Do we need a platform for Kitchen Cabinets & Wardrobes on th

[rajablore]

Hello All,
1> My civil contractor was saying that we need to have atleast 4 inches or 1 brick thickness of platform on the floor before installing the kitchen cabinets (wooden ones) and Wardrobes, so that they can put the tiles on the other areas. Is this true and why do we have to do that? Anything else do we have to consider?
2> How do the water drainage for basement work?
Usually there will be a gutter covered with iron grill outside the garage door so that any rain water gets collected in the gutter and then the water will be go out thru a connection to the outer drainage or road gutter. Is this the correct way of doing this?
Our Contractor is saying we need to have a separate pump for this garage gutter and then when the water gets collected in it we need to pump the water out thru an external pipe from the garage gutter to outside. Is this the way it should be done or is there a better & optimal way of taking water out?

Thanks for all your great inputs.

bye
rajablore

[blrhudugi]

I have not done this in india. but here in the US we got our kitchen tiled after several years of living in the house. they were able to cut tiles to size and put it along the cabinets. there is no platform for the cabinets - the cabinet itself has a 3-4" raised section at the base) and the tiler was able to cut the tiles and put them against this wooden section to match the floor.

for one thing, if you have a raised platform, then the base of your cabinet will be a cement floor. it is usually hard to clean that thoroughly, although you can line them and change the lining on a regular basis. but I would prefer the wood base for the cabinet, (in fact the base can be made with wood covered with plastic finish (such as vinyl etc.) and it becomes easy to clean. If on the other hand you do want a non wood surface there, then try to use polished stones (cudappah or granite or something - it does not have to be fancy, but should be well polished, then it becomes easy to clean and maintain.

regarding wardrobes, same things as kitchen apply to this as well. most houses in india that I have seen, do have that raised platform, although in my mind I cannot figure out why. My plan for that is to have a smooth even floor, finish the tiling completely before making wardrobes. so the base of the wardrobe is also tiled.

[ardesarchitects]

Hi raja blore,
A civil platform for kitchen and wardrobes are recommended in India because we clean the floors with buckets of water during festival seasons, Mob the floor every day ( not in western countries ). In case of raising the skirting height in wood and then tiling it leaves micro gaps between floor and skirting. In case the water reaches below these cabinets then it make lots of damage in long run.
*In case you planned your cabinet layout then go for it, in ply to create a platform of 4” height will also cost you more than in civil and the tiles laid below the cabinet is waste. In civil make sure not to fix the skirting now, width is uniform and straight.
*Once the cabinet is placed then you need to adjust the civil work according to it .Most of the times we need 2’ width.
*If you are going for modular then make the complete deal with them to get the skirting tiles also fixed by them, other wise you end up in coordinating with them.
*If you are not sure of cabinet locations then leave it now and go for wooden platform during interiors are planned but make sure the joint between the skirting and floor tiles are properly sealed.

Regards,
Ar.Praveen.N
Ardes Architects and Interior Designers
ardesarchitects@yahoo.co.in

[rajablore]

Thank you to both for your valuable inputs.
I will talk to my civil contractor and get this started about the platform for the kitchen cabinets & Wardrobes. I have seen in some kitchens that the wooden cabinets will be slightly projected from the platform. So is it better to have a 2' feet width work done in civil and with the wood there may a small projection say 4" inches above that?

Also any inputs on the water drainage for Basement?

Thanks,
rajablore

[amohit]

How much water will be entering the basement area? If its not huge, elevate the basement so that all water goes to a small covered pit at one corner. This way you can avoid this pump setup. Manually pumping out water should be the absolute last solution as you need to consider power cuts during heavy rains and rains during night.

Regards,
Mohit