On Sat, 19 Mar 2016 14:04:22 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

Hi Anthony,

On 3/19/2016 7:55 AM, HerHusband wrote:
I might wonder what *sort* of flooring is going in. E.g., with
ceramic tile, often want the cabinets to sit on the "subfloor" and not
the tile so you'd install them and then tile *to* them (instead of
tiling UNDER them).

I installed our cabinets on TOP of wood flooring, tile flooring, and vinyl
flooring. Makes for a neater job, and much easier than cutting around the
cabinets.

Wood, vinyl/linoleum and BATHROOM (ceramic) tile are smooth, level surfaces.
There is good dimensional repeatability (unless you've a truly "rustic"
wood floor/trip hazzard)

Our ceramic tile have a very deliberate texture to their surface and
beveled/rounded edges. I.e., there's a noticeable distance between the
top of the highest point in the texture (which is the LOWEST point for the
cabinetry to rest on the tile surface) and the lowest point in a grout
line. Put a (VERY LONG!) straight edge across that surface and all you
see are these highs and lows accentuated against that straight line.

[Said another way, you couldn't roll a steel ball STRAIGHT across a tile,
let alone a SPAN of tiles!]

With saltillo tile, the differences are even more pronounced (the tiles
themselves aren't very well dimensionally controlled).

And, all that assumes the tile is laid with the same amount of adhesive
beneath on a perfectly flat floor. Any imperfections translate through
the (rigid) tile thickness to appear as high and low spots.

A GOOD tile installer will install the tile level and smooth on the
top surface. What the adhesive.thinset thickness below the tile is
isn't critical to the finish.

[Yeah, you can shim so the cabinets don't "rock", but the toe kick reveal
will still highlight the "non-flatness" of the floor -- just like
laying a square/straightedge across the surface! Note your toe kick
is much wider than any single cabinet so you are now dealing with highs
and lows over a 6, 8, 10, 12 ft span!]

The only exception would be carpet, where you would install the cabinets
first and fit the carpet around them.

Fitting the tile gives the same sort of finished appearance. The tile
looks like it was mated to the cabinetry instead of the cabinetry
appearing as an afterthought. E.g., we will lay diagonal with smaller
trim tiles "outlining" the border of the cabinetry (and walls) with
the "field" of tile. A lot more work (cutting) but in the homes we've
examined with this approach, it really looks a lot classier.

[So, the cabinetry just plays the role of other tile: a grout line
separates the cabinetry FROM the tile]

You also have to consider what the thickness of the tile does to the
height of your counter wrt "upper" cabinets (as uppers tend to have limits
on where their tops can be located). Ceiling heights don't magically
increase just because you've lost some height to "floor thickness".

Likewise, counter heights have to consider under-the-counter appliances
(e.g., dishwasher, compactor, slide-ins, etc.). We've had to carefully
plan to ensure we could get these things in and out after the counters are
in place (lifting countertops to do so is not an option!).

[This actually cased some unexpected problems with the WC's as they
were designed to fit *under* certain other things.]