Originally Posted by
Nightshade
Yep like Drew said remove the laminate then go for it. Usually it is just easier to put new treated plywood down then tile it, but with a heat gun and time you can strip the old top with no problems.
:werd: laminate counters are pretty easy to take off.
My advice would be to rip up the plywood and/or put cement based material on top, such as wonderboard. That stuff should be used for all surfaces may have water on them (like around a shower) so that it will never rot even if water gets into it like traditional plywood or drywall will. It's moderately expensive but well worth it.