LESLIE: Louis in Florida needs some help with a countertop installation. What can we do for you?
LOUIS: Yes. Hi, guys. I have a countertop that I want to put granite tiles on. Now, I am in a bit of a dilemma. I’m told that I can just use some special adhesive and put the tiles on top of the existing counter and that will be secure just fine; however, it would make the counter look very thick; the original countertop tile. Or I can go ahead and start from scratch and put whole new board and then put my tiles.
LESLIE: How thick are these granite tiles, Louis?
LOUIS: The tiles are actually about ½-inch thick.
LESLIE: A half-an-inch.
LOUIS: They were like floor tiles.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. I definitely would remove that old countertop and I would possibly put down like a cement backer board as the base; you know, go with the one that’s like ¼-inch, ½-inch and put that down as the base.
LOUIS: Right.
LESLIE: That’ll give you excellent adhesion to the mastic that you’re going to use for the granite tiles themselves. Now the granite tiles or the edges, are they sort of beveled at the corner or are they perfectly square?
LOUIS: They’re perfectly square.
LESLIE: Perfectly square. I would, if possible, try to butt them super-duper-duper close together where you don’t need to grout. Some people choose to space them a little bit to give them a grouting situation. It’s totally up to you but I don’t know, Tom, how you feel about that. I totally think the grout is optional.
TOM: I do, too. I think today that the ungrouted look is actually kind of very trendy and looks pretty cool.
LOUIS: I prefer the ungrouted and they suggested me to go ahead with it and I must do it and I’m really happy to hear that I can actually do it without it.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm, I think it’s a go and I would definitely remove that other countertop. You want to get something that’s moisture-proof and moisture-resistant. Georgia-Pacific has a – what are they called; their cement backer that’s moisture-resistant?
TOM: The Dens tile backer?
LESLIE: Dens tile backer.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: It’s fantastic. It would be perfect for that application. It’s easy to work with and it would be great for a countertop.
LOUIS: Excellent. Well, I will go that way then.
TOM: Alright, Louis. Send us some pictures when you’re done. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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