I know I come across a lot of people who do their own renovations and would like to do a granite tile countertop, but don’t have the information on how to do so. Well, there was an old issue in Family Handyman that had the complete details. The article isn’t at the FH site, but it is their parent companies site rd.com. You can find the article at http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=17870
I was able to get special order granite tile at Home Depot for about $2.20 per tile (per sq. ft.). At this price, it is a nice option for the right property.
I was just researching on this alternative to one piece granite countertop.
But I was wondering do you think it has the same look in the end?
I mean do people aprreciate it anyway even though it’s not one block?
It looks great. I first saw it on MTV Cribs (Tommy Lee’s bar of all places) and thought that it was a good option. After doing some research I found that it was pretty common to achieve a higher end look. I might not consider it if the other homes in that price range and area are slabs, but if you are competing with fomica or ceramic, granite tile is a hands down winner. It is also a job that you can do for the same cost as an installed Formica counter.
I stayed at a beautiful new home in Lake Placid this summer. They had granite tile counters with a nice maple edge detail. It was a great look.
I wouldn’t do it in an apartment/rental, but for a flip it is a great way to achieve a high end(ish) look for much less money. The only thing that I would do differently than they describe in the article at rd.com is to avoid grout lines. You can go edge to edge with the granite tiles. There is a tiny bevel on each one which virtually disappears from a few feet away.
Search Google images for granite tile countertop and/or check out some of the custom edges and photos at a site like: http://www.bedrockcreations.net/kitchen.htm. That is a really cool look, but the cost starts to get up there. You can find a company on Ebay that offers a granite bullnose.
Good luck. Please post a comment about how your project turns out. I will post an update at my web site (linked below).