Countertop Installation

[Hoody]

Anyone do custom installations here ?

Whats some of the tricky parts. How do you guys deal with a rounded end, when installing square tiles ?

 

[TimP]

Are you putting ceramic tiles on a counter? Are you talking about a curve on the edge (end) of a countertop?

Capping the edge can be done two ways that I know of (or at least I can think of right now). You can buy tile that is made to cap they go over the edge in a upside down L pattern with a rounded corner to finish the edge. the second way I know of is that you can cap the edge with a piece of wood trim. On a curved edge that probably would be easier (also mention cheaper in both instances) since tile doesn't bend and wood trim can bend.


When putting ceramic tile on a counter for the foundation you can put 2 sheets of 3/4 ply wood together or you can use 1/2" durock over 3/4" ply wood. You need to make sure the surface you're installing it to is plenty solid. Make sure you have enough screws to hold it all together very tightly. Other wise you can have problems with cracking tiles from a flexible surface.

 

[Hoody]

What about masonry board on top of plywood for a strong surface ?

 

[TimP]

Masonary board is what I'm talking about. Durock is a brand name, like hardibacker among others. Just make sure it's made for tile. There is something called fiber board and you don't want that. And make sure you have it thick enough and plenty of screws so it don't flex.

I used 2 sheets of 3/4 ply wood on our countertop.

 

[Gary T]

Double up on the plywood because cement board adds no strength, it is a movement barrier between the tile and plywood.

 

[Hoody]

And Tim by rounded end, your comments are where I was getting. I noticed they have the edge pieces. The countertop itself is rounded at one end. My question is how would I round the tiles to go with that edge. I don't want to fill the empty space with grout. Would you sand it ?

 

[TimP]

You would want to make all the trim the same. But I'd use a wood trim and either stain it or paint it around a curved edge unless it was a very wide curve and the ceramic trim would make the bend within reason. Or you could cut up the trim into smaller pieces to make the turn but I think it would look worse than wood trim. Anyways I'd would think stain would be better than painting the trim.

Most wood trim comes sanded and ready to go.


And grout would look awfull and not hold.


Oh and one more thing. Companys like Schluuter make trim systems for tile. They may make something for this situation. I'd check with your local floor covering supply store. The place where the installers buy their stuff from, glue, tools, tackstrip, trim.....etc. A couple company names around here are Shoreline, Boone, and also some carpet retail stores can order stuff from their distributors.