you are carpeting the room, it makes much more sense not to put them on the carpet. Just make sure there's adequate room under the bottom shelf so that the depth of carpet plus padding doesn't interfere with it.
Cabinets are put on top of finished flooring because it's generally the cabinets that wear out and are removed and not the finished floor. This isn't the case with carpeting, which has a much shorter lifespan than cabinets generally do.
mopinko (1000+ posts) Mon Nov-10-08 07:43 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. no carpet. only hard floors allowed.
i guess it makes sense. the same rule applies to linoleum, i recall. i suppose the floor guy will have an opinion. i think i will listen to him.
and did i say i loved my windows? really got what i paid for. (i know, i did)
yy4me (1000+ posts) Mon Nov-10-08 08:25 AM
Response to Original message
4. From my limited perspective, a thought.
Should you ever decide to move or change the cabinetry, it would be a shame to pull it all out or move things and find no flooring. I know of an instance where a new floor was laid surrounding a large aquarium. It was fine until the aquarium was no longer wanted. It was torn out and the owner had a devil of a time matching a new section of flooring to fill in the 5 foot by about 3 foot opening.
I'd put yours on top of the finished floor. A few dollars more on a large project like that will not cost as much as the headache later if things change.
When my husband built our kitchen cabinets years ago, we had that same discussion. Had we ever want to alter things, we wouldn't have a flooring problem.
Well, that's it.
One wonders what the do-it-yourselfer, the nocturnally foul one here, would do about this quandary; but alas it seems that election night, the nocturnally foul one fell down his unfinished basement stairs, and hasn't gotten up yet.
