Advice with new kitchen

[jimbob]

Hi,

We are having a new kitchen fitted in about a month. I am ripping out the old one myself so that the kitchen fitter will have an empty shell, and I am pulling up the flooring so he can fit the units directly onto the concrete floor.

Three questions:

1. I had intended tiling the floor after the kitchen was in (with electric UFH), but am worried that the insulation boards + UFH mats + adhesive + tiles will come too far up the kick boards, thus making the kitchen base units look "stumpy". Does that make sense?? I had thought of laying 6mm insulation boards over the entire floor for the fitter to fit the units onto those, so the only extra height will be the addy, tiles and UFH. Does that sound reasonable, or am I blowing 6mm out of all proportion?!

2. Second question is I shall obviously have to take current splashback tiles off. Assuming half the wall doesn't come off with them and I can take most of the adhesive off too, I will be ok to tile the new splashback directly over it won't I?

3. Lastly, we shall be having a free standing "range" type cooker. What is the usual procedure for tiling floors around these - tile up to it or pull it out, tile the entire space and sit it onto the tiles?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Cheers
Jimbob

[Daveyboy]

Hi Jimbob..

1. You either tile the whole floor or up to the kitchen unit legs. I wouldn't put insulation board under the units without tiling over it first..Save yourself some money and tile up to the kitchen unit legs..Tell the fitters they need to allow for approx 30mm for flooring (10mm insulation, 10mm adhesive and 10mm tile)..they will adjust the legs accordingly thus avoiding a stumpy plinth. If your tiles are thicker, then increase the measurement accordingly.

2. Make sure you remove any old adhesive/loose plaster, fill any holes then prime..Then you can tile..

3. Tile the entire space and sit the cooker on top of the tiles...

[Big D]

Hi i allways think it is better to tile the whole space as on the whole if you work out what money you save by not tiling under the units it is most of the time not very much also in years to come if you suddenly wanted to change layout of kitchen etc you already have tiles underneath so not having to try and marry up colour and size or even worse the tiles being discontinued obviously ufh not under units other wise advise above o.k.

cheers

[diamondtiling]

Tile it all, easier and better for the future

[doug boardley]

As Diamond foer me, if you tile it all you won't have to piece tiles in when you change your kitchen again. It's what I'd do in my own kitchen anyway

[Daveyboy]

I agree it can sometimes be easier to tile the whole floor before the kitchen units go in but Jimbob's original thread suggests he's trying to save money (i.e. ripping out the kitchen himself) so on that basis, he's better off tiling up to the units and saving the money on tiles, adhesive, insulation, etc...

[jimbob]

Thanks very much for the replies.

I am trying to save money it is true, but it is also a time issue. I finish the NETT tiling course on 27th August and the kitchen fitters are in on 31st. Don't fancy my chances of tiling the kitchen floor with UFH in one weekend, especially as its my first job!

We don't intend being in the house for more than 2-3 more years either, so changing the kitchen in future isn't really an issue for us. I'll tell the fitter to adjust the unit legs accordingly I think on this occasion, and I'll plan a bit better for future houses, so I have time to tile whole floor....

[Daveyboy]

Good luck with the course Jimbob..and with the floor..don't forget to post some photos when it's all done!

[Ajax123]

Thanks very much for the replies.

I am trying to save money it is true, but it is also a time issue. I finish the NETT tiling course on 27th August and the kitchen fitters are in on 31st. Don't fancy my chances of tiling the kitchen floor with UFH in one weekend, especially as its my first job!

We don't intend being in the house for more than 2-3 more years either, so changing the kitchen in future isn't really an issue for us. I'll tell the fitter to adjust the unit legs accordingly I think on this occasion, and I'll plan a bit better for future houses, so I have time to tile whole floor....

Could you tile the bits where the units go in the weekend and do the middle afterwards?

[brian c]

tile under the cooker and appliances if they are not integrated.Splashback...if some of the wall comes away with the tiles then fill the holes with adhesive or a suitable filler and tile.Also cheque the tiles and if they need sealing,then do so.

[jimbob]

Could you tile the bits where the units go in the weekend and do the middle afterwards?

As its my first time, it would probably be easier for me to start the room from the beginning, rather than tile round the edges first. If I got the positioning of those tiles wrong, the rest of the floor would look terrible once I'd finished wouldn't it?

One other question though from your point......it is possible then to tile a room in two stages? eg. tile up to kitchen units, let dry, fully grout, then leave for a couple of days/weeks before pulling the cooker out and tiling that little bit seperately

[brian c]

yes it is possible but you are better off tiling everything on the same day.

[doug boardley]

your kitchen fitter could also put thebase units on blocks of ply I suppose, with the legs wound to the middle it'll give maximum scope for adjusting to suit from your finished floor height