Prepare the Surface

• Remove any fixtures from the countertop, including the sink. Cut 1/4-inch cement board to size to fit on top if it, in as few pieces as possible. Use a jigsaw to cut in around the sink hole if necessary. Affix the board with carpenter's glue and drywall screws, sinking them every six inches. Attach it around the front edge and backsplash as well (if you will be tiling those spans). Fill in the seams with thinset mortar, smoothing it out with a drywall knife and then sanding it flat after it dries.
  
  

Mount the Tiles

• Spread thinset mortar onto the cement board with a notched trowel to mount the tiles, pressing them into the mortar. Start by tiling the front edge, cutting the tiles as needed with a wet saw. Then lay the top tiles from the middle front of the countertop, taking the edges of the tiles out far enough to form a clean corner with the surface of the vertical tiles you hung first. Work your way toward the back and sides, cutting the end tiles as necessary and keeping an 1/8-inch space between them. Cut tiles around the sink hole, taking them right to the edge.
  
  

Finishing Touches

• Mix your sanded grout in a bucket with water to the consistency of thick mud. Spread it onto to the tiles, pressing it into the lines you left between them and squeezing it off the tile face. Let it sit in the lines for a minute, then wipe it all down with a wet sponge. Allow the grout to set for two days, then seal with a liquid grout sealer applied to the lines with a small brush. Install the sink after you seal the grout.