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marcolo_gw

vintagey uppers with brackets--and tile? close-up pix?

marcolo
11 years ago

Anybody have good, close pictures of a setup like this--uppers with brackets coupled with a tiled backsplash?

My cab guy says that he's seen examples where the wall is tiled after the cabs and brackets are up, and the grout line against the wood bracket looks pretty ugly. So he's thinking that the backsplash should get tiled first, with the brackets ripped slightly in the rear to make room for the tile.

Anybody have real life experience with this--or just some good photos? All the ones I can find are too unclear.

I've thought about tiling just over the sink, but that wouldn't look right.

Sadly, while I love the brackets and they are a must-have, I think they eliminate this fabulous detail on the sink wall (though I can keep it above the range):

Can't have everything.

Comments (20)

  • p.ball2
    11 years ago

    Waiting for responses on this thread. I have two glass front cabinets on either side of my sink and they will have brackets. I have thought about how we will tile the backsplash when the time comes ( we are planning on doing this ourselves later on when we recover from the renovation/addition). I am hoping that maybe the brackets can be attached so that they can be removed for tiling and then put back in place once tile is done.

  • marcolo
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    My brackets are part of the cab sides, so I can't do that. Sounds like an interesting trick, though.

  • deedles
    11 years ago

    Wouldn't you think that a kitchen of the era you are doing would have cabs built in place? And then it would be tiled?

    So, why couldn't the tile that is up against the brackets be like, a finished one...wth is the name of those... bullnose? Why must there be grout if it was a tight fit? And still why do brackets negate the AWESOME pattern in your pic? Why can't it just die into the brackets and un-die out the other side, etc? Or turn into something super groovy between the brackets?

    These are not rhetorical questions. Maybe that super tile guru on the bathroom forums would have some thoughts. Can't think of his name either... it's not Bull Nose... Bill? I think his name is Bill Vincent... that's it!

  • marcolo
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    You'll be here all week, I'll try the veal.

    Well, even with a tight fit I'd expect to see a gap at a change of plane without something to fill it (it would be caulk, not grout, anyway--I misspoke).

    Well, if I knew Photoshop, I'd take those yellow cabs, stretch down the brackets to the counter like mine will be, change the tile color (greyish greenish aqua) and then try to put in the deco liner. But I don't. So I won't.

    Plus, I think the whole thing will look like a circuit board. Do they still make those?

  • deedles
    11 years ago

    Now, that's a good idea. I figured if we could put a man on the moon, there should be a way to figure this out...

    Marcolo, are you having vea..er, yellow cabinets?

  • macybaby
    11 years ago

    What he is describing is what we did, but we put in beadboard instead of tile. The brackets are notched on the one side to overlap the beadboard, and go to the wall on the other.

    If I was putting them over tile, I'd tile first and then add the bracket. But since I do all my own work, I can come up with whatever I want - though isn't always happy with my ideas!

    We got around to making the brakets almost a year after the cabinets went up. Here we are making sure they fit properly (this wall leans in 1" from bottom to top).

    Painted and installed

    I've got ceramic spice jars that go on the shelf. Hide my sprinkles in them. This pic only shows a few, they fill the shelf

  • Circus Peanut
    11 years ago

    I'm going to disagree with your carpenter. I don't think tiling around the brackets will be ugly at all, providing you get a good tiler who knows their way around a saw, can do basic arithmetic to match all the pieces, and buys the correct matching caulk for your grout.

    Heck, I did it and it was only my second tiling job ever. My cabinets didn't have brackets, but they did have an integral lightrail that hung a tad lower, and they were installed prior to the tiling. Let's see if I can find some pics --

    OK, a bit smeary but you get the point:

    Since I created a 5.5' high tile wainscot around the entire room, I had to do the same notching/caulking of tile around all wooden window trim, countertop, etc. I wish I had closeups (I'll hunt), but I can assure you that the caulk looks fine along each of these edges, and only the closest inspection would reveal the slight difference in texture between it and the regular grout.

  • Fori
    11 years ago

    All of us should be so lucky as to have Peanut work on our kitchens.

  • onedogedie
    11 years ago

    From the vaults, yesdear's lovely 2009 kitchen. I get the sensation the brackets are on top of the tile. What do you think?

    Here is a link that might be useful: 1930's spanish kitchen

  • onedogedie
    11 years ago

    But in the next breath I think I'm wrong because the tile is not even so scribing the back of the wood to conform to the tile would be impossible. So I think the artful tile setting makes it seem like it is mounted over the tile.

  • onedogedie
    11 years ago

    Pipdog's backsplash. If you save the picture and zoom in I think you can see that the cabinet is tiled around in place. The light rail was added afterward. I think you have to tile around the brackets otherwise they will look tacked on.

    Here is a link that might be useful: pipdog kitchen

  • Donaleen Kohn
    11 years ago

    i checked out the photos in the bungalow kitchen book and there were two ways it was done

    1) the bracket ends before the backsplash starts

    2) the bracket serves as a divider between tiled and untiled areas.

    here is a photo (not from the book) showing brackets above backsplah

    This post was edited by donaleen on Sat, Dec 1, 12 at 10:26

  • Bunny
    11 years ago

    donaleen, that kitchen makes me long for something I never had. I would return to tile counters in a heartbeat if I could have that kitchen.

  • deedles
    11 years ago

    Wow. That is gorgeous. Love how they handled the tile around the sink. The surface between the cabs and the yellow tile back splash almost looks like beadboard tile, too. See how it shines over by the stove? Perfect kitchen for my green Chambers. Or a yellow one. Or white.

  • Circus Peanut
    11 years ago

    I heart you, Fori, as always.

    Donaleen, that's an awesome solution. And the beadboard makes a great spot for the outlets, too, without disturbing the lines of the tile.

  • marcolo
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    What great kitchens. Thanks for all the examples. It looks like it can be done both ways.

    Donaleen, my problem is that my brackets will go all the way to the countertop. They're not very deep there, so they don't interfere with using the counter, but they would still divide the tile. I would really prefer not to have any tile on that wall, only behind the range, but I need a backsplash behind the sink. The vintage-look sinks would've been perfect for that, but they won't fit the run.

  • Donaleen Kohn
    11 years ago

    linelle... i know what you mean... my dh would not accept tile... grout too hard to maintain.

    circuspeanut... i love, love, love beadboard. i could probably live in a beadboard box.

    deedles...there is always room for beadboard... maybe that's jello.

  • julieste
    11 years ago

    I did the tile work myself nearly twenty years ago. The cabinetry was installed first, and then the tile was cut to go around the brackets. My brackets, however, don't go all the way to the counters. Incidentally, if you are going for this look, it is timeless and I am still happy all these years later.

    I've got that same type of tile countertops with the contrasting rounded pieces for edging. They're going in the next few months and being replaced with soapstone. I still like the look, but they've chipped or cracked in several places when we dropped things like cans on them. And, I am kind of sick of the grout lines.

  • julieste
    11 years ago

    My cabinets have brackets that are not all the way down to the counter. I tiled the backsplash myself after the cabinetry was installed, with grout between the edge of the bracket and the tile. It was easy to do, and it has been neaerly twenty years and is still holding up well.

    I also did the countertops in a very similar manner to those in the above pictures with the rounded edge tiles. I've enjoyed them and the color, but they have cracked in several places where items have been dropped on them. They are going soon to be replaced by soapstone (probably). And, I am kind of sick of trying to clean the grout. OTOH, if you want that authentic 20s to 30s look this is it. My elderly parents' house that was built in 1936 and has never been remodeled has exactly these countertops.