redo the bathroom totally

Hello from southern California, I want to give my unsightly guest bathroom vanity a facelift. This bathroom will be remodeled eventually (4-6 years) but I want to focus on other parts of the house first. The existing vanity top and short 'backsplash' are faux marble. Is it "OK" if I apply ceramic tile directly on to the faux marble, using silicone as the adhesive, then grout the tiles? I know it's much better to use backerboards or a mortar bed for tiling, but would the silicone/grout method work for me for a few years, in this bathroom that doesn't get a lot of regular use? Will the silicone adhere to the faux marble ? thanks for your input!

I am not much more than a novice in plumbing matters but when our downstairs bathtub recently began draining rather slowly I thought snaking the tub was (or is) the remedy if there were no obvious causes (hair or some foreign object blocking the drain that could be removed by hand). Actually I did remove a number of raisins compliments of my 3 yr. old boy and some of my wife's shoulder length hair. However, the tub still drains too slow so I bought a snake w/the intention of further clearing the drain pipe. The instructions direct the user to remove the overflow plate and work the pipe through the opening in the tub (I hope I said that right, the instructions are in the closet where the raisin fiend is sleeping right now). Anyway, that was not a difficult task. At this point I noticed that even when the pipe was connected before I had removed the overflow plate, the pipe was not flush with the tub (fairly big gap between the tub and the pipe). The house is on a slab and it appeared that any excess water from the tub was just running down the outside of the tub and falling to a cut-out area of the slab (filled w/stones). Also, when someone turned on the sink in the same bathroom, water would come up through the tub drain. Is the gap between the overflow pipe and cover something I should try to remedy or leave it to a professional? If I can fix it, should I proceed to snake from that area? Any help would be appreciated.