LESLIE: Steven in Missouri is working on a flooring project. How can we help you get the job done?
STEVEN: Yeah. Hey, I am putting in 18-inch tile.
TOM: OK.
STEVEN: And I put it in the living room; laid down a hardy backer board; moved it into the kitchen, where I’m peeling back the linoleum, and there is already a ¼-inch additional piece of plywood.
TOM: OK.
STEVEN: What I want to know is do I need to pull that plywood off or can I put the tile right on top of that?
TOM: Well, there’s no reason you can’t put the tile right on top of that if the tile is sturdy enough. Now, with 18-inch tile, remember, they don’t bend. OK? And if you don’t have a really solid floor, you will be a very unhappy camper when they start to crack. So you need to make sure that that floor is rock solid enough to support them with no flex. So the question really depends on what’s under that ¼-inch and do you have a solid-enough floor or do you have to put a piece of hardy backer in there to give it some more rigidity.
The other thing is – did you mention this is going into a kitchen?
STEVEN: Yeah.
TOM: Alright, so you have the issue of the dishwasher, right?
STEVEN: Right.
TOM: You can’t tile in the dishwasher because you won’t be able to get it out. The tile has to go all the way in the dishwasher. So what I want you to do is to take off the kick plate of the dishwasher, see what the height of the legs are and try to figure out whether or not you can take that dishwasher out, tile it and still fit it back in there.
STEVEN: Oh, yeah. OK.
TOM: Yep.
STEVEN: I’m glad you gave me a heads up because I would have been right at the end of the project (Tom laughs) and I’ve got to get this done before my wife has her (inaudible at 0:31:15.8) party, so (chuckles).
LESLIE: (chuckling) Oh.
TOM: Yeah. (chuckles) Alright. Now, we’ve got you on the right track there, Steven.
STEVEN: Right. Thanks a lot. I appreciate your time.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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