Range hoods have to be functional, and what contributes to that are: - how powerful your range is and how you cook, so simmering is one thing, searing steaks produces a lot more that needs to be taken out - how powerful the fan is - how big the collection area is of the hood - where rising smoke/steam can be caught before the fan pulls it out. This is based on depth (top to bottom) and width and depth - if the hood is not over your front burners, then you'll have a problem. Your hood doesn't have much in the way of a collection area. - how close the hood is to the cooktop, the closer it is the better it will work Based on my experience, I'd strongly suggest installing the hood without the backsplash so that you can adjust the distance from the cooktop based on trying it out. We ended up dropping ours an inch and a half from the first place we put it. Once you're happy, do a more permanent install.

I can see why it might be advisable to remove the left/rt portions of tile, but I would be inclined to wait until ithe kitchen is completed before deciding. If, as your gut tells you, it "needs" to come down, nothing is really lost except a little more time with it up. Perhaps knowing you are not "locked-in" or committed to it, will help give the perspective to view it more objectively while deciding for sure. This way you will not only have the chance to see it with everything else in place, but you will also have the opportunity to get used to it, before deciding if you truly dislike it, or just haven't gotten used to it being there. As subtle (in color) as our tile is, after months of looking at white painted Sheetrock, it still looked "different" and stood out when we looked at our kitchen. Once we became accustomed to it, we couldn't imagine our walls without it. That's how I am with many things--after living with a blank wall or empty space for any period of time, even a long awaited piece of furniture or decor item jumps out at me, and almost seems like too much, until I get used to the vacant space being filled. Thanks for the compliments on our backsplash Laura and andreak100! It's the Opera Glass tile from Artistic Tile (Stilatto pattern) in Wolfgang White. It does read greenish-blue(-grey) in certain lights or times of day. We had to think about that one while deciding if we wanted to use it, and obviously decided to go for it! Good luck Laura! Honestly, whatever you decide will look terrific!

Nice finished project! In terms of pricing, here's my .02/worth. First of all, location, like housing prices, is everything. I fight continuously with inexperienced hacks that don't pay the attention to detail that I like to....but having done this for almost 40 years, and getting my work pretty much solely on referrals, I charge more. When you pay insurance, travel costs, training costs, quality tools, quality helpers....a couple of hundred dollars a day doesn't cut it. I'm here in SE Texas, and it simply doesn't pay to start the truck if you can't charge at least $400 a day....so an $800 backsplash isn't out of line. I'll charge a minimum of $1200 to drive to Houston for the same work (Or more). I find that a knowledgeable client gets nervous if he feels the work is "Too Cheap." (with good reason) If you need a car mechanic or a surgeon, is the determining factor, "How Cheap Can I Get It Done?" Not in my world....

I'm getting ready to install the backsplash tile and it will be going up first then the rangehood and chimney. My reasoning, my sister remodeled and her GC installed her hood and then tile was applied up to the ceiling in a herringbone pattern, 2 months later the hood malfunctioned and research showed a defect in the electronics. The new hood that was selected didn't match the tile layout outline and the tile had to be taken down to just above the range, her nightmare continued when she learned the marble tile had been discontinued. I figure its easier to chip out the tiles containing the anchor mounting hardware and replace them, than a whole wall of marble tile. Having done many kitchen tile jobs if the wall is flat, the tile will be flat.