Hi all, thanks for all your help.
I'm in the process of converting my half wall that separates my
kitchen from living room into a makeshift bar. I've decided that I'm
going to use 6" square ceramic tiles (they match my countertops
nicely) as the actual bar top. In my mind, I have pictured building
some sort of wood 'trough' for the bar to be made out of that the
tiles will 'sit' in where the sides of the trough are essentially the
outside trim of the tiles and the wood sides and the tiles are on the
same level on their top edges. Picture it?
I'm going to go three tiles wide giving me 18" of tile, approximately
1" total of gap between tiles and between the outside tiles and wood
border (1/4" each gap), and approximately 3/4" on either side for the
wood border. That gives me a total depth of my bar as 20 1/2". Sound
acceptable?
I foresee staining the wood border the same color that I'm in the
process of restaining my kitchen cabinets. Does anyone have any
suggestions for me? Type of wood to use? Size/Thickness of wood for
the border and the 'floor' of the trough?
I'm just getting started into woodworking and have the basic tools. I
was thinking of using my router once it's all done to give the wood
edges a nice trim.
Sorry for the rambling message, just typing as I think.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice that anyone can provide!
Andy
Use 3/4" plywood with 1/2" cement tile backer board on top. That should be
stiff enough and give a good substrate for a top. Use the same polymer
modified adhesive that you use for the tile to adhere the backer board to
the ply. Follow with some screws for added holding power. Do not grout
between the tile and sides or it will crack. I get my grout from Daltile.
For every grout color, they have a corresponding sanded caulk. The local
borg has a couple of colors but it is extremely limited. Use the color
matched caulk to seal between the tile and the wood edges. Follow all this
with a penetrating sealer.
Preston
"Andy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi all, thanks for all your help.
>
> I'm in the process of converting my half wall that separates my
> kitchen from living room into a makeshift bar. I've decided that I'm
> going to use 6" square ceramic tiles (they match my countertops
> nicely) as the actual bar top. In my mind, I have pictured building
> some sort of wood 'trough' for the bar to be made out of that the
> tiles will 'sit' in where the sides of the trough are essentially the
> outside trim of the tiles and the wood sides and the tiles are on the
> same level on their top edges. Picture it?
>
> I'm going to go three tiles wide giving me 18" of tile, approximately
> 1" total of gap between tiles and between the outside tiles and wood
> border (1/4" each gap), and approximately 3/4" on either side for the
> wood border. That gives me a total depth of my bar as 20 1/2". Sound
> acceptable?
>
> I foresee staining the wood border the same color that I'm in the
> process of restaining my kitchen cabinets. Does anyone have any
> suggestions for me? Type of wood to use? Size/Thickness of wood for
> the border and the 'floor' of the trough?
>
> I'm just getting started into woodworking and have the basic tools. I
> was thinking of using my router once it's all done to give the wood
> edges a nice trim.
>
> Sorry for the rambling message, just typing as I think.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help or advice that anyone can provide!
>
> Andy