Can I Put Ceramic Tile Over Formica ?

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6 Answers

Rena Chisholm Profile
Rena Chisholm answered
I can't advise you on this, but the Home Depot says that you can.
So I tiled over top of both of my formica bathroom counters and have had no problems at all with them. One is eight foot wide. I used tile mastic and they stuck just fine.
My cabinets and countertop are in good shape and was able to support the tile with no problems.
But Tausif is right, if your countertops and cabinets are not in good shape, then they won't be able to support the weight. But as long as they are not falling apart, it shouldn't be a problem. Ceramic tile is much lighter weight than porcelain or marble.
If the formica is the type that is really slick, I suppose you would need to sand it a bit, "as you mentioned", before laying the tile. Mine were not that slick so I didn't have to sand them.
The surface needs to be water resistant to apply the tile over. Otherwise, you would have to make a new countertop using backerboard, greenboard or concrete board as Tausif suggested and would have to first lay plywood underneath the board to achieve the desired thickness of the countertop. Usually about 1 &1/4 inches total.
You can however, remove the old backsplash and use tile on the wall for a better looking backsplash.
I used 6x6" tiles on the countertop and 6x4 inch kickers for the backsplash because my walls were not perfectly square.
Tile layers generally use kickers for the tile baseboard. They have a slight curve at the bottom of each tile.
This is only my experience here, other people might have a different opinion. Don't want to step on anyones' toes.
There is a lot of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment to be had when doing your own home improvement projects. Hope you enjoy the experience.
thanked the writer.
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Rena Chisholm
Rena Chisholm commented
I do have a lot of free time, but the price I pay is surely not worth it.
Anonymous
Anonymous commented
Yes, Tamarind, the Formica is on an already established counter top. It is stained and the
more I try to "fix it" the worse it would look. My husband and sons put tile around our
new tub and then one of my sons and I put it down on the floor in one of his bathrooms that he was redoing and I felt like I would like to put it on my ugly counter. Is tile mastic
found at home depot or lowes. How is it different than the usual compound to put tile down . Thank you
Rena Chisholm
Rena Chisholm commented
Sorry i went a bit overboard on my answer.
Home Depot sells a tile mastic by the name of Acrylpro. I prefer to use it on surfaces that are not concrete because it is premixed, a smoother texture than thinset, adheres the tile very well, and is easy to work with. It also cleans up easily.
My countertops were very tired looking as well. They look so much better now.
Hope i have helped you a bit and good luck with your project.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
I have formica under cabinets to counter.  Have wallpapered over formica, but would like to put on ceramic tile.  The formica is glued to plaster board.  Is this possible?
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
I am about to do the same thing with granite.  I am going to put down 3/4 plywood and denshield or hardiback.  I might use the formica top as the plywood and then put the cement board on top of that.  The formica would serve as a nice waterproof surface and save me some money on the plywood.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
I am wanting to put granite tile over the kitchen counter tops.  What do I need to do to prepare the surface for this.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
I have installed tile and granite tile over formica and had no problems I would use 80 grit to rough it up for the thin-set to stick better. And support any overhang that may move and crack the tile
Tauseef Sheikh Profile
Tauseef Sheikh answered
Yes, you cannot put Ceramic tiles over Formica, because Formica material does not have the capacity to support the weight of Ceramic tiles, you need to remove that and it will be best if you use cemented surface due to its high cohesive power.
thanked the writer.
Rena Chisholm
Rena Chisholm commented
You are right tausif. I am disabled and can't do much. I used to be very active. Now my body won't allow me to do the things I would like to, but my mind still wants to. It is a difficult situation at best.
I get a bit carried away on my answers sometimes, but it keeps my mind busy and off the pain somewhat.
I hope I have not offended you in any of my answers. If I have , please accept my apologies.
Keith Roach
Keith Roach commented
OK OK I...I hear all this however, I have an old counter top with formica but it is made out of plywod and in great shape. Can I tile over this and what do I use?
david bunjee
david bunjee commented
On a small project it would be ok to go over your formica add 1/4" cement board use a good mastic and add latex it's made for tile grout do not skip the latex additive.i've did the same project a few times now with zero call backs. Also make sure you seal the grout; it stays cleaner and wiil resist most stains.

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