When remodeling a kitchen, should you tile under the cabinets and appliances?
May 31, 2010 by MrAuthor
Filed under Appliances
I am tearing out all of the cabinets and removing all of the appliances from the room regardless. I have seen people set the cabinets on the subfloor and tile up to them as well as tile underneath before setting the cabinets. Same with appliances. Which is the proper way, assuming the room is completely cleared out to start with.
I do understand the added cost of tiling the entire floor under cabinets and appliances, however I am asking for the correct way, not necessiarly the most cost effective way. Thanks.
Good question, no easy answer. If it is not too cost prohibitive I would put the tile over the entire floor. Overall the tiling job will be easier and you will not have to worry about or plan for as many tile transitions. If you tile and grout the entire floor first it will look natural if there is only a small section of tile next to one of the cabinet edges. Trying to cut small slivers of tile and get the grout seams clean can be a real pain if you decide to tile around the cabinets. (Just remember to leave enough open space where any new plumbing pipes may need to be run). Also, believe it or not it can be a selling point. The first thing most new home buyers want to change is the cabinets. Having the entire floor covered saves a remodeler from having to redo the entire floor in addition to the cabinets. On the other hand if you pick a trendy tile pattern and it goes out of style or you get tired of it in 5-10 years you will have more work to do if you want to replace the floor without removing the cabinets.
Ultimately I think you need to weigh these factors:
:What is the cost difference to tile the entire floor?
:How much extra time and effort is it to tile around the cabinets?
:How long do plan on living in the current house?
:If you do plan to stay a while which are you more likely to change later on; the floor or the cabinets?
Good luck with your project!