# Kitchen cabinet install problem



## TedT (Feb 5, 2009)

I need some advice on replacing kitchen cabinets.

Whoever owned the house before me, decided to do 1x1ceramic tile on the walls and 12x12on the floor.  So the wall tile butts up to the cabinets everywhere and the floor tile butts up to the edges of the cabinet bottoms.  So when I remove the cabinets, I will have recesses on the walls, the depth of the thickness of the wall tiles, and recesses in the floor, the thickness of the floor tiles.

So I am trying to figure out what a professional would do.  My thought is not try to fit cabinets into the recesses, but to fill the recesses with thin plywood or Masonite so the walls and floor all are the same height, so new cabinets can fit flush over everything  and hope that not too much will show if the new cabinets are slightly smaller.

Does anyone have any other thoughts or comments?

Thanks for your help.
TedT


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## kok328 (Feb 5, 2009)

That's pretty much what I would do.  Maybe not professional but, who's gonna know after the cabinets cover it up.  Maybe some paint or trim to help cover any exposed backing.


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## inspectorD (Feb 6, 2009)

I agree, you could also add some trim to the bottom of the cabinets to make up some space. 
I have also installed a piece of tile around the layout of the cabinets in the floor as a border, but this means sometimes removing a couple of pieces to make the lines work.
Hope this helps.


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## jdougn (Feb 6, 2009)

Hey Ted,

This is a common problem whenever working on older homes. The solution is pretty much exactly what you are thinking, and others have said too. Just get a plan going on what works before you start installing the cabinets. Play around with shifting the position of the wall cabinets and floor cabinets. Quarter round, scribe molding, and clean caulk lines all help conceal rough edges.

A friend of mine once said, "The difference between a good carpenter and a bad one is how well he covers mistakes." 

Have fun, Doug


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## TedT (Feb 6, 2009)

Thanks for all the comments.  I guess I had a lucky guess!

TedT


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## Petra design (Jan 19, 2010)

We do a custom cabinet with separate base this allows us to re-size the base. but in your case I would set my base cabinets. pack out the toe kick to cover any gaps. then I would have the back splash made  to fit under the tiles.


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## frozenstar (Mar 9, 2010)

I totally agree with inspectorD!  I would do the same if that's my cabinet.


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## Kitchenmaker (Mar 25, 2010)

I also agreed with frozenstar


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