tile countertops--good idea???

I am building my first home and really want to tile the kitchen and bathroom countertops, but have heard from a few people that it's not a good idea. The reasons? Tile chips and scratches, grout stains, etc. Also, I've been told that if I do decide to tile the countertops to use 12" tiles because they tend to hold up better.

Since I've never had it and don't know anyone personally who does, I just don't know if I should or not! Does anyone have any input or suggestions for me? I appreciate your help!

 

I've done this project a couple of times and have been satisfied with the results. I used standard 4" tiles, not sure 12" tiles would look especially good, but there would be fewer grout lines of course. I haven't seen any problems with chipping, but of course you don't want to go dropping a 5 lb corning ware dish from a top cabinet shelf onto the countertop either. The grout will need to be sealed and re-applied periodically, but I found that to be a minor inconvenience compared to how good it looked and it's durability. It's on my honey-do list in my current home, just haven't gotten to it yet.

If you search the archives for tile countertops you'll come up with quite a few posts on the subject.

 

The size of the tile doesn't mater as far as durability is concerned. You'll find that most tile manufactured with counter tops in mind are 4x4. These tile will come with a host of trims, ie: sink rails, bullnose etc.
Epoxy grout works great for counter tops. Each manufacturer of grout will have a line of epoxy. Laticretes SP100 is stain "proof". Epoxy grout is a little tricky to work with and costs more, but is worth the price considering it's cleanability.

 

It's been a fair number of years since I did one of those projects, so it figures there would be improvments in the materials available.