Best Ways to Care for Your Ceramic Tile Floors
Ceramic tile floors are a popular choice for homeowners. They’re easy to clean, long-lasting, and come in various colors, patterns, and styles so you can tailor their look to your…
The call always comes in the same way: frantic, frustrated, and usually about three weeks behind schedule.
The cabinets are ordered. The tile is backordered. And the flooring? Well, nobody thought about how the dishwasher was supposed to fit under the counter once the new LVP went down.
This isn’t a flooring problem. It’s a sequencing problem.
Most people think of flooring as a finish, something you pick toward the end of a project, once the big decisions are done. That mindset is responsible for the delays, budget overruns, and design compromises that frustrate homeowners, builders, designers, and property teams alike.
The truth is simple:
Flooring doesn’t belong at the end of the project lifecycle. It belongs at the beginning, alongside kitchens, baths, and cabinetry.
In both residential and commercial projects, flooring is often deferred with phrases like:
“We’ll decide that later.”
“That comes after cabinets.”
“That’s a finishing detail.”
While the installation of flooring may happen later, the decision-making absolutely should not.
When flooring is postponed, teams often encounter:
These issues don’t stem from poor execution. They stem from poor sequencing.
Flooring decisions influence nearly every phase of a build or renovation, even if the final installation happens later.
Here’s how flooring fits into the lifecycle when approached strategically.
This is where flooring should enter the conversation, before cabinet drawings are finalized, before appliances are selected, and before final budgets are locked.
During planning and design, flooring decisions impact:
→ Overall material palette and aesthetic cohesion: Does the flooring complement or clash with countertops, cabinetry, and wall finishes?
→ Budget allocation: Flooring typically represents 5-10% of total renovation costs and affects other line items.
→ Performance requirements: Durability, moisture resistance, acoustics, slip resistance, and maintenance needs.
→ Transitions between spaces: How will flooring flow between rooms, and where will transition points occur?
→ Long-term lifecycle planning: What’s the expected lifespan, and how does that align with other finishes?
Critical decision point: Even if you’re choosing between 2-3 final options, those options should share similar installation heights and transition requirements. This prevents budget surprises later.
While flooring installation typically hasn’t started yet, decisions made earlier now influence critical groundwork:
→ Subfloor preparation requirements: Does the selected flooring need specific underlayment or moisture barriers?
→ Moisture mitigation planning: What vapor barriers or waterproofing are required?
→ Elevation planning across rooms: How will finished floor heights align throughout the space?
→ Thresholds, door clearances, and transitions: Will doors need to be trimmed? Where do transitions occur?
Skipping flooring input here often leads to expensive rework later, especially when subfloor conditions aren’t aligned with the selected material.
This is where most problems surface…
Kitchens, baths, and cabinetry installations often overlap with flooring decisions, whether intentionally planned or not. When these elements aren’t coordinated early, the results are costly and frustrating.
Key coordination points include:
The Kitchen Island Dilemma
A homeowner selects 12mm luxury vinyl plank after cabinets are ordered with standard 4-inch toe kicks. The new floor height means either custom toe kicks (adding $800-1,200) or visible gaps under the cabinets.
The Dishwasher Trap
Original plans called for tile, but the homeowner switched to thicker engineered hardwood. Now the dishwasher won’t slide under the granite countertop without removing and reinstalling the entire unit, a $400-600 change order that delays the project by days.
The Bathroom Transition
The master bath was designed with the tub surround installed before flooring selection. The chosen large-format tile now creates an awkward 1-inch transition at the tub edge that requires custom metalwork and looks unfinished.
These aren’t edge cases. They happen on projects every single week, and they’re entirely preventable with early coordination.
These same sequencing challenges scale exponentially in commercial environments, but the root issue is the same across residential and commercial projects:
→ For homeowners, late flooring decisions show up as delays, rework, and unexpected costs.
→ For commercial teams, those same issues multiply across dozens or hundreds of units.
A multi-family property ordering 200 units of cabinetry before finalizing flooring specifications can face delays across entire buildings. A senior living facility that doesn’t account for mobility device clearances during the planning phase creates ADA compliance issues that are expensive, and embarrassing, to fix later.
When flooring isn’t considered until after cabinetry is ordered or installed, teams are forced into compromises: aesthetic, functional, or financial.
Early flooring planning eliminates these conflicts entirely.
At this stage, flooring installation should feel predictable, not stressful.
Because the decisions were made earlier:
This is what a well-sequenced project looks like.
When flooring is treated as a last-minute decision, the financial impact compounds quickly.
→ Material rush fees: 15-30% premium for expedited shipping when standard lead times are missed
→ Rework labor: $500-2,000+ for cabinet toe-kick modifications, door trimming, threshold adjustments, or appliance reinstallation
→ Change orders: Average 8-12% markup on scope changes that weren’t anticipated
→ Project delays: Each week of delay costs homeowners in extended temporary housing or double mortgage payments; commercial projects lose daily rental income or occupancy revenue
→ Compromised outcomes: Settling for “in-stock” materials that don’t match design intent or performance requirements
For a $75,000 kitchen renovation, poor flooring timing can add $3,000-7,500 in unplanned costs.
For a 50-unit commercial renovation, it can mean $25,000-50,000+ in lost time and materials.
None of these outcomes are inevitable. They are the result of sequencing decisions, not flooring itself.
Not sure if you’re thinking about flooring early enough? Ask these three questions:
1. Has flooring informed the cabinet order?
Does your cabinetry vendor know the finished floor height? Have toe-kick dimensions, island placement, and appliance clearances been confirmed with flooring in mind?
2. Do we know the finished floor elevation in every room?
Can you confidently map transitions, door clearances, and thresholds across the entire project?
3. Is flooring accounted for in the critical path timeline?
Are material lead times, installation windows, and trade coordination built into the project schedule?
If you answered “no” or “not sure” to any of these, flooring hasn’t entered the conversation early enough.
The most successful projects, whether a single-family kitchen remodel or a 200-unit multi-family renovation, treat flooring as part of a coordinated system.
For homeowners and designers: This means bringing flooring selections into conversations with your kitchen designer, cabinetry vendor, and general contractor simultaneously, not sequentially. Flooring should be part of the initial material board and budget discussions.
For builders and property teams: This means integrating flooring specifications into project schedules alongside MEP, cabinetry, and millwork, with lead times, dependencies, and installation windows clearly mapped. Flooring becomes a planning checkpoint, not an afterthought.
For everyone: This means working with flooring partners who understand project sequencing, not just product installation. Partners who can advise on timing, coordinate with other trades, and help avoid the costly mistakes that come from treating flooring as a finish rather than a foundational decision.
Flooring doesn’t need to be installed first.
It just needs to be planned first.
The projects that run smoothest aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets or the longest timelines.
They’re the ones where flooring was considered early, planned strategically, and coordinated with every trade it touches.
Because here’s the reality: flooring doesn’t slow projects down.
Late flooring decisions do.
If you’re starting a renovation, a build, or a commercial project, ask yourself: when does flooring enter the conversation?
If the answer is “after everything else is decided” you’re already behind.
Q: When should I start thinking about flooring in a renovation?
A: Flooring should be part of initial planning discussions, ideally before cabinetry is ordered and before final budgets are locked. Even if you don’t finalize your exact product, understanding flooring height, transitions, and coordination needs prevents costly changes later.
Q: Does flooring need to be installed before or after cabinets?
A: Installation timing varies by project and material type, but the decision about flooring must happen before cabinets are ordered. Cabinet toe-kick heights, appliance clearances, and island placement all depend on knowing your finished floor height.
Q: What happens if I wait to pick flooring until the end of my project?
A: Late flooring decisions often result in material rush fees (15-30% premium), change orders for cabinet or appliance modifications ($500-2,000+), project delays, and compromised design outcomes from settling for available materials rather than preferred choices.
Q: How does flooring timing affect commercial projects differently than residential?
A: Commercial projects face the same sequencing challenges at scale. Poor flooring timing across multi-unit properties can delay entire buildings, create ADA compliance issues, and multiply coordination costs across hundreds of units. The financial impact of delays is also magnified through lost rental income.
Q: What if I’m working with multiple contractors? Who coordinates flooring timing?
A: This is where having a flooring partner who understands the full project lifecycle becomes essential. The best approach is to designate one point of contact (often the general contractor or project manager) who ensures flooring decisions are communicated to all relevant trades early in the planning process.
Ready to bring flooring into your project at the right time?
Whether you’re planning a residential renovation or managing commercial construction, ACS helps teams coordinate flooring decisions early to avoid delays, protect budgets, and preserve design intent.
Tell us the details so we can work with you.
A live flooring professional will guide your project from material selection to installation — including design options, ordering, scheduling, delivery, and invoicing. One-stop service. One point of contact. We look forward to working with you.
Commercial & Residential Flooring Specialists
The Say Yes Company
347 Broadway,
Passaic, NJ 07055