OK.. this is what comes from digging around appliances in the kitchen.
We have been considering re-doing our countertop tile. It has 12 years of hard wear on it and it is showing. I have a week off at Christmas, and I think I can get it done in 4 days (ladies and gents, place your bets).
After pulling the dishwasher last night, I noticed that the countertop surface appears to be particle board, but it also seems to be epoxy impregnated... not the typical wafer board stuff. The sub surface will need to be replaced in at least one spot, as my contractor installed a warped piece of counter top that I have been staring at for 12 years and want to repair.
Any suggestions for replacemement material for the sub surface of a tile counter top? We have not decided if we are going to use tile again or granite tiles. We're due for a major kitchen overhaul in a few years and this is to "get us through" for that period.
Many years ago when I did the finish work inside for a new home builder the tile guy he used insisted on 3/4 plywood to be installed as the first layer. He then mortared and screwed Wonderboard on top of that and installed the tile on that. He would not do tile with particle board as a base.
4 days. Sure if you got your ducks all in a row before the clock starts. No trips to the store while you are working.
I agree with Don on the Wonderboard and the plywood. We have done a bath in this house that way and it worked good. There was a guy at one of the bog box stores that really knew tile setting and helped us out a lot. He told us a lot of stuff we never knew we needed to ask. If the tear out goes well I do agree you could do it... but don't plan on a huge Christmas dinner and a house full of people just in case.
Yes, use 3/4" Plywood, seal plywood and then cement board . . . You may want to try HardiBacker cement board if available in your area. (Lowes)
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My tile guy likes Densguard better than hardi backer. He says it makes a smoother surface to lay the tile on and it has a built in vapor barrier. It comes in 1/4" and 1/2" thickness. For a countertop you'd lay it over the wood. Also sold at Lowes.
Frank on my countertops at the cabin I used "Ditra" on top of two layers of 3/4" ply but that was overkill just for the reason that I had a bar extension and didn't want the tile to crack. One advantage with the Ditra is that it is a waterproof membrane. It is easy to apply without screws, there is no additional elevation problem and best of all (in your case) you can lay the tile immediately after putting the Ditra down.
http://www.schluter.com/2080.aspx
Thanks John I never have run into Ditra. Sounds as if you are really sold on it. I did down load their installation literature. I do think I really would like it better than Hardi / wonderboard.
Frank if you do decide to tile you might ask these guys regarding what is best suited for a base.
http://www.johnbridge.com/
plywood is definitely preferred, as particle with swell so bad. I prefer densguard too, and I use PL400 between the layers. Are you using a wood edging on the front? Maybe you could precut your plywood, affix your edging to keep it straight, attach your tile board, and then take it all in as one piece and install. Then follow with tiling in place.
If you have an extra 15 bucks, buy an extra layers worth of plywood and double up, then tile it in the garage. Screw up from the cabinets to install. Extra layer of ply keeps from warping. This is just concept, don't know if the mortar and grout would crack or not. One of these days I'll have to try it.