Keep the kitchen cabinets, but lose the tile?

A search of the archives came up short, so I'm hoping someone here has done this before and can weigh in. 

The tile floor in our kitchen has to go. We want to put hardwood flooring in its place and keep our current cabinets. The potential flaw in this plan, however, is that the cabinets that we want to keep are installed on top of the ceramic tile. 

Leading me to my question: Is it possible to break out the floor tile without "scrapping" the cabinets? 

Not sure what subfloor is under there, but installing hardwoods over top of the tile would give us a significant rise in floor height over the rest of the home. 

We are also planning on getting new countertops, so please do tell if you've done that before. I am wondering if that alone would tear up the cabinets beyond any potential reuse. 

Anyone been here before? Thanks a million for any info/tips. 

Haven't done this myself. But, this is not impossible or impractical. What are your cabinets constructed of? And are they framed or frameless?

can be done!  that said, when the tile floor is demolished, the kickplate could easily get damaged, but that's probably no matter -- if you replace the floor, likely you'd replace that too.  

depending on what's under the tile right now, you may be able to just pull up the old subfloor --  for tile, a much stronger structure is needed than for hardwood.  

best scenario would be to demo the tile, pull up the extra layer of subfloor that was likely installed for the tile, lay the new hardwood on the subfloor that's attached to the joist (likely when the house was built).  (worst case is subfloor is damaged and needs replacement)

counters, too can be removed.  what are they now?  laminate counters are usually screwed in place.  stone more likely with glue/silicone.  the former much more easily removable.

are you hoping to keep your cabinets as is?  paint them?  if as is, then demo should be easy and slow.  and cover the cabinets during tile removal.  if you're painting them, do that last so scratches, etc. will be covered by new paint.

I would ask if the cabinets can be removed and set aside, tile removed, new floor installed, cabinets re-installed.  Are the cabs modular? Ie.  Separate or is there one long cabinet w/ various doors and drawers?

Un-install and re-install countertops, cabinets, sink, fixtures just to change flooring?? No way!

Demo the floor, neatly cutting the tile and any underlayment with a grinder at the toe kick line, install the wood floor and maybe replace the toe kick and add some quarter-round.

Done at a fraction of the cost.

This board is amazing. It's good to get info on this process from knowledgeable folks as I quote the job out. We're planning on painting the cabs in the end. I'd hate to see perfectly fine materials go to waste, so we'll take good care of 'em. Not sure what they're made out of, but looks like framed wood, or at the very least framed "wood." Thanks again, guys/ladies.