Granite Tile countertop dilemma

How is the front edge going to be finished? A lot of tiles are available in a bull-nose for stepdowns. You could use this on the front edge and that would eat up the extra 1.5".

Cut the 1.5 inch strips and position them at the rear, under the backsplash where they are likely to go unnoticed.

use contrasting strips of granite tiles, and position them somewhere in the field.

here's what i did

While they are often used for kitchen countertops, they are really intended for floors. They also create a problem with the front edges, as the tiles do not come with a polished edge for where the edge is exposed, how do you plan on addressing this. Leaving the unpolished edge looks real bad and is a giveaway that the job was a cheap installation.

First of all, do not start with a full tile. Start with a half tile plus .75", then end with a half tile plus .75". Having to fill in the last row with skinny tiles is a sure sign of a poorly thought out job IMHO.

That said, I like the idea of the glass tiles - breaks it up a bit and adds some visual interest.

Also, the comment about the front edge is pertinent. How are you going to cover that? You could cut some 3" tiles. or whatever the front of the counter is, and have the edges ground smooth, or have the half tiles above ground smooth. Or perhaps compliment the glass tiles with doing the edge in glass as well.

many, many choices.

Harvey

to answer some questions...

I had not found matching bullnose for the front edge, so I was planning on overhanging the top tile, and cutting 1.5" wide strips to cover the front.

I plan to polish the edges of the tile.

I like the idea, aesthetically, of even width tiles front and back (w/a whole tile in the middle) rather than a narrow strip in the back. But, it does bring the 2nd grout line more into the main field of work.

My plan is to butt the tiles together and minimize the grout lines. Grout will be as close to the color of the tile (green) as I can make it.

Thanx for the ideas so far. You got me thinking of additional alternatives.

Renata

My suggestion for your front edge is to contact your local granite fabricators and ask how much they will charge to bullnose your edge tiles. Many fabricators will either charge by the linear foot or by the hour for this service. Then you will have a nice finished look.

Good luck with your project. Lynn

in my area, it's about $1/running inch. you could get something like

regards, charlie

I don't know if you have already built the base cabinets. If not, you can build the cabinets to a depth of 22 1/2" and eliminate the need for the filler tile. Joe G

Interesting web site. Thanx for the info!

Renata

Thought of that but decided I'd rather have a deeper counter and figure out how to handle the tile issue somehow. Also, not sure if narrower depth would suit dishwashers and such.

Thanx Renata

I bought one of these and intend to use it on some tavertine in the bathroom. I haven't tried it yet so I can't give you any kind of review about how well it works.

I think I'm gonna buy this as well, and try it.

Thanx Renata

and spin it? you know it has to be used wet? it'll only do a rough grind, so you still need to polish the edge somehow.

regards, charlie

I've purchased a number of various diamond edged cutting and grinding tools from HF and all well exceeded my greatest expectations. For the price, you can't hardly go wrong.

I'd be curious to see how your results turn out, when you get there, would you be good enough to post a picture? In the binary group, of course.

Kate O|||||||O

I used granite tile for my kitchen counter and finished the edge with a piece of poplar trim that I'd turned into a no-drip edge using one of these :

I'd like to see a photo of the finished countertop. We have our granite tile in the garage waiting until we get started on the next leg of remodeling... AAAGGGHHH.. it will NEVER end!

We did have our tiles rounded so that we could cut thinner finish tiles for the edge but I still am not sure about how well it is going to look. At this point we're still in the planning stage.

Kate

More of a peninsula than an island, but this is 12" granite tiles with a hickory edge.

-Bruce