Need advice on this. I’m building a new home and want the look of solid surface countertops but can’t afford them. In discussion with the local tile store, they suggested using glazed floor tiles ( 12″ X 12″), setting them close together, and using an epoxy grout. As a glazed black or gray floor tiles sells at a discount price of $1.05, the savings would be huge. Would like to do this but having never seen it done, I am apprehensive.
Advice would be gratefully appreciated.
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Replies
I can't comment on the look as I'm no designer. First thing that came to mind though is that you have to figure out how you're going to finish the edges. Mitered cuts, maybe? You do well to rent a tile saw for your project. Also, make sure you substrate is good and solid.
~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
I've seen it done a lot. From my perspective, it looks OK and is functional except you don't want to drop heavy items on it. The usual response from home buyers is "Oh, you put floor tiles on the counter. We'll have to fix that." I like granite tile better. A bit more expensive. These days I either go solid surface or a nice laminate with wood edges. It's a very visible part of the house, gets a lot of use, and it's worth a bit extra to have something decent. Epoxy grout is not the easiest stuff to work with. Lots of messages here about substrate thickness and type. There's special formed tile for the edges, but I like a wood edge better. Unless you really love tile for its own sake, by the time you finish with the plywood and durock and thinset and grout, it may be one of those "maybe I should have just done laminate for now and saved up for corian later".
Granite, porcelain, and glazed tile are fine for a counter top. Do not use epoxy unless you are experienced using it. Epoxy is not very forgiving. If you let it set (10-20 minutes depending on who's epoxy) you will have a mess. Standard latex modified grout and sealer will work.
Paul,
I couldn't pay the $60 to $80 a square foot for the solid granite either, Don't be afraid to give it a try! I did, and so far so good. I did my master bath jet tubb deck and suround and the vanity in black granite 12" by 12" tile with epoxy grout. I also did my kitchen counters, a desk, and a large "L" shaped island with cooktop, and a fireplace in 12" by 12" granite tile with epoxy grout. I put down 1/4" hardie backer cement board over the 3/4" partical board counter tops that had been givin a coat of urathane varnish. I used narrow (14") crown staples and mastic to attach the hardie board to the counter tops. I then precut the cut outs for the sink and cooktop. Next the tiles were cut and fitted with the rubber tile spacers and a piece of scrap one by wood nailed to the counter edges to serve as a guild. Then I used a thinset made for marble and granite and spread it with a 14" notched trowel and set the tile paying close attention to the hight of the finished surface. Next the oak wood edge trim was cut and glued and nailed in place around the edges. I then taped off the top of the wood edging and got a helper (the wife) to follow behind me to scrape and clean the grout lines. I used a 2 12" drywall knife to press the grout in the 116" grout lines. The grout came in 12 gallon quanities and I would split this into thirds by careful measuring because of the short working time of this stuff. I only tried to press it into the grout lines and had very little overage, this made clean up easier as there was only about 34" on either side of the groove to clean, my helper was able to keep up, and I found that if some had been missed that a razor scraper would scrape it off with little or no problem, I just wouldn't want to do a lot of scraping. I used a small wet tile saw that I bought at Harbor Freight for $59 on sale to make the stright cuts and a angle grinder with a 4 12" masonary disk to cut the curved cut outs for the sink, tubb, and cooktop. I also used a small belt sander to smooth any rough cut edges and to bevel the top edge of the tiles like the factory edge is. I then used miricle sealant co. 511 impregnator to seal the tiles so they won't stain. Water beads up on the surface and the sealant is approved for use in food preperation areas. I left a small gap between the edge of the tile and the stained wood edging that was filled with epoxy grout, however I read a thread that suggested using a flexible color caulk to allow for expansion. I did use the caulk around the fireplace insert but used the epoxy gout everywhere else. We are just now moving into the kitchen so I can't say much about the durability yet, Christmas with be the first big useage. It was a lot of work but my wife really likes the look, and at around $2.50 per tile it was affordable.
We went with porcelain tile (more often used as floor tiles) for our counters and it looks fine. We used a piece of mahogany molding on the edge to match the cabinets. We considered a high gloss porcelain tile but glad we went with a matte finish. The high gloss looks nice in the showroom but the matte is much easier to keep looking clean and costs quite a bit less. The young guy who did the work for us was trained in the old-school and insisted we should go with a full mud base for the counters. We did so and everything has stood up well. If you go with a tile back splash double check the number of bull-nose pieces you will need and the direction of the bull-nose on the corner pieces.
It sounds like you know what you want (withing budget) and you should go for it. Reading through the other posts, I'd like to comment. ArchieII suggested staying away from epoxy mortar. I agree with him. A good quality thinset with latex additive will work prefectly fine. Another suggested you'd have to be very careful about dropping hard objects on it. Personally, I'd reather replace a tile than the whole counter. Keep a couple of extra tiles in storage.
Aesthetically speaking, I wouldn't use high glossed tiles. They'd look too harsh and like they belong on the floor or wall. A satin finish or unglazed and well sealed would liik much nicer. Maybe after it's completed it you could post a picture. I for one would like to see it.
~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
Edited 12/16/2003 5:30:55 PM ET by WebTrooper