Where to put the kitchen cabinets?

[Greg P.]

Hello, I have a question on kitchen cabinets. I'm wondering where the kitchen cabinets should go..over the tile or if we should tile around the cabinets. The reason I ask is because my handyman asked me if he could just tile the whole floor first so he doesn't need to wait on the cabinets that are on order. My only concern is that it wouldn't look right. Thank you!

[Bill Gulley]

You could go either way, but-

if tile is under the cabinet you will want to run trim and caulk under it to prevent water from going under the cabinets and setting there, if you have a significant leak. Due to the gout lines it's harder to seal the bottom edge. Your tile guy will charge you for laying tile you'll never see plus cost of materials too.

If the edge of the tile is an quarter inch higher than the base of the cabinet, it's easier to seal the edge and caulk under the leading edge of the cabinet. Keeps it dryer under there....either way you can use quarter round trim or other trim at the bottom, so they will never know. If your cabinets are not straight, the job will be a little more work too.