Help!: Tiling a worksurface

[Shultzy]

Hi all, apologies if this is in the wrong forum.

I am building a new kitchen and swimbo has convinced me that a tiled worksurface would be good. 35 years ago I embedded large floor tiles either side of the cooker and have not seen any adverse effects. Recently we saw floor tiles in one of the sheds which had a specific warning on the box "Not to be used for food preparation".

My questions are :-

what type of tile is safe for use in kitchens (600mmx600mm floor tiles not black granite)?
do I need a special adhesive?
do I use a two part epoxy grout?
is MDF ok for the base?
any other issues?

[nybor62]

mdf is a big no no, imo, wbp ply and cement board, single part flex addy, and deffo epoxy grout, as for tiles thats your choice, not ceramics imo, porcelain or granite

why not just have granite work tops or corian

[Shultzy]

One of the reasons is cost and also we have a 5 metre long worksurface which we can't get in one piece in either corian or granite. Tile seemed to be the best option.

[Mike]

the resin worktops are nice and you can't see the joints, have you considered these?

[AliGage]

Have you considered solid wood? You can get some good deals on solid oak at the moment.

[Mike]

Have you considered solid wood? You can get some good deals on solid oak at the moment.

yeah, i fitted some a couple of weeks ago, the customer paid £400 for 6metres of worktop and a 1500mm breakfast bar. good quality and they looked the dogs after 6 coats of oil

[Shultzy]

Solid wood is too much trouble to keep well maintained, We really want the tiles.

[kendo1]

Main problem with tiles and hygiene is the grout. Good place for germs to thrive.
Definitely use epoxy. Not easy the first time you use it. Maybe have a bit of a practice on a mockup before doing the real thing.

[Shultzy]

Thanks Kendo, what I'm really after is the type of tile to use and where to get them from. Tile Giant only had two tiles that were suitable and one of them was black granite.

[kendo1]

Porcelain of a decent thickness.

[Shultzy]

Are we talking 10mm minimum

[kendo1]

Probably. I've never done this, others may have had some experience.
I'd reckon that if you can walk on it, it would be okay.
A couple of things to consider:
someone will use a knife on the surface, will it scratch?
will the surface be resistant to heat from very hot pans?
what happens if you drop something hard on it, or maybe putting a mug down a wee bit too hard?
how will you finish off the edge?

[Shultzy]

We have had floor tiles embedded in Formica worktops for over 35 years without a problem, and these were laid on mdf which appears to be a no-no now.