Bondera Makes Tiling Counters Easier

Question: I am remodeling my kitchen and exploring countertop options. Of course, I love the idea of granite, but my checkbook…not so much. I’ve seen tile counters, which are way more affordable, and read a few articles about installing them. The process looks complicated and like a lot of work. Why can’t I just tile over plywood and be done with it?

Answer: I get where you’re coming from on this. It makes sense that you should be able to tile right over plywood, but you can’t. Reason is: the grout will eventually leak. The damage won’t be apparent overnight, but it’ll eventually happen and it’ll be gross.

However, you can still have a tile counter top and the savings using those materials brings—not to mention my holy grail kitchen amenity: an undermount sink—without compromising the longevity of your work or employing an uber-complicated, labor intensive substrate. The answer is Bondera Tile MatSet.

And, it’ll dramatically cut down on the installation time. See, you won’t need to use thinset mortar to adhere the tiles. Oversimplifying it a bit, Bondera Tile MatSet is a double-sided adhesive that comes on an easy to use roll —think double-sided tape. Stick one side to the substrate (you can even tile over existing laminate as long as the substrate is stable) then stick your tile to the Bondera.

Because you won’t have to deal with thinset—not only the work and the mess, but also the dry time—you can grout the same day, dramatically decreasing installation effort and time.

But the biggest thing is that Bondera is waterproof. So even if the tile and grout eventually leak, Bondera isolates the wood from the water. Nice.

One more thing: assuming you have a dishwasher, take the Bondera and wrap it under the plywood at—and on either side of—the dishwasher. The underside of the plywood will not like all the steam, heat and humidity coming out of the dishwasher and the Bondera will protect it.

Good stuff and good luck.