Browse Forums Bathrooms and Laundry 1 Dec 15, 2010 8:27 am Is it better to have floor tiles laid first and then cabinets placed on top OR cabinets fitted into place and tiles cut and laid around them? You see our wet areas are currently being tiled. Our cabinet maker was asked to have all cabinets in place so tiling could commence. Due to various reasons his guys were only able to fit the the ensuite, powder room and main bathroom cabinets. The laundry cabinets were on site but hadn't been fitted in the laundry. They planned to return on Monday morning to fit the laundry cabinets and were sent away by the tiler who told them it was too late.....and then proceeded to tile right over the area where the cabinets need to go! We were told that those laundry cabinets would have to be fitted on top of the tiles. I demanded that they be done the way WE wanted them done but so far no more work has happened in that area. I was furious because the tiler had only made a start on the bathroom floor and there was no reason why he couldn't have made a start on the ensuite floors while the cabinet makers installed the laundry cabinets and then the tiler could have come back to the laundry but the tradesmen were just being arrogant rather than coming to a suitable agreement. The cabinet maker we selected is not the person this building company normally uses (it was someone WE picked) and I strongly suspect that there is some sort of 'history' between the building company, the tiler they use and the cabinet maker we picked. We have the cabinet maker telling us it is better to have the cabinets in first and the tilers telling us they are already laid and it doesn't matter to have the cabinets on top and I'm not sure whether they are just telling us that to avoid having to cut and lay the tiles around the cabinets. I am worried about damage and (possibly even additional costs) if I insist that the tiles be ripped up, cabinets put in and tiled back up to the edge of the cabinets. Am I just cutting off my nose to spite my face? Does it really matter if the laundry cabinets are on top of the tiles? Any pros and cons? Thanks in advance for your help! We all know how stressful this building process can be and I think it will be a load off my mind if I can just make a decision! Cheers! Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 2Dec 15, 2010 8:38 am It is no big deal either way. Certainly nothing to worry about. What ever they want to do, it's going to be fine. Our house thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=18335 Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 3Dec 15, 2010 8:47 am Personally I would prefer the tiles first for few reasons: 1. Any spiled water won't stick to the floor. 2. You will still have 'complete' flooring if you decided to remove or change the cabinets in the future. However, it looks better if you install the cabinet first Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 4Dec 15, 2010 1:55 pm It's a bit weird having the tiles in first, never seen it done. You would have the cabinets in first so they can easily drill into the slab without worrying about cracking tiles, and most importantly, its a much more finished look with the gap between them sealed with grout. I would have probably gone off at the tiler. Builder's responsibility to sort out though. Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 5Dec 15, 2010 4:58 pm Oh trust me when I say that I did go off at the builder. Although I am accustomed to cabinets first followed by tiles- apparently it isn't "uncommon" to do it the other way around. I am being reassured that it will look fine with cabinets on top but I just don't know! Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 6Dec 15, 2010 7:33 pm Tiles first lets you have freedom to change your design later on. Cabinets are screwed to the wall studs not floor, so no need to worry in that regard Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 7Dec 15, 2010 8:42 pm Sheepdog It's a bit weird having the tiles in first, never seen it done. You would have the cabinets in first so they can easily drill into the slab without worrying about cracking tiles, and most importantly, its a much more finished look with the gap between them sealed with grout. I would have probably gone off at the tiler. Builder's responsibility to sort out though. I personally have never seen a cabinet installed first in a bathroom. And why would they need to be drilling into the slab? Fixing is normally done to the wall not the floor. And I think it is a much more finished look where the cabinet is over the top of the tiles, meaning there is no grout etc to be seen. Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 8Dec 15, 2010 9:15 pm AJW Sheepdog It's a bit weird having the tiles in first, never seen it done. You would have the cabinets in first so they can easily drill into the slab without worrying about cracking tiles, and most importantly, its a much more finished look with the gap between them sealed with grout. I would have probably gone off at the tiler. Builder's responsibility to sort out though. I personally have never seen a cabinet installed first in a bathroom. And why would they need to be drilling into the slab? Fixing is normally done to the wall not the floor. And I think it is a much more finished look where the cabinet is over the top of the tiles, meaning there is no grout etc to be seen. I've been around building sites since I was a kid and always seen the cabinets go in first. Just as your kitchen is put in before flooring. Regarding how they're fixed, I'm referring to cabinets in general. For example in kitchens, you would have fixing into the ground depending on the layout of the kitchen (i.e. islands, long wrap around benches), but you're right, bathroom vanities wouldn't, I was off topic. To each their own in regards to what you prefer but I would rather see the tile be cut to the point of the cabinet instead of seeing the grout line run under the cabinets. To me that makes it look more permanent. But all in all, Missy, it's VERY minor either way. God knows I stressed about the smallest things during the build and it really is something you'd never notice again. And as others have mentioned, there are advantages to doing it this way also. So yeah, ignore everything I've said and stress less Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 9Dec 17, 2010 8:41 am I just thought I would pop back into this thread to say it's all fine! I elected to just have the laundry cupboards put on top of the tiles and it looks fine! The wet areas aren't finished yet but when you look at the bathrooms and the laundry it doesn't look all that different. I'm so relieved. I think what made me cross was the fact that I knew this chaotic rush would happen and I knew there would be tradesmen 'working on top of each other' trying to get things completed and I was paranoid about the tradesmen rushing their work and not giving us exactly what we want (or giving us sub-standard work) I know that this happened due to the inability of these guys to put aside any past history and work around each other. It is the lack of common sense and arrogance that annoyed me the most...but it is all fine so I'll get over it LOL. Thanks for your messages- it really helped to reassure me that it would look perfectly fine! Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 10Dec 17, 2010 1:10 pm most builders put cabinet in first so they can hid any unevenness with the slab. I prefer tiles to go down first but you need to check that the floor is level. otherwise you can end up with unsightly gaps Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 11Dec 18, 2010 9:56 am Tiles First -The tiler does not need to cut around a cabinet then grout in. Any cut you dont see is better than one you do. Over time the grout around kickboards and the extremeities of the cabinet tends to crack. We always aim to hide cuts not show them. -If in the future you need to say change a vanity or top you need to get one exactly the same size. -The reason builders do this is so the cabinet makers can came in and fitout all at once (cost saving). I have never seen say a bathroom renovation where the tiles are done second. Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 13Dec 19, 2010 9:23 am I'm sure it's fine either way in most cases, however, we had the plinths under our bathroom vanities tiled the same as the floors, so placing the cabinets on top of the tiles would have been stupid. Not to mention a waste of tiles, as Candylea pointed out. Miss, how does it look where the cabinets join the floor? I imagine they've sealed all edges with waterproof caulking compound or clear silicone? As long as that's done neatly, I bet nobody would notice the difference. Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 14Dec 19, 2010 12:10 pm after renovating i could never understand why floors werent finished under cupboards or roofs plastered all the way it seemed stupid to me as cabinets get old and need replacing for the few extra bucks seriously its a royal pain in the butt for renovaters later on. im tiling and plastering eveywhere first including plastering behind the bathtub frame that way future renovaters can change the layout with out trying to match sizes or floor colors stay safe happy building Re: Tiles first or cabinets first. What is better? 15Dec 19, 2010 12:59 pm It is not complete but so far it is looking OK. When they put the cabinets in place they put a clear silicone / water proofing compound on the inside (where you can't see it) There will also be the layer on the outside along the edge (which hasn't been done yet) but like you say as long as it is done neatly it shouldn't be an issue I agree it did seem like such a waste of tiles- but it is done now and they can bear the costs given that they were too impatient to wait for the cabinet maker to bring them in from the room next door LOL! I can see people's point with renovating- it makes sense (although I think that for me personally if I was getting to the point where I wanted to renovate- if it was time for the cupboards to go- I'd probably also rip up the tiles too!) You can really use anything you want the main consideration would be how it looks once painted/finished - or the look you want. Cabinetmakers use MDF because its cheap… 2 9963 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39748 brokers will also be in a position to get you a better rate than the advertised rate most times. 6 7584 |