Advice on tiling over butcher block?
June 19, 2010 1:37 PM Subscribe
Should we lay a tile border around our sink so we don't ruin our new birch countertops? If so, what do you wish you had known about tiling before undertaking your first project?
We got one of these and cut a hole in it for our drop-in self-rimming sink, but we're thinking of putting down a porcelain tile border around the sink, just using white porcelain Home Depot tiles, following the steps in the Big Book of Home How-To.
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!
We got one of these and cut a hole in it for our drop-in self-rimming sink, but we're thinking of putting down a porcelain tile border around the sink, just using white porcelain Home Depot tiles, following the steps in the Big Book of Home How-To.
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!
Response by poster: You mean, a sort of rim of tiles around the sink (is it rectangular), leaving the rest of the birch top exposed?
Yeah, pretty much. We were thinking a rim around the sink on the back and two sides, and tiles going all the way from the front of the sink to the front of the counter, and down over the front edge of the counter. (I made a bad line drawing and posted it here.)
If it has a polyurethane-type finish, I'd get rid of that now. Sand it off and replace it with a rubbed oil finish, which will be more resistant to water and can be easily touched up, without sanding, with another coat or two whenever needed.
It came with one coat of oil, and we rubbed in a second coat, sanded, and rubbed in a third coat, which is currently drying.
posted by joshuaconner at 2:33 PM on June 19, 2010
Yeah, pretty much. We were thinking a rim around the sink on the back and two sides, and tiles going all the way from the front of the sink to the front of the counter, and down over the front edge of the counter. (I made a bad line drawing and posted it here.)
If it has a polyurethane-type finish, I'd get rid of that now. Sand it off and replace it with a rubbed oil finish, which will be more resistant to water and can be easily touched up, without sanding, with another coat or two whenever needed.
It came with one coat of oil, and we rubbed in a second coat, sanded, and rubbed in a third coat, which is currently drying.
posted by joshuaconner at 2:33 PM on June 19, 2010
My gut sense is that this is a bad idea. The tiles themselves are impervious, but grout isn't (unless it is sealed), and worse, grout can crack. So eventually you will have water seeping into a few spots under the tiles and doing bad things to the birch, whereas without tiles you can just mop up water and it will never soak in.
That said, with the right tiles your idea could be very beautiful, so it might be worth it from a purely aesthetic direction.
posted by Forktine at 2:56 PM on June 19, 2010
That said, with the right tiles your idea could be very beautiful, so it might be worth it from a purely aesthetic direction.
posted by Forktine at 2:56 PM on June 19, 2010
My own personal experience says that that tile counters are evil. What happens is that crud gets ground into the grout, and there's no way to get it out. You can bleach it, but you can't ever get all of the crud out of it.
Also, it makes for an uneven cutting surface if you have something large.....
posted by krisak at 4:00 PM on June 19, 2010
Also, it makes for an uneven cutting surface if you have something large.....
posted by krisak at 4:00 PM on June 19, 2010
Another vote for no tiles. Tile counter tops get so grimy, because of the grout as noted above. Also, if either of you clumsy and/or prone to slamming things down (like I am), you will crack a tile sooner or later. I would stick with the wood and remember to keep it neat and dry- i think it will look better too!
posted by pupperduck at 4:19 PM on June 19, 2010
posted by pupperduck at 4:19 PM on June 19, 2010
It came with one coat of oil, and we rubbed in a second coat, sanded, and rubbed in a third coat, which is currently drying.
it may not work so well, with all the oiling, but the higher you sand it, the better it will take the oil: i would try taking to 220 grit. ikea sells those counters way way too rough.
then, I would oil it again every month for a year, the second year, oil it every 3 months, and then every six months ad infinitum.
one way or the other, what will keep your wood counter looking good is maintenance. like the others said, the tiles will just hide the problem and/or transfer the problem to the edge of the tiles where water collects.
posted by ennui.bz at 5:07 PM on June 19, 2010
it may not work so well, with all the oiling, but the higher you sand it, the better it will take the oil: i would try taking to 220 grit. ikea sells those counters way way too rough.
then, I would oil it again every month for a year, the second year, oil it every 3 months, and then every six months ad infinitum.
one way or the other, what will keep your wood counter looking good is maintenance. like the others said, the tiles will just hide the problem and/or transfer the problem to the edge of the tiles where water collects.
posted by ennui.bz at 5:07 PM on June 19, 2010
Epoxy grout might not have the problems mentioned above, but it's a metric shit-ton of work to put in (and expensive).
posted by jewzilla at 7:21 PM on June 19, 2010
posted by jewzilla at 7:21 PM on June 19, 2010
Response by poster: I forgot to mention that part of the reason we're considering this is we cut the sink hole about 1/4" too big, and the lip of the sink doesn't cover the sink hole slightly on one side.
So it's part aesthetics and part that we've only had the cabinets for two weeks and I'm already getting tired of being careful whenever I use the kitchen sink.
Is sealed grout also going to leak? Is there some kind of water barrier that I could put down before (or when) tiling to help me avoid or mitigate this problem?
Not being sarcastic: if tiles do such a bad job of leaking water, why do they line showers with them? I'm not trying to argue with the very helpful answers I've had so far (thank you!), I'm just a little surprised and confused by them.
posted by joshuaconner at 1:01 AM on June 20, 2010
So it's part aesthetics and part that we've only had the cabinets for two weeks and I'm already getting tired of being careful whenever I use the kitchen sink.
Is sealed grout also going to leak? Is there some kind of water barrier that I could put down before (or when) tiling to help me avoid or mitigate this problem?
Not being sarcastic: if tiles do such a bad job of leaking water, why do they line showers with them? I'm not trying to argue with the very helpful answers I've had so far (thank you!), I'm just a little surprised and confused by them.
posted by joshuaconner at 1:01 AM on June 20, 2010
Response by poster: Never mind my previous small comment! I've read a little about grout and sealing and how they're not truly waterproof and I think I get it now. Sounds like it's epoxy grout for us!
Any general tiling or epoxy grouting tips?
posted by joshuaconner at 1:17 AM on June 20, 2010
Any general tiling or epoxy grouting tips?
posted by joshuaconner at 1:17 AM on June 20, 2010
Best answer: As a wood counter top fabricator and installer, I would not tile over soild wood. Wood naturally needs to expand and contract. Tile will restrict this natural movement and may lead to cracks in the counter itself or the tiling job.
I would fill the over cut with an epoxy putty. Over fill the gap and trim back with a sharp chisel once the putty is firm enough to cut cleanly. If the putty is allowed to fully cure, you'll need a jack hammer and a bunch of four letter words.
Sand everything up to 320 grit and finish with Waterlox. Unlike oil, which never fully seals the wood, ending up with water spotting and raised grain, or urethane which never penetrates the wood and flakes off, Waterlox penetrates and seals the wood. After an appropriate amount of finish is built up, it is very low maintenance.
Good luck and feel free to memail.
posted by woodjockey at 5:12 AM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
I would fill the over cut with an epoxy putty. Over fill the gap and trim back with a sharp chisel once the putty is firm enough to cut cleanly. If the putty is allowed to fully cure, you'll need a jack hammer and a bunch of four letter words.
Sand everything up to 320 grit and finish with Waterlox. Unlike oil, which never fully seals the wood, ending up with water spotting and raised grain, or urethane which never penetrates the wood and flakes off, Waterlox penetrates and seals the wood. After an appropriate amount of finish is built up, it is very low maintenance.
Good luck and feel free to memail.
posted by woodjockey at 5:12 AM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
If so, it seems like your chances of ruining the rest of the wood are about the same, really. If you splash a lot of water on the countertop and don't wipe it up, it won't fare too well. But if you're careful to minimize the splash and dry it up after use, I think it will be fine without tiles. As noted in the description, the top can be sanded and refinished if necessary.
If it has a polyurethane-type finish, I'd get rid of that now. Sand it off and replace it with a rubbed oil finish, which will be more resistant to water and can be easily touched up, without sanding, with another coat or two whenever needed.
posted by beagle at 1:52 PM on June 19, 2010