Question about converting kitchen from Carpet to Hardwood

imautoparts

I'd love to convert my kitchen from carpet to a modern hardwood - but I'm very scared of "locking" my dishwasher into place.

It is a standard USA kitchen, with top-quality cabinets installed in 1968. The dishwasher opening was built in at that time.

Should I be worried? I can get the dishwasher out over the carpet....

oh'mike

Yes you should be worried---Dishwashers are the shortest lived of the common appliances--

If the machine can't be adjusted so it can be removed---consider removing the counter top and adding a 3/4" wood riser to the top of the cabinet---

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imautoparts

I'd love to convert my kitchen from carpet to a modern hardwood - but I'm very scared of "locking" my dishwasher into place.

It is a standard USA kitchen, with top-quality cabinets installed in 1968. The dishwasher opening was built in at that time.

Should I be worried? I can get the dishwasher out over the carpet....

imautoparts

Other than getting a board of the flooring, ripping up my carpet and nailing it down to try it, is there any way you can think of to determine my clearance? At this stage in the planning process I need to find out if it is going to be a problem - if necessary I'll go with sheet vinyl, but I hope not to.

oh'mike

Pull out the dishwasher---raise the levelers as much as possible and measure it----

Or go to a bump and dent appliance outlet and do it to one of the machines that is out of the box---
Often the machines will accommodate 3/4" flooring--but only if the original opening was 34 1/2 inches---

Do check---it is best to remove the machine during the install and add flooring under the machine---usually plywood in back and hardwood in the front few inches--

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funfool

imautoparts are you trolling?
I would rather have bare plywood floors in a kitchen then carpet.
Pull out the carpet and see how much room you have. Does it actually have carpet pad and deep pile? or is it thin outdoor carpet and no pad?

With the cost of installing real hardwood, you have other options of flooring.
What is under the carpet now?

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imautoparts

No, not trolling (whatever that means)

My new wife says the same as you, she'd rather have ANYTHING but carpet in the kitchen - but we've had carpet in 100% of our rooms including baths and kitchen since 1968. In about 1/2 the house it is original - but since it was originally top quality it still vacuums well and looks good.

Subfloors are a heavy pressed board - a very dense board that does not take water exposure at all. Currently in the kitchen there is a tight loop pile carpet on pad similar to what you would see in the lobby of a hotel.

There was another reply here, but it has disappeared. In it the poster said a standard opening is 34 1/2 inches, and to check how far I can raise my feet on the dishwasher. Well, the opening is that tall, but the feet are hardly raised at all. There is approx 1/2" at the top edge of the dishwasher.

I think I'm going to have to be brave and jerk the carpet to test some samples before I commit to a particular hardwood. This concern certainly eliminates the idea of any underlayment - so I guess I'll have to put the wood right on the subfloor. Will that work?

creeper

I don't mean to be rude, but the same carpet in the house since 1968. Thats just wrong

I'd rather have wood chips or shredded newspaper than carpet in a bathroom

joecaption

And if it's just partical board subflooring that's going to have to go to.
It does not hold nails or stables. And changes size just from changing humidy, never mind if water gets on it. Then it turns to oatmeal.

joecaption

43 year old carpet, now that's got to be pretty.
Carpet in a kitchen and bathroom are super huge no no's.

rusty baker

That was the decorator thing in the 70's and 80's.

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zakany

No worries. You can always remove your base cabinets and floor underneath them (plywood, if you want to save a few bucks).

The good news is that it is easy to remove base cabinets. Unless your counter tops are adhered to the tops of them and not screwed in place. Even then, you can gently pry them up.

Likely, each cabinet is screwed into the wall behind it and they are screwed together (my builder loved hiding those screws behind the hinges. Oh the joy of missing one of those and suddenly having two or three cabinets coming down at me from the wall).

Normally, I recommend tile in the kitchen. But I fear that your subflooring just isn't up to snuff. You may want a floating wood floor rather that a nail-down installation. Then again, even the best engineered hardwood can warp and delaminate if exposed to a lot of water.

rusty baker

Why not just put vinyl in the kitchen? Warmer than wood or tile and easier to clean up a mess. And if you drop something, it's not as apt to break.

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"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

gregzoll

75 posts in 9 days, they are either bored, unemployed, or bloating their post count as a newbie.

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gregzoll

First off, what is a USA Kitchen. Second, who still has cabinets in decent shape in their Kitchen, that are dating back 45 years, same for a Dishwasher.

If your dishwasher is still running and in good shape from 45 years ago, I want to know the manufacturer, because I want that machine in my kitchen.

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