Real wood?? DEFINETLY before. You don't want to see the ends of the planks of wood butting up to your cabinets!! It's a beautiful clean look when it just runs to the wall under the cabs. Not only that but we had the floors sanded and finished before the cabs went in...I wanted the seal on the floor under the cabs plus I did not want any chance of finish getting on my cabinets. However, the finish after is pretty common because the risk of damage to floors during installation. But any cabinet maker or GC/installer worth his salt will cover the floors and work on blankets. We had absolutely no damage to the oak floors even with ladders, etc. Do what YOU think is right!! PLUS consider the idea that maybe someday you will make some changes in this kitchen and you would have flooring issues then and it would never look right without major work or a totally new floor. Good Luck!

Just what Arc said. My floors are going in today, brazilian cherry pre finished installed from corner to corner before cabs. It is a much cleaner look.

We had oak hardwood floors laid first, unfinished. They were then finished (stained) in the house. This worked for us because we were able to do it after we closed the sale and before we moved in. As we did hardwood throughout (either installing new or refinishing existing floors), this meant we didn't have to deal with the noxious fumes.

This means that we have hardwood right to the walls in the kitchen and thus will have a clean, elegant look no matter what we decide to do with the cabinets. I like this flexibility. It also runs in straight, unbroken lines from the kitchen into the dining room, which also looks quite nice.

We chose to have the floors finished with three coats of stain after they were laid, as we were told they would be more durable that way (and we also like the look of it).

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that if you are going to be moving plumbing and drains, knocking down walls, etc., you should take this into account when scheduling the laying of the floors (i.e., after all this work, but before the cabinets are put in).

Good luck with it.

My house currently REEKS of polyethylene! Yesterday was the first day of sanding and the first coat. Definitely floors first! You want your cabs to sit on top of the floors. And you don't want sealant on your beautiful cabs!

Mary
I hope you aren't living in your house while they are doing the floors. I know people that stayed in a hotel for 3 or 4 days to make sure they weren't exposed to the toxic fumes.

i'm so cautious that I am buying pre-finished hardwood (from sustainably grown forests) that are finished with only water based poly, which off gases less than the oil based poly. Because even if you lay pre-finished, the poly will off gas in your home and is not healthy for you. (but less so with the water based, as I said) Sigh. So much to think about isn't it?

I agree with everyone else. We did the same with the tile in our bathroom and laundry room (installed it before cabinets) so I don't have a dirt-collecting grout line running along the entire perimeter of base cabinets like I do in my kitchen :(

Here is a link that might be useful: Which comes first?

we were a DIY and we put them in before the cabs. My dh thinking was if we ever wanted to change the layout years later we would have wall to wall floors to do so!

It's warm here. The windows are all open. I will be at work for most of the day and into the night. Husband is boarded and pets are away. Um, I mean pets are boarded and husband is away... We will be fine. Thanks.

What about when you are remodeling but not replacing the cabinets? My concern is putting in the floor with the existing cabinets in place and being able to pull out the dishwasher later for replacement or service, as needed.

Dishwasher and stove should be placed on plywood that is the same thickness as the new floor.

Same as above. We had oak floors laid then floor guys finished them on site. After all floors were laid and finished then came the cabinets and everything else.

We're having the floor laid, left unfinished and then it will be stained and polyurethaned after the cabinets are installed. Both kitchen contractor and flooring contractor agree on this. I trust the floor people enough that I know they won't slop stain,poly on the cabinets. We were told that the dishwasher is a huge concern if it needs repair or replacing and the floor butts up to it.