Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Replacing floor in kitchen - what about the appliances?

My house is about 5 years old... the kitchen cabinets are still in great shape, and I had 'upgraded' to oak cabinets when the house was built, so they stay.

the counters stay too - for now. They are standard formica, but they look like new, and I'm not really tired of the pattern yet. : )

But the laminate flooring has to go! I'm planning to put prefinished (3/4" in theory) flooring in the family room and kitchen... but, I'm a little concerned about the appliances.

Fridge - no problem, put the floor under it, take care moving it around...

Dishwasher - the current dishwasher is about 6 months old - when the old one started acting up, I ran straight to the nearest lowe's just before they closed, and grabbed a new one : )

Sooo... now I know it's somewhat difficult to get the dishwasher in... the current linoleum runs under the cabinets... under the linoleum, we have luan board (maybe 3/16"?) then osb (over engineered trusses).

And then there's the stove... I'm afraid that raising it a half inch will make it sit above the counter on either side.

So... here's my dilema - do I just rip up the old flooring, cutting around the cabinets, and replace all of it with the hardwood flooring? Do I leave the dishwasher area linoleum, or even take it down to the osb, and hope I can squeeze it in? Do I pull the cabinets, floor the entire area, then put everything back together? : ) Or is there some trick I'm missing? : ) It's possible the stove can be adjusted - I'm not sure if that's a normal thing, and I haven't turned it over to look for adjustable feet just yet.

What do most people do? I'm seeing discussions about putting the hardwood under for water damage reasons, but I didn't find anything about the height problems...

Any help would be greatly appreciated - I'd like to know what I'm getting into before we start the flooring : )

I have been contemplating the same thing, my conclusion has been to just remove everything if I end up going with 3/4 solid (which I 99% sure I will be) My floor is 2X10, 3/4" tounge and groove, 1/2" ply and then Linoleum. I could live with the fridge and stove sitting up a bit, but then there is the dishwaser (no way that will fit with flooring under, or come back out if I lay the floor up to it). I have a 12' Section of railing seperating the diningroom and sunken livingroom as well, and I don't want the floor to sit up above that base either.

So....I will be pulling the countertop, the base cabinets and the center island, removing the linoleum and the 1/2" ply to reduce the floor as much as I can. In all reality, it isn't really gonna cost any more money, just my labor. I figure this way too, If I ever want to move the island, or change the base cabinets around, there will be matching flooring below them.

Later

Josh

*sigh*

I know my brother and father will NOT be happy with that idea, and they are my free labor : )

But, it's the only option I'm really seeing... I *think* the counters and cabinets will come out somewhat easily (i.e., minimal damage)... but it'll be a mess... still, if it's the only way to do it correctly, it has to be done... mental note: mark the walls with a sharpie, so the cabinets go back where they came from : )

I was hoping someone would say 'just did the same thing, and here's how'

Thank you for the response - if anyone else has any ideas, please share : )

Both the dishwasher and stove have adjustable legs on them. See if you can put them in their lowest position to get them to fit. The dishwasher should be esay to accomodate the floor. You might have to remove the leverers on the stove. Experiment with scrap wood to see if it works.
Ron