Cover Your Ugly Counter Tops Quickly and Cheaply
Vinyl adhesive tiles make it easy to recover your counter tops, albeit temporarily. Although vinyl tiles aren’t exactly suitable for hot pots and pans, you can use them to cover your counters then use pot holders to set down hot pans.
Vinyl tiles are sold at most home improvement stores and some department stores. They generally come in a box of 12, each tile 12″x12″. Boxes of the tiles can be found for between $10 and $20 per carton, depending upon where you shop. The tiles come in all sorts of styles and colors, from brick-look to bright colors or solid white.
The tiles are so easy to lay because they are flexible and easy to cut with a good pair of scissors. You need no special equipment or other implements. Peel and stick the first tile in a corner, then work your way out from there. As you get to the edge, you’ll probably need to trim the tiles to fit.
As you work your way across the counter you can work in rows, either horizontally or vertically. As you get closer to the sink area you’ll have to do quite a bit of cutting. Use scissors to trim the tile down to size, then you can use scissors or a utility knife to trim to perfection. It’s a good idea to use a little contact cement to hold the tiles down securely around sink perimeters or edges. Using a roller, when finished attaching the tiles, will ensure they are well-stuck.
It’s very important that you work with extremely clean counter tops in order to get the tiles to stick and stay. It’s also important that you butt the tiles together tightly before laying. If not butted together well, you’ll be able to see each individual tile outline.
The tiles are great for bathrooms, too. As a matter of fact, they’re even better in the bathroom than the kitchen because you don’t have to worry about hot pans. The tiles are also great for bathroom walls, and of course, floors.
Instead of the press-on tiles you can also use linoleum or vinyl floor covering. The tiles are much easier to work with than the full sheets of vinyl but the solid sheet of vinyl has a more attractive look than the individual tiles.
When trying to locate the tiles, check discount stores first, since they’ll likely have the best deals. If you don’t set hot pans down on the vinyl, it will last for a long time, until you can actually replace the counter tops.
