How to hang kitchen cabinets on a solid tiled wall?

I'm remodeling a kitchen in Daytona, and part of the deal is that we're sticking with the original tiling that goes from wall to ceiling - whoever did it back when the house was built in the 50's must have been a real pro, because it's well done, even if a little dated - my wife and I keep kidding ourselves that it looks like a subway finish.

I've redesigned the layout to some extent, which means hanging some wall cabinets on the existing tile. Problem is that I can't find the studs the normal way with my hand dandy little gadget, so unless I want to laboriously drill through the tiles and backing cement to find where they are I'm a little stuck. I removed one of the tiles where the cabinet's are going to go just to get a handle on what's behind, and trust me, it is damn solid! No pissy and fragile drywall here - it's like an inch of solid cement - I drilled through it to see how thick it is! If this is how they laid tile on walls 50 - 60 years ago I'm impressed. Did they do this in kitchens to make a better fire barrier?

At any rate, I'm wondering if the wall is so solid between the tile and the layer of cement behind it that I may not need to be too concerned about mounting the cabinets into the studs - if I can find them under all that cement!

Any thoughts from those with some experience of the matter?

Thanks

PS - the picture shows where the cabinets are going minus the fridge, which has been moved elsewhere in the new layout.

 

Can you find the studs on the other sides of the walls then by careful measuring transfer the locations to the tile? Or find one stud in each wall then measure over 16" to find the next and so on. I don't think the cement plaster base under the tile alone is good enough to hold your cabinets. There are other clues for locating studs. The outlet boxes, if any are usually on the side of a stud. Try to find out which side,, usually the right if the electrician was right handed, then plumb up from there. The makeup of your wall from the studs out is probably first 3/8" of gypsum lath, water resistant paper or felt, 20 gauge woven wire mesh or maybe 16 or 17 gauge woven wire mesh or maybe diamond mesh metal lath, 1/2" to 3/4" Portland cement plaster, then the tile either set in the cement plaster or with thinset. BE SURE TO USE long enough screws.

 

Is it possible that the walls are masonry? Maybe concrete block? If so then the tile must be on a cement plaster bed and of course there are no studs. if so use good strong anchors and long enough screws.

 

It's a hard read, because I've never come across this before - we don't use this technique in Australia (where I come from). First thing I thought of was trying from the other side as you suggested, but the only problem is that its thick wood paneling (3/4"), and again I can't get a reading through the wood, so the only option is to drill a pile of test holes to find the studs, then putty and paint over the holes.

I have since remembered that I partly dismantled an old storage closet in another corner of the kitchen, and while removing part of the woodwork I exposed a side of the tile-work that gives you a sort of cross-section look at how it was put on. I don't know what they uses in the 50's when this house was built, but it looks like some kind of sheetrock nearly an inch thick was put across the studs, after which about a half inch of cement was rendered across it. Whether this latter stage was done at the same time the tile was laid on I don't know. What I do know is that the bond to the tile is damn strong - I could use a few spares to repair some cracked tiles elsewhere in the kitchen, and I figured I might be able to carefully prize/chisel a few out from the wall where the cabinets are going. Nope! Absolutely rock solid! I took one out so I could get a better idea of what lay underneath, and I had to shatter it into pieces and prize every damn one of them out with chisel and screwdriver. I've never seen tile bond like that before. Getting all new-agey, it was 'one' with the cement!

I haven't got a camera with me right now, but I'll take a picture tomorrow to show that cross-section I mentioned.

As you say though, if I do end up having to locate the studs I'm going to need some damn long screws! The one option I've yet to mention is simply drilling through the tile and cement to find the studs. It would be tedious and a real pain, but I wouldn't have to bother repairing anything and once I locate the first stud I can basically hope that they used the same standard for spacing studs 60 years ago that they do now.