Can I Install a Laminate Floor Under Kitchen Cabinets?

Q: Should you install a laminate floor under your new kitchen cabinets? My contractors recommends that i install them under the cabinet so I won’t have that space between the flooring and the cabinet base.
Ronnie R.
Chicago, IL
A: Although this may be more visually appealing this is a big “no no.” Let me explain why. Floating floors are just that, floating, meaning that they are not physically anchored to the subfloor. Due to this installation method, placing rather heavy object at the edge of a floor will cause it to tilt slightly and can cause buckling along the areas of the floor not covered by your cabinets.
Make sure to install your floor with the expansion gaps against your cabinets. To cover this gap, allow for enough room to fit your trim or cut away an expansion gap into the base of your cabinets so that the expansion gap is covered, but the cabinets are still not resting on the floor itself. If these cabinets are to be newly built, have your builder account for an expansion gap while building the cabinets (this is similar to cutting the bottom of a door jamb to account for a wood floor to be installed underneath it with proper expansion room.