Putting new kitchen in - sand floors before or after?

Hi

I have had two quotes about sanding our floors.

One person said that they would come in and sand when the kitchen was pulled out and then come back and stain. The other said that they would sand back once the kitchen was put in and then stain.

In my opinion the first option seems better and safer although it makes it a bit harder for me as I am having to move out with the kids for a few days when they stain.

The guy who said he would sand/stain when the kitchen was in seemed very confident that the kitchen would be ok when I mentioned my concern. The fact that he is cheaper is also a bonus and again means that I can move out for a few days in a row.

It doesn't matter if the skirting boards in the hall/other rooms get stained (although he said they won't) as we are painting later.

What are peoples thoughts/experiences.

Thanks in advance.

We ripped out the old kitchen, laid new floorboards, installed new kitchen then had boards sanded and stained. Floor guy said if he sanded or polished first, the kitchen cabinets being installed would definitely cause damage to the floors. There was no damage to the kitchen cabinets when he sanded and polished the boards (although he turned out to be a lousy floor polisher and our job was done terribly! But in the correct order I think)

My preferred method is to install the kitchen minus the kickers and panels that reach the floor. Then sand and finish the floor then install the kickers and panels. This gives you the best of both worlds.
The sander can sand just in under the cupboards without worrying about damaging them. Then I can finish the cupboards without damaging your beautiful new floors.

I've just installed the kitchen and flooring in my friends house (He's a floor sander) and this is how we are doing it there.

We installed our kitchen and sanded afterwards. Hubby wouldnt have it any other way.

What if there is a leak of water onto the untreated timbers?
I personally…..would want those timbers under the cabinets treated….just in case.

We sanded the floors and used the waterbased finish prior to installing the kitchen. We did both jobs ourselves and there was no damage to the floor when installing the flat pack. Now there is no worry if we ever decide to change the kitchen around about seeing any unpolished floor.