I live in the south east USA and I get Octagon Soap at Wal-Mart supercenter for $.97. Our little home town Bi-Lo carries Zote soap for$.99. I just had to keep looking, near the bottom of the shelf. It seems like the big bright bottles overpower the individual bars of soap; so they're hard to spot! ... View related article.
Yes! I used a water based top coat called polycrylic, by Minwax. I used 4 coats and then let the counter top cure and harden before using. It works and it looks great! I just clean it with gentle, non-abrasive cleaners! So far, so good! ... View related article.
You can tile over laminate, but you should degloss the surface first, for better adhesion. There's a product called TSP you can find at any hardware store. There are a few brands and the cost is around $6.00(sm. size). It will clean and degloss the surface without the need for sanding. I just completed refinishing my kitchen cabinets and I was tired of sanding, so it really worked for me. In the end I decided not to tile because of the added expense. Instead, I painted them in a faux finish to look like granite. I coated with really durable, water and heat resistent poly. It added depth and durability, and is beautiful. Even my 5 kids haven't scrathed it....amazing!! The cost of the counters and the cabinets was less than $75.00, plus my time and a little TLC! Whatever you decide, do some research, there's a lot of great info and products out there. ... View related article.
