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Flooring Kitchens

Should we refinish wood floors first, or last

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

I am having our wood floors refinished, painting kitchen cabinets (white), and painting all the walls and trim. Currently the schedule has cabinets painted first, then walls, then floors last. I’m concerned about the cabinets getting damaged by the sanding equipment. Should I have the floors done first?

It is three different contractors, so the schedule is my choice.

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Comments (3)

PRO
Bill Fry Construction - Wm. H. Fry Const. Co.
3 years ago
After the floors are done, you can install toe kicks on the abinets.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
3 years ago
Any spray finish should be one first. Roll-ons an brushing finishes can be complete afterwards.
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cateyanne, Check out the "U-Sand" floor sander and "Waterlox" floor finish. I just sanded and refinished my "new" master bedroom floor (antique heart pine original to the house) and had great results with the U-Sand and Waterlox Original. The U-Sand uses four 6" random orbit disks and comes with its own vacuum system; there was some dust, but not much. It also gets right up to the edge of the floor -- you probably won't need to rent an edger. Yes, it's probably lighter than a "pro" machine and it'll take you longer to do the sanding, but as a first time DIYer I found that to be an asset. (I don't mind a little extra time if it means I'm less likely to damage the floor.) Waterlox is a penetrating finish that is very easy to apply and, since each coat "melts" into the previous coats, you don't have to sand between each coat. (Next time I'll probably screen before the final coat because in an old house dust particles seem to generate spontaneously.) I'm very happy with the product and final finish. I don't have any floor-specific pics online, but (provided I can do this correctly) here's a "before" finishing (mid-woodwork strip and refinish) pic: [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd195/Synrgystyk/Bedroom%20Renovation/baseboard.jpg[/IMG] and an "after": [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd195/Synrgystyk/Bedroom%20Renovation/P1020089.jpg[/IMG] The lower right corner of the "after" pic shows the same area of flooring as in the "before" pic. HTH Lorree
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Celticmoon here responding to your page... Personal choice whether to paint or finish or stay pat. Agree the gallery is a great place to contemplate your options. It is possible to darken your cabinets without stripping or sanding down to bare wood. I did mine and they are holding up fine after hard use for two years. $50-$75 in materials and a bunch of 30 minute sessions over a couple weeks. No skill, just patience and organization and those short sessions. I went from this to this Again, this is NOT refinishing, but layering on color and sealer coats. Works best if you are going very dark. I've posted the (lengthy) step by step several times. Email me if you want me to shoot it to you. Here is a link that might be useful: celticmoon's before, during, after pix
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SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Floors are done last...traditionally. The reason: gravity works = paint will hit the floor. Even covered up with drop cloths and plastic, things happen and they get expensive if the floor has been damaged.

So long as you have chosen all the finishes, you can get the cabs painted and then the walls (done at the same time...or a little later) and then the floors are done last. Remember: everything has a 'cure time'. A cure time is when the finish has COMPLETELY hardened. Not dry....hardened.

Some of these cabinet paints take 10 days to fully cure or some take 30 days to fully cure. Your cabinet refinisher will tell you the FULL cure rate (there are several time points to be aware of:

1. Dry time; 2. 95% cure = time to full use; 3. Full cure rate). Once you have the timing of the FULL cure rate you can make arrangements with the flooring people.

The reason why the FULL CURE rate is important is this is the time it takes to get the cabinet paint to be THE TOUGHEST it is going to be. That means it is easier to damage the younger it is. A full cure rate means the paint will be as good as it will ever get. It makes it much harder for the flooring people to damage the finish.

If there is trim to be added to the cabinets, it can be put on at a later date. The floors can be finished and then the trim can be put on. Or you simply arrange for touch-ups to be added to the cabinets at a later date. It is important to agree upon touch ups for later. It means the cabinet people will keep your colour choice on file (possibly mix enough for manual touch up to be used later). This is easily done. But you have to ask for it/arrange for it.

The flooring people will do their best but walls and trim always get a snick of something during a refinish. Again this is one reason why some people pay to have the baseboards removed BEFORE the floors are refinished and then reinstalled (fully painted) at a later date. Again this is something you can arrange with the painters. But it has to be discussed and paid for before the work begins (or budgeted of and then paid once the job has been finished).

So long as you understand and PLAN for a little bit of touch up painting to be done AFTER the floors are finished, you will be just fine. Tell both the cabinet people and the painters what you would like done AFTER the floors are finished and they will make arrangements (and budget) for it to happen the way you want it to.

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