# tile around kitchen island and around kick plates



## cmlcsu (Oct 9, 2009)

Getting ready to lay tile in my kitchen this weekend, and I have a couple questions.
1. I am going to tile around my island in the kitchen, how should I do the transition? Should I leave a gap between the tile and the island wall, and then use quarter round to cover the gap? Or should I cut the cabinet wall and slide a little bit of the tile under the cabinet wall?

2. Pretty much same as first question, but for the tile against the kick plate of cabinets. Should I remove kick plate, lay tile, cut kick plate to fit, and reinstall kick plate? Or just lay tile against kick plate and install quarter round?

3. with backer board and door frames. Do I need to cut the door frame up and slide the backer board under the frame?

Any pictures of suggestions would be great; I am a very visual learner. 
Thanks!


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

I'm sure very soon a tile expert will answer your questions.....
Check to make sure your refer, *dishwasher* and other appliances will fit their space after the tile adds to the floor thickness..... You may end up raising the whole counter-top.
Be safe, Gary


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Tiling up to the toe kicks,then add 1/4 round.
Pull out your dishwasher and tile under the machine,if it ever leaks you'll see the water before it wrecks your new floor.

Check and make sure the new shorter opening will take the dishwasher.

Do undercut the doorways and casings. There are many undercut saws on the market-I use a large
Japaneses pull saw.Made by IRWIN I think,Double sided blade about 10 inches by 3 inches-Long black round handle. Handy tool.---------------MIKE---------


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

Along the same subject line: I just installed a new dishwasher for my daughter, who recently bought another house. The previous owners had done a large amount of remodeling in the last few years which included a new laminate floor in the kitchen. Whether tile or wood, this would be the same problem. The new wood flooring addition (3/4") made it impossible to remove the old dishwasher, even with the legs raised all the way up. She was at work, so I did it my way-I used a piece of 2x4 and a small bottle jack to carefully raise the Formica counter top to get the old dishwasher out, and the new one in. Thankfully, no damage to counter top. So, keep this in mind when insalling your tile, as others have stated also. The Japanese saw Mike mentioned can be a life-saver at times when doing any new floor installation. Good Luck, David


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## stankholio (Oct 1, 2011)

I'm working on a project now with a similar scenario.

1 & 2. You can do whatever you want. Make sure you leave an expansion gap though. If you can make nice straight cuts, you can always fill the gap with grout color matched caulk without using trim pieces. Never grout up against an edge like that.

3. Another tool to check for for under cutting the door jambs is an oscillating tool. There are a lot of brands but I picked one up from Harbor Freight. I got the better model (variable speed) for $49. 

http://www.harborfreight.com/power-...ble-speed-multifunction-power-tool-67537.html

Its a huge time save when cutting out for several doors and a heck of a lot cheaper than a powered undercut saw. I was able to cut about 6-8 door jambs (5/8" thick) before having to replace the blade.


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