undermount sink with tile countertop

[vegashomes]

Would an undermount sink work with a porcelain tile countertop

[edlentz]

Good Question! I have a new sink that will do either under or over AND I am installing porcelain tile on a new countertop. It will be interesting to see what the experts say.

[jimbo]

The problem with doing undermount with tile is that is it a lot of work to make a nice finished edge around the top and edges of the cutout hole. I have seen lots of them done. Looks really cool if you have a colorful, exotic tile. Just a lot of work.

[jadnashua]

Two places to look; one for help, and the other for products. www.johnbridge.com (http://www.johnbridge.com) specializes in tile. www.schluter.com (http://www.schluter.com) makes some trims that would help. It is easier to get a good clean install if you are using something that can have the edge profiled (like a solid granite or through-body porcelan). But, if you use the trim that Schluter makes, you dont' need to profile the edges.

Basically, you sandwich the flange from the undermount under the tile, and above the plywood backer. The details are the deal-breaker, though.

[Basement_Lurker]

There are a couple of different ways to do this, neither of which are simple. You can mount your sink on top of the counter-top base (actually trimming down the area under the sink footprint so that the sink will sit flush with the surface of the countertop base) and then tiling over the sink flange to give a finished look....bullnosing the tile gives a nice finished and clean look. Or you can do a regular undermount installation and cut and install pieces to fit around the opening of the sink cutout to give a finished look. Both installations will require planning. The first installation will allow you to to do rounded corners for the sink coutout, but the second will leave you restricted to a square cutout for the sink.

[jimbo]

but the second will leave you restricted to a square cutout for the sink.


Some good tips from lurker. On the second method, I envision very small mosaic tiles, which allows you to have a rounded cutout. If you were planning 4X4 tiles, that would not work well on an undermount.

[hj]

The problem with a true undermount sink is that the faucet openings are extemely oversized so the faucet will fit through them and attach to the countertop. Normally a conventional sink is installed on the subsurface, then the tile is installed over it with a rounded cove tile to finish off the edge. A second option is to get a tile-in sink with square corners which is installed with the tile because it is the same thickness. This creates a flush surface.

[geniescience]

have wet saw, will use it.

If you have to pay someone a high wage to use a saw to cut the detailing in tile, you will spend a lot more there than anywhere else. Good to know before you start.

Yes, it will look good.

David

[alexjag33]

There's a book that talks about undermounting a sink with a porcelain countertop.

"Tiling Complete" by Schweit and Nicholas.

I wanted to do this myself, but couldn't find good radial tile. I did just complete a porcelain countertop though- looks great.

http://www.amazon.com/Tiling-Complete-Tauntons-Michael-Schweit/dp/1561588121/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224622637&sr=8-1

[edlentz]

Well, I did the install this ast weekend. The sink is not an undermount, but the 16 x 16 porcelian tile, Fortunately the tile was exactly the thickness of the lip for the sink, so it lined up flush to the sink. It worked out just as I wanted, so it can be done.