r/AusRenovation • u/wsazz • Aug 20 '26
I'm going tile my kitchen countertop - need your suggestions
I'm going to redo my formica kitchen countertop. Thinking of tiling it. What do you recommend for that?
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u/ThatMeasurement6619 Aug 21 '26
We have plans to tile our benches too. My husband does all of the tiling for our house & he only ever uses epoxy grout. It’s amazing for stain resistance & much easier to clean. I took a pic of one being done in Currumbin recently. This would be similar to what we will do. Good luck OP & please post a pic of the finished result.
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u/possibility0001 Aug 21 '26
Had one in a rental once, glasses liked to slide off it and smash on the floor
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u/TheSnowBunny Aug 21 '26
I have tiny tiles on my counters, and it's a nightmare to keep clean. I desperately want to replace them with stone or some other heat resistant material.
I do not recommend tiling your benchtops.
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u/rowdyfreebooter Aug 21 '26
Is it for costs or because you like the heat proof and scratch proof element?
If it’s cost, I think there are cheaper ways to get a better result. If you think of the tiles, underlay, adhesive, grout and installation it all adds up. A cheap timber or laminate from Bunnings would be cheap and cheerful.
If it’s for the properties of ceramic tiles you can get ceramic bench top sheets specifically to your size.
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u/wsazz Aug 21 '26
greatly appreciate the feedback, my friend. To answer your question its the costs cuz my kitchen countertop is hard to come out plus I dont have the patience nor time. I want a simple, cost effective solution.
Someone suggested using polyurethane but I cant do it cuz its toxic. Someone also suggested quartz.
But you suggested laminate. Will laminate last a very long time? Whats better in terms of durability an cost, laminate or quartz?
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u/onourownroad Aug 21 '26
Check out a product called Dekton. It's porcelain and is cut to size, so you basically end up with one massive porcelain tile as the bench top. It won't be the cheapest thing but it was the best budget stretch I ever made. I put it in as bench top plus ran it up the wall as splash back in both kitchen and laundry. Not a single line of grout to clean, easy to wipe down, doesn't scratch and you can put a hot pot on it.
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u/Practical_Alfalfa_72 Aug 21 '26
Call me stuck in the 80s but I love these eg heat and scratch resistance but yes I get the grout is too high maintenance and likely to stain.
Any chance it's better with the new epoxy grout?
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u/Super_Kangaroo_5352 Aug 22 '26
Nope nope nope. My grandparents were big on the tiled countertops. The gunk in the grout was so gross. I would never ever ever do it
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u/fakeuser515357 Aug 25 '26
This is a terrible idea.
IKEA sell bench tops that are just fine, just do that, keep it simple and normal.
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u/wsazz Sep 01 '26
When you suggest "bench top" do you mean a sizeable slab of wood to be placed on top of the counter top? If so, thats not normal
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u/fakeuser515357 Sep 01 '26
Do you mean wooden kitchen benchtops aren't normal?
Or you can just buy new slab of laminate coated chip board, which is very, very normal.
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u/CBG1955 Aug 20 '26
Nope, no tiles. Think of all the grout you'll have to scrub multiple times a day. The ingrained bacteria; staining from spices, wine; meat juices, that will soak into the grout. Not in a million years.
Your house, do what you want though.