fitting a kitchen should i tile floor first or after?

[rolysatch]

hi

i'm ripping out my really old kitchen and fitting a new one. i'm going to be tiling the floor, i'm going to be fitting a plinth all the way round the bottom with the tiles just past this as opposed to wasting tiles and tiling the whole floor.

should i tile the floor after fitting the units, bearing in mind that i won't know the exact height of the floor when allowing for fitting a plinth and cut the plinth to fit or is it normall practice to tile first?

any advice appreciated.

roland

 

[kev3]

Fit the units first then tile upto the legs,fit the plinths last.If you really want to avoid cutting the plinths you could stand the base units in place,tile the floor then wind the legs up to suit the plinth before screwing the base units back but seems a lot of hassle just to avoid cutting down the plinths.

 

[noseall]

always tile the whole floor first.

better for everyone.

 

[rolysatch]

Fit the units first then tile upto the legs,fit the plinths last.If you really want to avoid cutting the plinths you could stand the base units in place,tile the floor then wind the legs up to suit the plinth before screwing the base units back but seems a lot of hassle just to avoid cutting down the plinths.

hi kev

thanks for the answer, i don't have a problem with cutting down the plinths, i just wasn't sure if that was usual practice.

thanks again

 

[rolysatch]

always tile the whole floor first.

better for everyone.

thanks for the reply, i could tile the whole floor first but it just seemed like a bit of a waste of time and money when they're not going to ever be seen.

thanks again

 

[^neo^]

i'm with the tile the whole lot theory.
What if you change your mind about a unit and want to take it out in a couple of years time or something? Left with a bare floor.

 

[rolysatch]

i'm with the tile the whole lot theory.
What if you change your mind about a unit and want to take it out in a couple of years time or something? Left with a bare floor.

you do have a point

 

[kjacko]

tiling the whole floor first?

pros:
gives an overall even surface to work on
if you change units, no problem
You can then use units WITHOUT bargeboards for the fancy look

cons:
extra cost
extra work

Your choice.

 

[jefoss]

i like tiling the whole floor but it is extra cost, plus think are you ever gonna move everything?
after all, your ripping everything out then to your liking, do you really think youll be shifting it all round again soon?

probably not...

 

[Symptoms]

roland - it's common (good) practice to tile the whole floor first then put the units in. In reality, how much money are you going to save by not doing it? It'll also make the kitchen installation easier 'cos you've got a flat surface to work on (as per kjacko's post).

 

[kev3]

Not sure about common practice I've been tiling for 25 years on building sites and domestic and I'd say at least 95% of the time the units are fitted before tiling.Don't get me wrong takes out some of the awkward cuts if you tile the whole floor and providing I'm not buying the tiles I'm happy to do so.
Not sure I'd buy the level surface to work on bit either, most floors aren't bang level before or after they're tiled and as the units have adjustable legs I dont see that makes much difference anyway.

 

[kjacko]

Lol, isn't your job to make good the floor level after tiling kev?
I think the point might be that if you look under most kitchen units that haven't been tiled they tend to be a right mess of uneven surfaces etc.
At least with a fully tiled kitchen you're much nearer a decent overall level playing field.

That said, i'll be fitting units first then tiling/flooring......probably!

 

[kev3]

Also if you fit the units first you get to do the tile setting out with everything in place so you don't end up with things looking off centre once the units go in.

 

[kev3]

No my job is to lay tiles on the surface I'm given I make it look flat but its not necessarily level.Put a level line round your kitchen and check how far out the floor (and ceiling for that matter)is.

 

[kjacko]

thats a good point kev, cos when i was in a kitchen last week the tile lines were jutting out at a weird angle from under the bargeboards. If it were tiled after fitting the units then that wouldn't have happened and it wouldn't have looked so odd.