The short answer
The floor goes in before the units, provided it is a continuous floor across the whole room. Floor first, units on top, and the plinth covers the joint. The exception is a floating timber or laminate floor: there the units go in first and the floor is cut around them.
The order, start to finish
- Strip out and remove the old kitchen, its appliances and the tiling if it is being replaced.
- Building work: partitions, chasing and making good. It is the dirtiest stage and it goes first.
- Plumbing and electrics: water, waste and the new circuits are left in their final positions, following the kitchen plan.
- Tiling or panelling on the walls that will remain visible.
- Floor, if it is ceramic, porcelain or microcement: continuous across the whole room, including under where the units will go.
- Ceiling paint and first coat on the walls.
- Fitting the units, levelled on the finished floor.
- Worktop: template taken off the fitted units, fitted three to ten days later.
- Sink, tap and appliances, with their connections.
- Snagging, silicone and cleaning.
Why the floor goes first
- So you can change the kitchen in fifteen years. If the floor only reaches as far as the units, changing the layout later exposes the gap and the floor has to be laid again.
- To level properly. Units are adjusted on the finished floor. Fit them on the slab and then raise the floor, and the plinth no longer fits.
- So the dishwasher comes out. The practical reason people forget: if the floor rises a centimetre afterwards, the dishwasher is wedged in and cannot be removed without taking off the worktop.
- Because of the plinth. It is made to sit on the finished floor and close the joint. With no floor underneath, pieces have to be cut to fit.
The exception: floating floors
A laminate or floating timber floor is neither nailed nor glued: it moves, expanding and contracting with humidity and temperature. Put a heavy unit on top and the floor is pinned, and it ends up lifting or opening at the joints.
So with a floating floor the order reverses: the units go directly on the base and the floor is laid around them, keeping its perimeter expansion gap against the plinth. What you lose is the ability to move the units without touching the floor.
Who has to be there, and when
| Stage | Who | What gets decided |
|---|---|---|
| Before starting | Designer and fitter | The final plan with water and power positions |
| Chasing day | Plumber and electrician | The exact height of every point; marked on the wall |
| Before tiling | You | How far the tiling goes and where it stops |
| Fitting day | Fitter | Wall unit height, door swing, visible socket |
| Worktop template | Stone fabricator | Overhang, edge detail and position of cut-outs |
| Final snagging | You and the fitter | Everything to adjust before signing off |
Chasing day is the most important and the one fewest people attend. It is when the exact height of every outlet is fixed, and correcting it afterwards means opening the walls again.
Questions we get asked
Does the floor go under the kitchen units?
Yes, if it is ceramic, porcelain or microcement: continuous across the room. It lets you change the layout later without relaying the floor, and it lets the plinth sit as intended.
What if the floor is laminate or floating timber?
Then it reverses: units first, floor laid around them with its expansion gap. A floating floor pinned by the weight of the units ends up lifting.
Tile before or after fitting the kitchen?
Before, always. Tiling afterwards leaves a visible edge and a bare strip the day the kitchen is replaced.
When does the painting happen?
Ceiling and first coat before the fit. The touch-ups at the end, after the fitter has finished and marked the wall at the fixing points.
Shall we look at it with your kitchen on screen?
An hour in the showroom, your kitchen on screen and the price fixed the same day. No commitment, and no follow-up calls unless you want them.
