Tile Countertop

I doubt she is going to go with granite tile. I'm guessing she will pick up something relatively inexpensive.

Also, how do you recommend tiling the overhang of the countertop? There are no 12 inch "edge" or "bullnose" tiles that I am aware of. And how much should the tile overhang beyond the bottom of the plywood?

the edge is where you really need the decoupling membrane. Kerdi or the paintable kind is easy there, and if you use CBU it has to be cut into strips, screwed and thinsetted down - not elegant but it works. If you are worried about strength, you thinset galv lath on top around the whole thing, like they do for shower curbs.

the tiles' edges can be hidden with a schluter edge profile trim piece. Or you can cut them back miter 45 degrees with a wet saw and get a tile to tile corner. Or you can butt them together and call it good looking.

david

You can use a wood edge, but it needs periodic maintenance which you may be trying to avoid. Cutting the tile on a 45 can work, but often leaves some very sharp edges and, if a glazed tile, often exposes the body of the tile's color. I used a strip of Corian, but in looking back, it would have cost about the same as having the granite tile bullnosed, and may have been better. The Corian is probably more resilient. I've searched for the on-line manufacturer who had a huge line of wood, solid surface material, laminated,etc. for counter edging in numerous shapes, but didn't find them, or I'd give you a reference, but they're out there. I had to special order it through a local lumberyard, but found it on-line.

no, when you cut the back side you aren't exposing the body of the tile, it is the opposite; you are wrapping two face sides around the corner, and the space is grout filled so that rounds out the edge very well.

if you are considering going with another material to cover the edge, consider the Schluter Treppe line of edging.

if there is budget, i'd use epoxy grout. It's waterproof, looks good, and handles stress, flex, vibration and movement very well so that actually protects the tiles mechanically better than regular portland cement grout which is incompressible and transfers mechanical stress to the tiles.

david

Your experience is different than mine. Making that sharp point often will cause it to chip a little. On a "normal" edge of a tile, there is usually a little round-over, and the glaze extends a little beyond that upper edge. When you back cut a tile on the 45, all you have is the thickness of the glaze, miniscule, and it can be sharp as a knife and fragile. Getting it grouted and looking good, on a highly visible, often used surface doesn't sound like a good idea to me....maybe on a trim edge on a wall.

yes, i wouldn't advise cutting it exactly through the corner, as that could leave a sharp edge; instead cut through most of the tile -- up to and not right at the corner, leaving a millimeter or more of the side of the tile.

So, the corner of the tile stays intact. When both tiles are laid the gap is large enough to hold grout, and then the corner is rounded by two full corners and a grout gap. Where the glazing ends is often wrapped around the side a millimeter or two, so the corner is good looking.

david

i guess the best analogy is the "pencil edge" you can see on well finished tempered glass panels that have no hardware around them. The corner is softened by adding one more edge that is about a millimeter thick between the two sides and that cuts the angle by half. A 90 degree cut edge glass panel would have two corners of 90 degrees each, but instead it has four corners of 135 degrees each, in two pairs about a millimeter apart, so from a distance it still looks like only two corners.

in the last 18 months I have cut more than 200 feet worth of tiles this way, tiles ranging from 6 inches to 18 inches in length. Sometimes I did cut too close to the corner and got a sharp edge; sometime I left so much of the tile that I went back to the saw and used the spinning blade sideways to sand down a bit more off.

david

Verde,

First get yourself a TCNA handbook. You will note that there is no recognized method of installing tile directly on plywood.

In plain English, this is not a good thing to do. Depending on many factors and your experience/proficiency, you may or may not get away with it. But you won't get the tile, grout or thinset manufacturer to warranty it.

A better thing to do is make a stiff plywood base like 1-1/8" and then cement board or Hardi on top of it.

dx

Rondec-Step is the schluter product made for countertop edges.

It is true the TCNA handbook doesn't mention plywood; there has been no effort made to do the testing. This is normal; no criticism implied.

David