Installing an outdoor kitchen countertop

It’s important that exterior 3/4″ CDX plywood is installed as a base for a mortar bed and tile.

Because this is an outdoor installation it is important to coat the plywood with a waterproofing membrane.  Here we used Ardex 8+9.

Next we installed mortar bed reinforcing wire directly to the membrane.

Sink rail is nailed around the perimeter to form a frame for the mortar bed.  In this case, we installed the sink rail sloping in one direction to allow rain to run off.

This installation was trimmed with surface bullnose on top of the deck with apron cuts underneath.  We used tape to temporarily hold the apron cuts in place after the bullnose was firmly set.  It is important to install bullnoses on TOP of the apron cuts.  When the apron cut protrudes past the bullnose an exposed grout joint would allow water to seep behind the apron cut. 

Prior to installing wire and metal sink rail we used plastic visqueen to wrap the existing cabinets for protection.

We grouted the countertops with Customs Fusion grout.  The advantage of this expensive and labor-intensive grout is that it remains a consistent color regardless of weather and temperature conditions and never needs sealing.