tile under vanity or up to it?

[I & H Prees]

I need some last minute advice. The tilers are due tomorrow in my new upstairs bathroom. Their plan is to put tile up to what will be the edge of the vanity, rather than tile under it. He says that if he tiles under it, water could follow the grout lines and get under the vanity causing mildew. I wonder if one way is better than the other. What if we want to replace the vanity in the future. Could we caulk the edge of the vanity to prevent water getting under? Or would that look cheesy. Advice?

-Holly

[SQLit]

personally I would have the vanity installed first. tile to it you may need some 1/4 round as trim but that is a no brainer.

[R. Doornbosch]

If your going to use 1/4 round why not tile all the way under the vanity in case you want to replace it in the future, and then put some caulking on the underside of the 1/4 round to keep the water out? Not sure how crazy your showers are but I haven't ever had any problems with water under the vanity.

[John Hines]

Underneath. You may remove or replace the vanity before you replace the tile.

[Petro]

Smart guy that tiler!

again I say "Smart guy that tiler"

Yes the one your tiler is directing you towards.

others will argue the point because of replacement. but .............standing water will cause mold.

buy the same size vanity to fit.

Yes you can. especially if you have "crappy" pb for a vanity.

not if the color of the "kitchen & bath" silicone matches to the adjoining materials.

that is my professional advice..........and I'm sticking to it!

[MLD]

[norminn]

I would tile the entire floor. Then, if you ever need to replace the vanity, you won't need to worry about the floor.

I would run a bead of caulk around the outside at the bottom. You can use masking tape to keep it out of the grout, but be very careful. The vanity, especially if composition, is easily ruined if the bottom should get wet, such as from a toilet overflow or frisky bathers :o)

We caulked all around our living/dining rooms when we had the floor tiled. It helped a great deal when a washer hose broke and flooded the kitchen and part of dining room. The water probably would have caused the baseboards to soak up water and peel if not for the caulk.

I like to lay plastic in base cabinets, run a little up the sides, to protect the cabinet from the nasty cleaning stuff I keep there and to contain water when the shut-offs leak, as they always seem to do eventually.

[HA HA Budys Here]

W/O tiling under it, the water will simply what, flow onto the subfloor, causing what? Sounds like a ripoff jackleg tiler to me looking to save a couple sq.ft. while charging you for an entire tile floor.

Exactly. Or change to a pedastal style sink?

Yes.

Not if you use a color close to the vanity base. Also - look at the base of the vanity when it is upside down and see if it's particle board, flakeboard or plywood. If it is, better brush a sealer on there as it will suck up standing water eventually, and cause the laminate to become bubbly and detached.

Otherwise, they make these plastic thuinbtack type "feet" that you can press in there to keep the wood material slightly off the floor.