Tile on granite

Question from Tatyana: 

I have a granite countertop I'd like to cover with a tile made of rocks on mat...Is it possible to do? Or do I have to remove the countertop altogether? If it's possible... How can it be done?

Jake's Answer: 

Tatyana,

This is a first.  No one has ever asked me a question about covering up granite.  You may be on the cutting edge of starting a whole new design trend.

 

Granite would make an excellent substrate for a tile installation.  It’s heavy and very stable – two key components of making for a good tile underlayment.

To install the tile, I would recommend “roughing up” the granite surface with a mechanical grinder or a grinding stone, both can be found at rental yards or hardware stores.

After you have prepared the granite, apply a thin set mortar based type mastic then your tile right on top of it. 

Good luck and let me know how it turns out.

Thanks for writing.