I have a century home & am renovating the 'original' kitchen. I am lost as to what to do with regards to mounting cabinets on the old triple brick walls. There are 2 walls affected. This wall has a large single pane window with wide trim. I don't mind studding out the wall but I will have to alter the window trim & casing I guess. I will need power up this wall for the microwave etc. The other wall (outside wall before an addition was added) now recesses the fridge & will have full wall cabinets. This wall has a door to the addition and is affected the same way as the window on the other wall. I thought 3/4" plywood fastened to this wall might be a good solution. The wall is not likely to be very flat etc. The plaster has been applied directly to the bricks on both walls with no lathing or furring.
Also, I wondered what would be the best way to tile the floor. Should I replace the 1/4" plywood or have a contractor come in and prep the floor with the concrete material over the original planks?
Answer:
Rather than applying plywood to it, I'd probably fir it out with spruce 2" stock glued and nailed (ram set) to the brick from the floor to the full height of the cabinets. That gives you space for wiring and everything else. All cabinet makers have trim that will then cover the joint between the brick and actual cabinet backs even though you may have to do some scribing. From an aethetic point of view, this makes your cabinets look like they're an inch and a half deeper than normal but that can be part of the character of an older home.
I'd want to know first about the integrity of the sub-floor. Ceramic tile will need at least an inch and a half of wood under it to keep it from cracking. If it has that, I'd put down half-inch plywood and tile it.
