Can I tile directly on top of laminate counter tops?

[Stuckinthebush]

We hope to redo our kitchen totally in a few years, but right now I just want to update it slightly without too much expense.

The cabinets aren't the best, but they will do for a few years. They would look much better with new counter tops, but I don't want to pay for granite or anything else expensive because they will be useless in a couple of year when we remodel.

My thought was that if I could tile directly on top of laminate counter tops, then it would look decent and work for a few years. I am assuming there are some serious drawbacks to doing this because of the slick surface.

Any thoughts?

[Shakespeare]

1. I've done this, and it turned out fine.

When I lived in DC, I was in a 19th century brownstone on Capitol Hill. The kitchen had hideous laminate counters that were just beat to hell, so my landlord and I made a deal that if he'd supply the materials, I'd tile the cabinets. I didn't do anything special in the way of prepping, and just applied the cement directly to the countertops (then tile, then grout). I even added a backsplash behind the sink directly onto the old plaster--everything turned out great, and still looked good when I moved out four years later (so I know it'll last at least that long).

It's pretty inexpensive to do yourself (and I even added some slightly more expensive decorative tiles with botanical drawings of herbs on the backsplash), as well as fast & easy.

[Stuckinthebush]

2. How did the edge turn out?

You know the curved edge of most laminate tops....how did you work out the tiling on that?

[Shakespeare]

3. I used special tiles for that--

--the kind that make a kind of "lip" over the edge. My old formica countertops had flat edges/corners, not the curved kind the more modern countertops have. The curved tile fit right over that with no problem.

[Stuckinthebush]

4. Thanks for the input

I'll go down to Lowe's and see what kind of edge tiles they have that might work on the curve.

It also might be a good idea to scratch up the surface with a sander before applying the laminate. It is good to know that yours held up for a number of years.

[NMDemDist2]

5. check this out.....

http://www.diynet.com/diy/hk_cabinets_counters/article/0,2037,DIY_13942_2277402,00.html

looks like you just cut off the rounded part and go from there

[Warpy]

17. As with everything, surface preparation is the key

you need to roughen the laminate surface exensively so that the mastic will adhere to it, especially on the edges where gravity is against you.

Also, if you're just doing this as a stopgap until you can afford to redo the whole kitchen, consider simply replacing those counter tops with new laminate. It may be a lot cheaper than tile and nearly as durable over the short period you'll use it.

Large home stores offer prefab counters. An installer will come and take measurements, disappear, then come back a week or two later and knock out the old counter and fit the new one. The installation will typically take less than half a day, depending on what they run into around the sink.

This is what I did several years ago, and it looks great and was practically painless.

One thing: make them give you that sink cutout! You'd be amazed at some of the uses they can be put to.

[Longhorn]

6. My husband, who specializes in kitchen remodels,

says you need to be sure to use the right mastic, that there are special mastics for sticking to plastic.

He says it's a cheap and easy way to do it; however, he, personally, would remove the countertop and put down fresh plywood and/or tile backerboard. Keep in mind, he does high-end remodels. Good luck! I'm sure it will look great when you're done!

[Lugnut]

7. You sure can

I did ours two years ago and it worked very well. In fact the mastic stuck so well I had to pry off crooked tiles to get them lined up correctly.

As for the edge, we used the oak counter edge trim they have at Lowe's.



Edited to add:

To make the tricky cuts for the sink and receptacles I used a tile cutter bit on my Dremel and it worked perfectly. I used a tile sanding bit to smooth rough tile edges where needed.

[MissB]

8. Lowes suggests sanding the surface of the counter first. (nt)

[NMDemDist2]

9. my husband is cussing now LOL I have come up with a new project

when we bought the house 7 years ago it's formica had two burn bubbles next to the sink. I have had a glass "cutting board" hiding them all this time.

now I have a plan!!

poor hubby :evilgrin:

[Lugnut]

10. You can do it

Trust me. All my husband did was remove the sink and stove for me and install the oak edging. There is a lot of measuring and it's labor intensive but it's really not difficult.

[NMDemDist2]

15. well if he's gonna remove the sink, I'm getting a new one put in

with all by big bowls from the beast and the pick pans I am ditching the two small bowls







and getting one like this

[Lugnut]

16. Nice sink

We put in a new 8 inch deep stainless steel sink when I did the tile. What an improvement over the old white porcelain sink.

[Warpy]

18. Funny, I ditched the stainless sink in favor of white porcelain

yeah, they're harder to keep up, but it looks a whole lot better with the original 1952 kitchen...

[NMDemDist2]

19. i've had both and in my kitchen stainless works better

since I have stainless pots on a pot rack and a stainless stand mixer


but porcelan is much more in keeping with a 50's farm look

my kitchen:

[eleny]

11. And then there's this new "granite"

It's some sort of composite substance that's made with granite and looks like granite slab. They can install it right over your existing counter tops with less mess and it takes much less time than regular granite slab.

It's called Granite Transformations. HGTV had a piece about it tonight http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/remodeling/article/0,1797,HGTV_3659_3427279,00.html
The company site http://www.granitetransformations.com/index2.html

I was always worrying about that rounded lip on our counters. But after reading what you said about cutting off the lip for tiling, this is it for us. Hubby has his heart set on granite and I keep thinking of the cost and mess.

Whatever you do, looks like you may be covering your pink!

[NMDemDist2]

12. yup, after I paint the kitchen and the living room and "Feng Shui"

the bedroom which is a disaster area. Wonder if the gang from "Mission Organization" on HGTV will come do my bedroom LOL

[eleny]

13. I want a visit form the crew that readies houses for sale

Or maybe the ones from Designing Cents - the segment where they rearrange the furniture. I tend to ring everything around the edges in my living room. A real block about using the middle of the room.

[NMDemDist2]

14. i need the traffic room in the middle

my DH and the 80 pound dog play ball LOL

[NMDemDist2]

20. i looked into that new "granite" and it only saves around 20% over the

real thing

still out of my budget I fear

[eleny]

21. thanks for the update info

we have a neighbor that has a kitchen counter that looks like granite and is tough as anything. it's isn't regular countertop materials. it's much, much harder. another type of composite. the neighbor swears you can't cut it. so i'm going to look into it. i'd like some lighter colors to keep the kitchen bright and it might have more choices than the real stuff while keeping the price very reasonable. i'll ask him what it is next time i see him.

[Nite Owl]

22. Look at the granite tiles

they are 12x12's. We put them down, well actually hired a hanyman, a couple of years ago and it's worked out well. No where near the price of the solid granite counter. We used regular tiles for the edge that match the backsplash. It's so nice to be able to put down a hot pot and not worry about burns. The only thing you have to worry about with the granite is an oil spill, if you don't get it up right away it leaves a stain.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. You can do this, but I think I would remove ...

.... the old counter completely and put down some plywood (which is cheap enough to do). The laminate is on a cheap-o chip board substrate. If that ever gets wet, it swells up like a bee sting! It'll pop the new tiles faster than you can say "Geroge Bush is a liar". Have the lumberyard cut the plywood into the sizes you need and just screw it on (the screws are under the top, accessible through the base cabinets, in the corners).

This eliminates the need to worry about odd edging, too.