plywood or wonderboard+tile under cabinets?

[Jeff Trawick]

My kitchen floor is stripped down to the subfloor (1x8s laid at a
diagonal) and there are no cabinets installed. Eventually there will
be cabinets and ceramic tile.

choices:

a) I've seen a few references on the web that said to tile
wall-to-wall then install cabinets over it.

b) My kitchen designer suggested 3/4" plywood under the cabinets and
tile the rest. 3/4" would be close enough to the height of 1/2"
wonderboard-type product + tile.

Is it real important either way (a vs. b)?

Thanks!
--
Jeff Trawick | tra...@attglobal.net
Born in Roswell... married an alien...

[Skip]

"Jeff Trawick" <tra...@attglobal.net> wrote in message
news:m3elcsh...@rdu88-250-106.nc.rr.com...

I would go with (b) for two reasons. If you ever change your tile it is
easier if it's tiled up to the cab bases not under. And why pay for the tile
and install for (depending on kitchen size) maybe 40-50 sq ft of nada?

[Joe]

My kitchen cabinets were installed over a tile floor when the house was
built in 1984. I recently had to remove the kitchen tile and luan
underlayment in order to install a 3/4" pre-finished oak floor and have it
be level with the wood flooring in the adjacent rooms. There was no way I
was going to remove the base cabinets in order to demo the tile under them.
I had to cut both the tile and underlayment flush with the cabinet
baseboards. It was a bit of a pain to do. I wished they were installed on
top of plywood. Something to think about....ceramic tile has to be removed
at some point in order for the replacement floor to be level with adjacent
flooring and also allow for easy under-cabinet appliance removal. Ceramic
tile in the kitchen will crack and chip from abuse over many years and then
it is difficult to match when you run out of spares.
Put the cabinets on plywood.

"Jeff Trawick" <tra...@attglobal.net> wrote in message
news:m3elcsh...@rdu88-250-106.nc.rr.com...

[Steve Manes]

On Wed, 21 Aug 2002 11:01:25 GMT, Jeff Trawick <tra...@attglobal.net>
wrote:

>My kitchen floor is stripped down to the subfloor (1x8s laid at a
>diagonal) and there are no cabinets installed. Eventually there will
>be cabinets and ceramic tile.
>
>choices:
>
>a) I've seen a few references on the web that said to tile
> wall-to-wall then install cabinets over it.
>
>b) My kitchen designer suggested 3/4" plywood under the cabinets and
> tile the rest. 3/4" would be close enough to the height of 1/2"
> wonderboard-type product + tile.

Install cement board or Wonderboard over the entire floor, then the
cabinets, then the tile. Kitchen plumbing, refrigerators and
dishwashers can leak and moisture can find its way between and under
cabinets, where it will cause a plywood subfloor to rot and insects to
nest. Repairing this will require removal of the base cabinets.

Cement board under the cabinets will prevent this. As a matter of
fact, I like to use cement on the wall up to the level line of the
wall cabinets. Besides reducing moisture problems it provides a
better base for tile backsplashes and a handy cleat for hanging the
cabinets.

------------------------------------------=o&>o----
Steve Manes, Brooklyn, USA
www.magpie.com

[Jeff Trawick]

Steve Manes <sma...@NOSPAM.HEREmagpie.com> writes:

> On Wed, 21 Aug 2002 11:01:25 GMT, Jeff Trawick <tra...@attglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
> >My kitchen floor is stripped down to the subfloor (1x8s laid at a
> >diagonal) and there are no cabinets installed. Eventually there will
> >be cabinets and ceramic tile.
> >
> >choices:
> >
> >a) I've seen a few references on the web that said to tile
> > wall-to-wall then install cabinets over it.
> >
> >b) My kitchen designer suggested 3/4" plywood under the cabinets and
> > tile the rest. 3/4" would be close enough to the height of 1/2"
> > wonderboard-type product + tile.
>
> Install cement board or Wonderboard over the entire floor, then the
> cabinets, then the tile.

thanks everybody for your comments...