Flooring Tile - flooring tile for counter

We just moved to a new house and in the kitchen there is a free-standing part of a counter (probably cut off when they installed the dishwasher). We want to use it as an additional counter, but primarily just to put things on -- not real food preparation.

1) We saw some marble flooring tile at home depot that we like. Would flooring tile work for this application?

2) The home depot man suggested we could just adhere the tile to birch laminate (3/4 inch, about 16 layers). Is that true, or do we need a backing board?

3) Adhesive and grout??

i have heard of people seeting right on top of the laminate however,i would'nt reccomend it.I always take everything off and start from scratch.If thats too much work than you would rather do then at least put 1/4 durock down and screw to the laminate then thin-set and unsanded grout as the joints you will want to be small 1/8.A word of caution here too marbles are not a very practical choice for the kitchen as they see a lot of water and harsh cleansers that will damage and break down the composition of the marble over time,maybe a good marble wannabe might work better for ya here:cool:

We tiled our kitchen countertop a year and a half ago with a 14" granite tile using an acylic grout. The reason for the acylic grout is that it does not stain and never needs sealing. It is also recommended for use near food prep since it is more sanitary.
I might add that the larger tile with a narrow grout line gives the appearance of a solid surface as opposed to a 4" tile. I am not sure if this it the appearance you are looking for, however I would still go with the acrylic grout no matter what size tile you choose.

I would agree with the person (Floorman?) who said that marble is not a practical surface for a counter. I love the granitenot only for its' appearance but also for its' practicality

As for the subsurface, I am sure that plywood was affixed to the cabinet tops before tiling. I