Ask your flooring person. They usually end up breaking the floor tiles when they remove them. They will need to be careful of the waterfall, but should be able to break the tile beneath it and pull out the pieces. I do not know if your waterfall will need that bottom edge supported while there is no flooring underneath. If it does, the flooring people will need to put something to temporarily support the waterfall while the work is done. I would be sure to hire a reputable flooring company to do the work.

They may not be able to remove the tiles under the island cabinetry - just get up to the edge of the island and cut the tiles there. I am not a flooring specialist, but replacing tile flooring is done all the time.

the island is beside the stove. it sits on top of the tile but we want to change the flooring. The technicians put a waterfall on the island and said it cant be moved or it might break. Wasnt aware before this. The only reason im asking is cause I was not going to hire anyone to take out the flooring as my husband can do that. but now he is hesitate.

Post a current picture please? That is not an island, it's a peninsula in a bad spot. I am going to hope you didn't change tops in this kitchen configuration.

There is not going to be a good way to do it . Did you even tell the fabricator and installer you were planning a tile change?

They would have advised a delay of the top. Also, unless there have been signifIcant changes to the photo you posted, cabinetry style etc. (and layout?)

This was not a good decision or spend .Sorry:) Not a kitchen for waterfall. That is why I asked as to current photo.

Its not salvageable, start over.

If you put quartz and a waterfall onto that kitchen, it should get removed anyway. Totally unsuited to it, and that terrible layout needed fixing. Those cabinets have to come out. Everything has to come out. Its that bad. It was a waste of money. Take the $ loss as tuition for your education. Next time, hire a designer who won’t let you waste your money like that on old cabinets and a bad layout and wrong priority and order of operations for everything.

Buy an 4" angle grinder and a diamond blade. Cut vertically through the tile around the waterfall then remove the tile around it.

The counter top installer is correct. The water fall top is TOO DELICATE to move. The order of renovation *SHOULD have been first cabinetry (remove, replace, reface, paint, etc) then counter top (excluding the water fall) and then the painting and then the backsplash and lastly the floors.

The water fall island is mucking up this order of business. The water fall is done LAST...AFTER the floors are done. All the rest of the order remains the same.

I'm glad your husband is hesitant because he could possibly damage the expensive island counter top. The next question is: what is the replacement floor you have planned?

We lost the op. Stuff like this always makes me SAD.

The most budget constricted,, make the most serious mistakes. Dollars down the tubes. .

Wrong look, wrong pecking order for the project, wrong layout for a kitchen needing a serious functional improvement, before any dollars get "cosmetically" thrown at it. Weep city,

I believe your contractor and their tile person should know the best answer to your question. There should be a way to work around it and not risk the damage to quartz.

There WAS/ IS no contractor. That's the problem. DIY and out of order. "I think I'll get a new counter top......................" "Now I think I'll get new flooring" Tragic faux pas.

Bet me on it.

There is no good solution for you unfortunately. You run the very high risk of damaging both the waterfall and counter top if you attempt to move it, tilt it, cut around it.

following

Jan, I've redone most of my house over the last 8 years and participated here for 20+ years. When my sibling just did their kitchen I was never asked to look over their ideas. They have a tight budget and are making the same mistakes as the OP. New cabs and new counter and now they decide to change out the floors, without ever having looked at the whole color palette of the space. I just want to smack them over the head! And the floor was the most hideous element to begin with. Now the new stuff will dictate, very narrowly, what the floor will be. Sigh!

Sarah2000, people just get frustrated that someone couldn't spend 30 minutes googling before starting major projects and saved themselves money, aggravation and time. Most of the comments you don't like, will be very valuable for those that do spend those 30 minutes on some research.

I am not sure what Jan did wrong aside from pointing out costly mistakes that were made. Not every answer is right- unless you have nothing but time and money to waste. Preparation precedes progress, I was told growing up.

PS And if Jan ever comes across a question I have, I would rather have hear her opinion, informed by her training and experience, than a mindless atto-girl, or we all make mistakes- that's a given, indeed, we all do.