Is replacing a kitchen tile countertop too difficult for DIY?
June 12th, 2009 | by The Builder |
Mrs. N asked:
We want to replace the countertop of our existing kitchen island. It currently has those horrendous 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ glossy white tiles circa 1992…the type that went into all tract homes in the early 90’s. Scary. My husband is quite the handyman (he installed our tile floors) but he’s never replaced countertops before.
We want to replace the countertop of our existing kitchen island. It currently has those horrendous 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ glossy white tiles circa 1992…the type that went into all tract homes in the early 90’s. Scary. My husband is quite the handyman (he installed our tile floors) but he’s never replaced countertops before.
If we want to remove these ugly tiles and replace them with granite tiles, should we hire a professional? Or is this something that we can do ourselves? And if we do it ourselves, can we just pull up the scary white tiles and re-use the existing backer-board/plywood OR do we have to replace the ENTIRE thing?
FYI…the island counter is 49″ x 38″ with a base cabinet of 48″ x 24″
4 Responses to “Is replacing a kitchen tile countertop too difficult for DIY?”
By James Bond on Jun 14, 2009 | Reply
I have not done counter tops personally, but have a friend who has and he said it was easy. He just broke out the old tiles, cleaned up the backer board, and installed his new tile. I see no reason why you couldn’t reuse the old backer board if it’s in good shape. Obviously if it’s damaged you’ll want to replace it….
If you’re husband has done tile floors, he can for sure do this. Good Luck!
By rob s on Jun 16, 2009 | Reply
Messy because of the chipping off of the tile and all the scrapping down of the old thinset , no reason you can t do it. I do have a time and mess saving suggestion for you.If you have a tile edge or wood edge, take that off , along with the small edge that over hangs a bit,( nip off w/ some tile nippers) and retile over the whole thing , saving time and mess.Now this may or may not work if you have a drop in burner unit w/ a down draft but it may.Explore the possibility , I would. You ll have even a stronger top than before. You ll have to do a few things different if you tile over it , but that is no problem at all . Any questions you can e mail me GL
By Ron on Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
Selecting countertop material is not as simple as it once was because there are infinitely more choices in color, pattern, and texture thanks to new materials and application. For example, you might use a solid-surfacing material in one part of the kitchen, a marble insert at the bake center, and stainless steel next to the cook top.
By chicagirl51 on Jun 21, 2009 | Reply
I have an island counter top with white and black tiles that I just spray painted black. I cleaned with TSP and rinsed well. Let it dry and then spray painted the whole thing making sure I got the edges of the tiles underneath. I did 2 coats of glossy black paint. I will be sealing with water-based poly.