Tiling over a granite backsplash

The homeowner wanted to change the appearance of her kitchen.  She decided to reface the kitchen cabinets and replace the granite backsplash.  Instead of removing the existing backsplash we discussed the benefits of tiling over the granite instead.

In order to clad over shiny granite tiles, we needed to remove the finish from the face of the granite.  We used a low-speed grinder, however even when holding a vacuum next to the grinder there was a risk of dust escaping into the house.  In order to eliminate the possibility of dust escaping we set up a plastic barrier from the floor to the ceiling.

I’m holding the vacuum in this picture while my assistant is grinding the finish off the granite tiles.  After the grinding was complete I painted a clear priming bonderizer to the surface of the granite. 

To lay the tile I centered the installation with a plumb line and then burned a flat coat of self-curing thinset into the granite.  I then set the tile with the same self-curing thinset.  The reason I used this special thinset is to maximize the curing of the thinset over the low-moisture-absorption granite.

Because the homeowner was refacing her cabinets from natural wood to white, she chose a complimentary snow white grout for the staggered subway tile.