Posted: 1/8/2007 5:05:35 AM EDT
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We just got out cabinets refaces and floor re-tiled in the last month. Both of which I'm glad I didn't try to do myself... because it would have been ugly. Once we have the countertop replaced we;ll be left with a tile backsplash that looks very out of place. My wife just called and one of her coworkers suggested painting over the tile using some sort of primer called Gripper. Painting over ceramic tile sounds kinda weird to me, but WTF do I know about kitchen remodeling. So, has anyone heard of this, done it, or seen it done that could say say whether it's a good idea or not? |
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Painting over ceramic tile? That's a new one on me. Even if it was effective, it's still be tile - just a different color. Weird. But, leave it to a woman to come up with the most absurd of ideas, LOL! What kind of counter tops did you put in? Take some pictures of your kitchen and post them here, and maybe we can give some ideas you'd like. Backsplashes are available in any material in any stile in any color with a ton of installation techniques. If you have a more industrial decor or stainless appliances, there are stainless steel backsplashes. If you have Corian, there's about a hundred or more choices. Granite tops look fantastic with small, patterned tile backsplashes, such as unfinished rock. Concrete counters are often finished with large wall tiles of a neutral color and miniscule grout lines (1/16", where toothpicks are used as spacers). There are mesh stone backsplashes that look kick ass with almost anything besides ceramic tile, but those are pricy. Let's see some pictures to get an idea of your base. Personally, I'd never even try and just paint ceramic tile, regardless of the product's references and promises. |
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We haven't done the countertop yet. I think my wife has decided to just go with laminate. This isn't our dream home so we can't see the point in giving it top-notch upgrade just for the next owners sake and the sake of resale. The fact that we it's redone at all should pay itself back in resale. On the backsplash... we're both just expecting the worse with ripping off the tile. Both assuming that ripping it off will mean having to re-sheatrock behind it. If we take the tile down we aren't planning on putting tile back up, but just leaving it regular painted wall. |
Laminante tops come with a pre-installed backsplash and drip edge (not all, but most). If you're just trying to make it look nice and stay on the cheap end, you can buy those from Home Depot. If they don't have your size in stock, they'll order it for you for free. All you have to do is cut the hole for the sink, install it, and seam it where necessary. Cost is about $10/linear ft. Installation is cake: Remove the backsplash tile and existing countertops. Cut the countertop piece to account for walls not square (which is why you order it a foot longer if you're not 100% positive the walls and corners are not 100% square - and they rarely are) and test fit until it's perfect. Cut the sink hole(s). Then construction adhesive in place. They are very cheap, but if you keep anything hot off of them and don't leave standing stains to soak in, they'll look good for quite a while. |
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If you decide to tile do not waste your time trying to carefully remove the existing tile. Cover the cabinets with a drop cloth and rip out the sheetrock. Otherwise you will have to patch it in a million places. The new sheetrock wall does not need to be finished as well as a standard interior wall, it just needs to be fairly flat. Good time to add plugs and or cable/phone lines. |