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Tiling prior to building kitchen island framing?

3K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  firehawkmph 
#1 ·
What would be the general practice when laying travertine tile on concrete slab if there is going to be a kitchen island? Do I lay the travertine tile first and then build the kitchen island framing on top of the tile or should I build the framing first and then tile around the framing? The advantage I see from tiling first is that the install would be faster since I would not need to make the cuts to the tile to accommodate the framing. Plus the framing height would exactly match the cabinet height.

Thanks,

Steven
 
#5 ·
I was going to drill holes through the travertine tile and into the concrete slab and then use 1/2" lag shield anchors with 1/2x4" lag bolts. I am not sure that is standard practice since there is a chance that the travertine tile will crack when tightening the bolts.
 
#6 ·
I see you are thinking.:)

Drilling thru the travertine wouldn't be a challenge but you would run the risk of cracking tile. How many I wonder.

The next thing is you would more than likely use a percussion drilling tool to drill those holes thru the tile and into the concrete. H-m-m-m-m. Wonder what could happen if you did that?

I wonder if the percussion could rattle the grout right out of the grout joints in the area? H-m-m-m-m-m! Don't know.:)

I wonder if the percussion could cause tiles to debond from the concrete substrate? H-m-m-m-m-m! Don't know.:)

Then there are the lag-shields. Now there's a handy product. Problem is...lag shields work by expansion of the product when the bolt is inserted. The expansion depends on contacting an adjacent surface for its grip. I wonder if that type of strain on the travertine would over time cause a tile to crack. H-m-m-m-m-m! Don't know.

Just throwing out some food for thought because if I proposed all of those issues as positive things that will/could happen, some turkey will come along and tell you "Oh hell I've drilled travertine and concrete a million times and nothing has happened and Bud's an idiot.":)
 
#7 ·
Ah!! Yes much more to this than I originally thought. I guess I could pre-drill and set anchor shields in concrete prior to tiling. And also pre-drill travertine tile prior to installation. Still, there might be potential for cracking when bolting the framing to the floor.

I guess I'll play it safe and anchor framing directly to the concrete slab and adjust the height to match the cabinets after the tile has been installed.

Thanks.:thumbsup:
 
#9 ·
Whenever I set an island over a tiled area I secure 2 x 4 cleats for the island with screws through the mortar joints and not the tile. In your case with the concrete slab, I would use tapcon screws. Its easy enough to drill through the mortar joint without hurting the tile, assuming your joint is wide enough to take the tapcon, about 3/16".
Mike Hawkins:)
 
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