Kitchen fitter vs Tiler

iazcac

Hi
We are getting a new kitchen fitted and floor retired.

Kitchen fitter has asked for entire floor to be tiled including behind units that you will not see. He says it is because we are having granite worktops and needs a level base.

Tiler says he's never done this in his life and only need to tile to just under units and behind dishwasher to make it easy to get out. He says just need to adjust legs on units

Really dont know who to believe!!! Any advice appreciated

C

ukjoel

Agree with Tiler but never had a granite worktop in any of my kitchens so wonder if its a weight issue.

As a compromise should this be the case cant he put a tile under each leg at the back to spread the weight (if this is the reason given)

Does sound a bit strange...

elver_man

I am assuming the floor is solid i.e. concrete and not chipboard or similar.


If the floor is solid and sound then I cant see a reason why the whole floor needs to be tiled, as has been said any adjustments can be made on the legs of the cabinets. It is a good idea to fully tile where Dishwasher or washing machine will be situated to enable the machine to be pulled out without catching on the lip where the tile finishes.

iazcac

yes its a concrete floor. Looks pretty solid to me! Dont know what the kitchen fitter has to gain other than saving a couple of minutes with a spirit level!

Chanes

We had the entire floor tiled wall to wall and the kitchen fitted over that. The reason was simple If I wanted to move units around or adjust things I would not have the issue of having to lay more tiles to adapt. Moreover, if I wanted a new kitchen the floor was fine for anything and any design. For the cost of a few pounds more, to me it was worth the money.

john.h

What happens if you want to change your floor tiles?
I totally agree with the tiler.
John...

cddc

It is not unheard of to tile under units but it is not standard practice either. Far from it.

As long as the units are level the granite will be fine. It is the fitters job to make sure they are. Not the tilers.

Marktheshark

its tradesman VS bodger.
The Bodger is always right these days.

The work tops will only weigh 80K per m2.
Who cares if the units they sit on are on plastic legs screwed to the max and propped up on old bits of tile.
Hey ho, they will be long gone with the cash when it cracks.

The kitchen fitter is trying to do a good correct job, which in bodgit land is always wrong these days.

leveller2911

Marktheshark wrote: »

its tradesman VS bodger.
The Bodger is always right these days.

The work tops will only weigh 80K per m2.
Who cares if the units they sit on are on plastic legs screwed to the max and propped up on old bits of tile.
Hey ho, they will be long gone with the cash when it cracks.

The kitchen fitter is trying to do a good correct job, which in bodgit land is always wrong these days.

I take your point Mark but if the floor is level ,unless the tiles are big thick quarry tiles there is plenty of adjustment on the legs . If not its quite acceptable to slip 150mm x 150mm square slips of 12 mm Medite mdf or 100mm sq of tile under the rear unit legs..

Its always best to tile completely under appliance spaces for ease of moving the appliance but I don't realy get your point. How many unit feet would be under 1sq metre of granite worktop?, at worse probably 6 feet and usually 8 or more so plenty of load bearing points not to mention the end standards that run righ to the floor.

More important to make sure the legs are screwed in the right place so they support the side of the units. So many times I've seen legs screwed on incorrectly where they fail to support the sides of the units.

missile

Absolute crock IMHO. What if you did not have a tiled floor e.g. if you wanted wood / vinyl floor covering. Would he say NO you must fit tiles under the units? Even wood chip would be strong enough to support the weight.

Of course having a tiled floor would make it much easier for your .... fitter to level his units. If your concrete floor is very uneven, then a simple screed would suffice.

Furts

Marktheshark wrote: »

its tradesman VS bodger.
The Bodger is always right these days.

The work tops will only weigh 80K per m2.
Who cares if the units they sit on are on plastic legs screwed to the max and propped up on old bits of tile.
Hey ho, they will be long gone with the cash when it cracks.

The kitchen fitter is trying to do a good correct job, which in bodgit land is always wrong these days.

I am with this reply.

My kitchen floors are all tiled fully everywhere. Why? I want a good smooth finish under my base units so that I can use the areas for storage. Also, my concrete floor slabs were dusty and rough - I do not desire either, so it is best to tile them. There are also probably some shrinkage cracks in the slabs - best to cover these too. Finally I want to seal all the cracks and floor edges to receive air tightness and pressure testing - a Buildings Regulations concept.

Whenever I view, or consider, a partially tiled kitchen floor I think either bodging, or cheapskate consumer, or ignorance, or perhaps a combination of these!