Do You Install Tile Floor Before Cabinets

Typically cabinets come before flooring.

Do you install tile floor before cabinets.

If they want to change flooring at a later date you don t have to remove the cabinets. For example when you re installing post form countertops they rest directly on the cabinet base. But if you have to install the flooring first here s a method that will avoid some of the problems i just described. New tiles can be added to tile flooring but hardwood flooring that has been under cabinets will always have a different look than floors that have been walked on.

Cabinets are installed after the finished floor. Raising the cabinets to the new floor level may throw off the standard dimension of the backsplash area. The rest under the cabinets can be filled with plywood or other solid materials to have a surface for the cabinets to rest on. There are a couple quality items to consider when installing the cabinets before flooring.

Cabinets before flooring setting the cabinetry in place before installing the flooring means not having to worry about floor damage during cabinet installation. No wasted tile and appliances can me moved for repairs without problems. This is easiest with linoleum or vinyl tiles. Those are all good reasons to lay a kitchen floor after the cabinets are in.

Install plywood in remaining area to exact height of tile floor to finish cabinet install. Solid granite slabs might require a base layer of plywood while a ceramic tile manufacturer. If you remove the vanity tile the floor underneath the vanity just like you do the rest of the floor. The benefit of installing the tile assembly after the cabinets stone countertops and other dead loads are installed understanding that the floor was designed to handle these loads is to help ensure the system is placed into compression before the tile is installed meaning the force of downward pressure on the finished installation is minimized.

Put all the base cabinets in place then mark a line on the subfloor corresponding to the front edge of the toekick. Do be careful if you have 8 ceilings and tall upper cabinets with crown moldings up to the ceiling. Install tile under cabinets and floor based appliances with a 2 inset this allows you to move the pattern and grout lines where needed. In most cases given standard flooring heights you will install the cabinets before the floor covering.

When the time comes to reinstall the vanity you will simply install the new piece of hardware through the tiles and into the floor. Shim up base cabinets keeping in mind the underlayment and flooring thickness the base cabinets should be raised up to accommodate the thickness after installation of the floor.