Hi all,
My wife and I like granite countertops but don’t want to spend several thousand dollars on one. So we’ve been brainstorming – looking at existing materials in different ways. In particular, we started looking at 12″ by 12″ granite squares. Has anyone used these in a countertop? If so, is it possible to butt the tiles and seal the seams with silicone instead of grout which we dislike the look of? Just wondering…
Dave
Replies
It is possible, but I advise against it.
a) It is time consuming. Each tile has to be masked so the sealant only goes in the joint.
b) With so many seams at right angles to each other will make a joint tooling nightmare.
c) Just because the joint is filled with another material does not make it "go away".
d) It will cheapen the look of the tiles.
But this is only my experience.
Yes I do believe you are correct. Especially the part about it looking cheap (after all that work). I'm going to stop thinking cheap and start thinking proper! Thanks Frankie.
Dave
so why not granite tiles and small grout lines....
like everybody else that has it?
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
I installed granite tiles in my kitchen they look great. The tiles themselves are very inexpensive. Its the noseing thats gets very expensive. I spent approx 200 bucks on the tile about 45 sqft and 300 bucks on the edgeing (17 bucks a piece) but it looks great. I cut up some ol credit cards and used them for spacing of the tile some folk say but them up, I however do not recommend it. Oh yea dont for get to use unsanded grout and caulking.
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
Ron,
How did you cut your granite tiles? Will a tile cutter do the job. Is it possible to nibble out the edges to create a curve? And can it be drilled with an ordinary masonry bit?
Thanks! Dave
You will need a wet saw to cut the granite tile. Forget using a nibbler. The wet saw will do that job too, faster and cleaner.
The tiles can be drilled through with a masonry bit, but go slow so that there is less chance for the tile to crack. One way to avoid cracking is to be sure that the tile is well bonded to the substrate at the point of drilling. If there is a void at the drilling spot you may develope a problem. Drill after installation as the substrate will offer greater support/ tensile strength.
As for grout, I agree with the other posts - use UNsanded grout. However I don't use any kind of spacer between the granite tiles. There is plenty of room for grout to get it. I think the thinner the grout line the easier it will be to keep clean - (edit) unless your intention is to accent the tile grid pattern. Then you may even want to use a lighter or darker color grout as shown in Piffin's photo. Thanx Piffin!
Good luck!
Edited 12/28/2002 11:14:22 AM ET by Frankie
I've cut marble and ceramic with the grit blades you get at the box stores. You could put it in the skil saw (I have) or you could put it in the table saw (I have as well). The tablesaw is my favorite aproach as you can slice off 1/4 inch with great precision.
Pro's of this method are that it is cheap and way more controlled than any scoreing or nibbling. Con's are the dust it generates is copious! It fills the room. The finish is as good as the back of the tile (non polished). You can sand it smooth but it will never get as good as a rouge polishing wheel.
The best method is the wetsaw. If you rent one you can slice any larger tile type with an even smoother and more precise control.
You are your own judge on the cabinet tops. It ought to look beautiful. I coated a brick front fireplace with teh marble tile and I thought it wouldn't look as good as the slab style. It doesn't but It is so close to that that I'd do it again if I had to. Make sure you check out the adhesives you will use.
Granite tiles can be used, but I'd advise a thin grout line, 1/16" unsanded, instead of butting them with silicone. You need to be careful with the installation. Any tiles even slightly out of plane with each other will give broken reflections and scream poor worksmanship.
Don't forget the thin edge of the tile and how you'll detail that edge.
Check out stone shops. They occasionally have bad countertops (nice stone, poor layout) at deep discounts. You may be able too find one that can be recut for your job.
Of course, you could always do a concrete slab...<g>
Hi Dave.
I've done granite tile countertops in the last couple houses i've owned and they came out looking good both times. If you use a fairly dark granite tile, you can use a dark grout with narrow (pennywidth) spacing between tiles to make the joints less obtrusive. Also I used 1x2 nosing instead of trying to grind and polish out the granite. If you run the 1x2 through a router table, you can get as fancy as you want on the nosing. Stain it, sand it and it looks righteous.
,earl
"He who xxxxs nuns will later join the church." -The Clash
This is on a hearth instead of countertop but I'm putting it up as an example of the point made about alignment and reflections. This has about 1/8" or 3/16" grout lines..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
That would look beooootiful in a kitchen!!!
Jen
"Insanity is refusing to try something new"
Thanks Jen but I'll try to avoid it in a kitchen. High gloss black will reflect every little flaw in the underside of the wall cabs, the udercabinet lighting and any scratches from knifes or appliancces will stand out like a black eye, not to mention that you have to keep it impecably clean and polished..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
Judging by the reflections, that hearth is really, really flat. How'd you do that?
Laid up filled Concrete block, two inch thick in wire mud bed, notched trowel thinset, all combined with more than occasional use of a level..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
Thanks for the generosity of your time, pix, tooling recommendations. I've resolved to make a sample using 4-6 granite swquares to see how the wife and I like it. I'm always impressed with the help given to just about all the questions on this forum - it's just a fantastic resource isn't it? Happy New Year all!
Dave
Ron, I'm impressed
and I see why those girls keep you on your toes.
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
Thank you Piffin, Yea those sweeties do keep me busy...Im winding this job up when I finally complete it with paint ect Ill post the final product. Its looks alot nicer with the doors and drawers installed.
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
What I did since I have a raised foundation is build a independent base for the cabs outta 2x material. The bases were long enough to support each run of cabs and leveled and screwed to the sub floor then the cabs were installed plumed and leveled and attached to the bases and shimmed and screwed to the studs. I did adjust the height of the toe kick to compensate for the ceramic tile that I installed later. I then cut 1/4 ply and stained and screwed to the 2x for the toe kick. On the end where the panels are I used regular hardwood.
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
I do that a lot too, Ron. The ply boxes are easier to build and install and it's a more efficient use of material since you are making 31" panels and can get three from a 96" sheet instead of the 34,5"
It helps if you are building a tall unit to the ceiling too. Kind of hard to stand it up if you build it full height..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
Yea if you check the archives there was a lengthy discussion on cabs or flooring first. It might help you make the decision.
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
Dave from Eckles?
hahah glad to see I am not alone in a kitchen without doors/drawers... I keep tellin my wife that its a benefit to her not to have to keep opening doors to get to her dishes.. but she keeps whining about "The dust that settles..." etc.... bah.. its like flavoring, that dust!!)
We recently did a kitchen remodel, and we went with 12"x12" granite tiles... We used a wet saw for the cutting(the garden variety mk470 that is sold at lowes for little over $300.00).. we went with dimes for our spacers and unsanded grout... I think our countertop came out beautifully.... and to get away from that expensive bullnose, we went with a 3/8" oak front panel... so its like a butt joint, tile off the wall coming to the 3/8" x 1-1/2" x length white oak front trim panel... think I did my hole trim panel(instead of bull nose) for like $13.00...
my only recomendation, might be to see if you can get a sink cutout from your local slab sales vendor... but with my wetsaw it wasnt too bad cutting those tiles... I just ended up with a 1/2" L-cut tile on one side and that was prone to breakage....
definitely recommend a dimes thickness with unsanded grout.. we also cut a 3" backsplash... all in all it came out nice.. Will take some pictures tonite and post them....