You do not have to be a professional tile layer to marble tile a countertop. It is possible to get professional results tiling a countertop yourself by following these steps. Note, however, that this requires not only a lot of tools, but time — tiling is not a quick process by any means.

Measure out your tiling plans in advance, getting all of your dimensions and marking problem areas like sinks. Break down your counter into workable sections, dividing up the room by large obstacles like the sink or oven. Clean everything off the countertops and empty the kitchen so that you can move and work freely.

Know your planned tile size, how many tiles you need total, and how the wood tiles will fit into rows ahead of time. If you can get a tile size that requires minimal cutting and fitting your life will be much easier. Remember to account for the grout when planning your tile size.

Remove the sink, stove, and any other appliances. If you plan on tiling a countertop in a wet area, then you will need to take out the sink in order to lay the new tiled countertop. You should also remove the stove, though this is much easier to simply slide out than a sink. To remove your sink: Turn off the water supply to the sink. If you have a garbage disposal, you will need to cut the power to that, as well.

Disconnect the plumbing hoses from the sink. This includes the flexible tubing that connects your dishwasher to your sink plumbing, and the hose clamps that keep your disposer in place.

Unscrew the sink from underneath the countertop, if there are screws holding it in place. If there are clamps holding the sink to the countertop, these will need to be removed, too. Run a razor around the edge of the sink to cut the caulking before removing the fixture. Pry the sink loose from the countertop, then remove it completely and set it aside.

Prepare the tile design countertop base if not purchasing or using a preexisting counter. If you’re crafting a new counter from scratch, the following bullets detail how to build a new countertop using plywood and concrete boards. In most cases, your countertop will already have a solid base — click here to skip ahead if it does.