I know it's not a garage. I need some info on tiling a kitchen floor. Do i need to remove the cabinets or shim them up to match the floor thickness? Adding the tile and hardiboard would be 5/8" to 3/4" thick. I am not sure my dishwasher actually has that much adjustment and if you tile in front of it I would think it would make it impossible to remove in the future. Any suggestions?
Tiling a Kitchen Floor
- Thread starter NXGTS
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Beaumont67
Well-known member
I did a reno on my retirement home, last year - basically gutted all the floors through the main level.
Brick bunglow built in 1960 only had 1/2" thick plywood nailed to floor joist's...and squeaked bad.
Where the 3/4" thick hickory plank flooring went, 3/8" exterior grade spruce plywood was glued with deck adhasive (like PL400) and screwed down beforehand.
Where the porcelain tile went down, 3/4" thick plywood was glued and screwed first.
^^^^ This kept all the floors flush without a transition strip...went through lots of screws & glue tubes - and we took out the kitchen, to keep the dishwasher from being trapped.
Brick bunglow built in 1960 only had 1/2" thick plywood nailed to floor joist's...and squeaked bad.
Where the 3/4" thick hickory plank flooring went, 3/8" exterior grade spruce plywood was glued with deck adhasive (like PL400) and screwed down beforehand.
Where the porcelain tile went down, 3/4" thick plywood was glued and screwed first.
^^^^ This kept all the floors flush without a transition strip...went through lots of screws & glue tubes - and we took out the kitchen, to keep the dishwasher from being trapped.
Last edited:
rjwilliams
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- Joined
- May 4, 2012
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- 137
Pull the dishwasher out and jack the feet. The feet are used for leveling and probably extended pretty far out of the dishwasher to allow it to be secured to the bottom of the counter. Screwing them back in will lower the dishwasher until the tile is installed underneath. This should buy you the amount of room you need for tile, mortar, and backer clearance.
Shea
Well-known member
Just measure from the bottom of your countertop to the floor. Subtract the 3/4" for the floor and that is what your dishwasher needs to clear. Dishwasher heights run from 33 to 34" with cabinets being 35" to the bottom of the countertop. Most countertops are 1" thick so that you end up with a total of 36" for countertop height. You should be fine unless you have a Bosch dishwasher. I think they are just over 34" tall.
Don't shim the lower cabinets up unless you want to go through all the trouble of trying to level them. That's not even considering how it affects the current countertop you have plus backsplash. Take your tile right up to the toe kicks and leave about a 1/4" gap for caulk. Save a few remaining pieces to set your dishwasher on when you slide it back in.
The only reason I know this is because I tiled our kitchen with 1/2 limestone with thinset for a height of around 3/4". It should work just fine
Don't shim the lower cabinets up unless you want to go through all the trouble of trying to level them. That's not even considering how it affects the current countertop you have plus backsplash. Take your tile right up to the toe kicks and leave about a 1/4" gap for caulk. Save a few remaining pieces to set your dishwasher on when you slide it back in.
The only reason I know this is because I tiled our kitchen with 1/2 limestone with thinset for a height of around 3/4". It should work just fine