Can I tile over a one piece ceramic countertop?

Question

My wife and I want to redo our bathroom countertop the current countertop is a one piece countertop that includes the sink and 5" backsplash. This is a condo unit that some manufacture custom built 200 of these to go in every unit. Anyway, we are going to drop bowl out of the countertop with a grinder and then we planned on putting mastic or thinset directly on the one piece ceramic counterop and then grouting the tile. Does anyone have any input on whether the mastic will stick to the ceramic??
Thanks,

Answer 1

DO NOT USE MASTIC!!! Youshould use a oly modified thin-set. Mastic is not ment for wet area's. The thinset will work as long as there is no bond inhibiting elements (wax, cleaning resadue, ect) on the surface. The polomers added to such thin set will allow the exspansion and contrasting effect that the humidity will do in the bathroom. TAhe substrait you are using is OK @ best...but still passes for TCA (Tile Council of America) recomendations.(TCA sets industry standards for the Tile industry)

Answer 2

You should *not* install wonderboard or cement board. That's for walls or floors where you don't already have a suitable base. In this case, you already have ceramic to build on.

I personally don't mind mixing and using thinset mortar, so I always use it for tiling. It holds the tiles in place better than the tile glue does during the drying process. (If you bump glued tiles at all they will move, and potentially screw up what you've done so far.) For instance, when you glue the vertical edges of the counter, the glue won't be able to hold the tiles in place as they dry the way thinset can. For that reason alone I think it's just easier to use thinset.

Practically speaking, both glue and thinset will result in an equally solid finished product. I'm not sure what the above posters are saying about glue fumes--- the tile glue I'm thinking of comes in caulk tubes and doesn't smell at all.

So your answer is yes, you can thinset right on the ceramic! If you're paranoid about it, just thinset one tile on and let it dry overnight to confirm this is true.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

I recently tiled over plastic my laminate counter top with regular mastic and it worked superbly. I wouldn't want to risk the fumes in the tile adhesive, especially in the winter when you can't really open up the house. Tiling was fun - I hope you have great success!

Answer 5

Yes. It's the same as tiling over existing tile. Personally I'd user construction adhesive (nearly unbreakable bond) but the fumes are pretty strong and it's not as easy to work with as mastic.

Answer 6

You should install a piece of "wonder board" or cement board over the exisiting counter then tile over top of it. The new tile will stick to the cement board better and it will reduce the amount of movement which could cause your new tile to crack or break.

Answer 7

THINSET WILL PROB. WORK BUT I THINK THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BETTER LUCK WITH TILE ADHESIVE....BEST OF LUCK!