If you’re thinking about the better option between tiling your walls either before or after fitting a kitchen, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll give a good insight on the best practices to help you plan and also avoid making costly mistakes.
The short and simple answer to this question is - it depends. It depends on structure of your home or property, your kitchen as well as the surface in question, the materials selected and also your unique preferences. This answer is mainly provided because there’s no tile industry standard explaining when a kitchen or cabinet should be fitted. Therefore, there’s a need to check the suitability of any structure and substrate needs by a professional before you determine the type of tile installation as well as when to install the tile.
If you decide to install the wall tiles before fitting the kitchen, here are some benefits you stand to derive:
✓ There will be no finish cuts or sealant application required for the perimeter joints at the finished sides of the cabinets making the installer’s job a lot easier
✓ This also implies extra square footage for the installer, but less detail as well as trim work.
✓ Water leaks from the kitchen won’t be able to cause much damage.
✓ It allows for more flexibility when remodelling in the future.
However, installing the wall tiles after fitting the kitchen also comes with some advantages. Let’s have a look!
✓ This means less in square footage, but more time in both detail as well as trim work.
✓ The risk of damage to the wall tiles by other trades is significantly minimized.
✓ It’ll be easier to change the wall tiles later on without having to remove the kitchen.