I thought I wanted a slide-in for ease of cleaning, and ended up w/ a freestanding after all. Here's why. Maybe some of these thoughts will help you make your decision. -PRICE: at the time I bought, close to 3 years ago now, gas slide-ins were markedly more expensive than freestanding. To get a freestanding w/ a power burner & a simmer burner, I could spend $600. To get the same burners on a slide-in was almost twice that. (Electrics offer a much bigger selection of slide-ins, btw, and the price difference isn't so dramatic.) Prices on gas slide-ins have gotten better, or the selection has--this may not be as big a factor for someone buying now. -CLEANING: I read a post by someone who said that she had a hard time keeping the counter clean where the metal flange of the stove rested on the countertop. There's the teeniest crack there, and plus two surfaces come together at a right angle, so there's a tight little angle there. Gunk got in it. She had to use a toothpick to scrape it out. I decided that if I covered the gap w/ one of those metal strips, I could at least take the strip OFF and wash it, plus wash under it and around it. That has proved to be true. I do wish I would have found a freestanding w/ a lower "backsplash" thing. As to sliding a pot of water off the stove, across the counter, and over to the sink: I would think w/ a slide-in, this wouldn't necessarily be a level move anyway--are the tops of the burners of a slide-in level w/ the counter? I wouldn't think so; I'd think they'd be a tad higher, and that the stove's main surface would be level w/ the counter. see , which shows the burner grates MUCH higher than the counter. On perhaps the burner grates are level w/ the counter--but there's a gap, so wouldn't be easy. Be careful what counter material you're using--the pan coming directly from the burner could be hot enough to crack granite or melt Corian. The heights of these ranges is roughly the same as a freestanding--maybe fractions of an inch off. I've never NOT had a freestanding range; They're a very legitimate choice. (are you sure a slide-in's oven will be any smaller than a freestanding? I guess--4.1 to 5 cubic feet. I wonder why?)

I've been researching stoves/ranges and am heavily drawn to the slide-in options because they look built in and aren't that much more money. I just think getting rid of that backsplashy thing on the stove is a much nicer, cleaner look. And, I love the idea of eliminating spills between the sides of the stove and counter top. Conversely, though, the other look I love (which is a heckuva lot more money) is the pro range with the over-sized stainless backsplash and high shelf, which is a really integrated look with the fan hood on top. It's just probably much more money than I can justify. I've been thinking a lot about what matters to me most in a range and cleanability at very near the top of that list. I'm tired of cleaning grates, drip pans, burners, stovetops, etc, etc, etc. I find stoves a pain in the bum to clean. For that reason, I'm even considering switching away from gas to a smooth-top. The ones I am seeing don't have that backsplash built-in, either.

I'm not getting something here. Why are you attaching to laminate? If you are doing something as terribly expensive as a glass and aluminum backsplash, then doing it right would be the only way to go. Removing the laminate would need to happen and if that damaged the drywall too much, then replace the drywall. While the drywall was open, blocking could be installed that would accept the aluminum channels that were screwed into place. Then you start with one C channel and one piece of glass. Screw the next T channel, then the next piece of glass, finishing off with a C channel.

I have a free standing range. We have the 4" granite on each side of the range but nothing behind it except for the wall. The range does not sit flat against the wall because of the gas pipe, etc. However, you may be able to keep it as is if that's what you want. Probably the new range's back panel will cover up most of the granite. Hopefully someone with more expertise will chime in.