It's easiest if your whole backsplash just extends down behind your range. Either a full height stainless sheet, or tile of some variety would be fireproof when applied over standard drywall.

My contractor used concrete board. It looks like drywall and is the same depth but is non-combustible.

To both of you - if I use one or the other (tile or concrete board) is that sufficient to be both non-combustible and heat resistant? Sounds like I could just use one or the other - don't have to put on "layers"...?

Thank you both

My contractor used only the one layer.

Thanks Morton - that would definitely be easier : )

If you do tile or stainless, it needs to go over the finished (mudded and taped) drywall. If you do cement backer board, it will need to be installed in place of the drywall, and the seams between it and the drywall will need to be properly finished and somehow made smooth, which will be difficult to do properly. While you could just apply CBU over drywall, as a finished surface, it adds more thickness than necessary, and it's not very attractive. BTW, by itself, drywall(gypsum board) is a fairly fire resistant material. It's the paper surface and the paint on that paper surface that's flammable.

So is a sheet of stainless applied right over painted drywall sufficeint with a bluestar with 'island' trim, or do I need to put a little more thought into this?

It seems like it would be easy to come up with drywall that doesn't have a paper surface and paint that's flameable!!
The cement/concrete board sounds safe to me but alot of work...
Do I only need to be concerned with the 6" below the top or the entire wall behind the stove?
Excuse the ignorance but you're talking to a woman that has been cooking on a small 35 year old electric oven and now has a range that has the ability to do some serious cooking : ) The sides of my ovens get quite hot where the range comes past the cabinets. I do alot of broiling and high heat cooking and thought it must get pretty hot behind the oven, thought it better to be "safe than sorry"

Thank you sailormann, and all, I suppose I got a bit over reactive...just using my tile 6 " below my cook surface over the existing drywall sounds like it will be sufficient : )
I did talk to Bluestar (although it was someone that handled the Warranties end) Monday and he sounded a bit vague, without knowing the name of the product he told me he went to Lowes or Home Depot and told them what he was looking for, "they will point you in the direction of something that looks just like drywall but it will be a different color".
By my responses here I took that to be the cement/concrete board...I'd rather not replace the drywall with the concrete board if it's not needed!
Thanks for the technical blurb :) It's always nice to know what "the professionals" think :)

Here are some products that give more protection in high heat situations. This was in regard to wood stove hearth and wall protection.

Sweepy Sweep's Library:
R Values of common hearth materials
Q: My new woodstove's installation manual calls for a non-combustible hearth (floor protection) extending so many inches beyond the rear and sides of the stove and in front of the loading door. This much I understand. The manual also states this floor protection must have an "R" value of at least 0.800. This part I don't understand: what is an R value, and how do I ensure that my hearth material meets the minimum requirement?

Sweepy R-value is a measurement of the insulating properties of a given material at a given thickness. Here's a chart showning the R-values of several common hearth materials:
Material Thickness R-Value
Ceramic Board ( Micore 160 ) 1/2" 1.270
Ceramic Board ( Rescor 360 ) 1/2" 1.110
Ceramic Board ( Fiberfrax Duraboard LD ) 1/2" 1.100
Ceramic Board ( Micore 300 ) 1/2" 1.030
Common Brick 4" 0.800
Common Brick 2-1/4" 0.450
Gypsum or Plaster Board 1/2" 0.450
Cement Board ( Wonderboard ) 1/2" 0.200
Cement Board ( Durock ) 1/2" 0.200
Cement Board ( Hardibacker 500 ) .42" 0.200
Cement Board ( Hardibacker ) 1/4" 0.130
Limestone 1" 0.153
Cement Mortar 1/2" 0.100
Slate 1" 0.100
Concrete 1" 0.095
Marble 1" 0.090
Granite 1" 0.083
Ceramic Pavers 1" 0.080
Flagstone 1" 0.079
Sandstone 1" 0.079
Ceramic Tile 1/4" 0.020
Sweepy As the chart shows, you can achieve the required R-value of 0.800 with 1/2" of Fibrefrax or Micore, 8-1/2" of poured concrete, or one layer of 4" brick. You can also meet your requirement by stacking layers of the materials listed: ie, 4 layers (2") of 1/2" Durorock would give you the 0.800 R-value you require.

Im ordering a bluestar gas range as well sealed burners 21000 btu max , i order the island trim, so planing to use cement board and tile on top will that be enough?

The use of the island trim requires, well, an island. Against a wall, it requires one of the other tall back guards. Or 6” of horizontal clearance to the back wall. A bump out of the range and hood both. Or, the wall needs to be a complete non combustible assembly, all the way through. No wood studs.

Island trim has led to scorched backsplashes--dig around in the appliance forum for some photos. It's the oven that vents out of the "trim" which causes the scorching.

I don't have BS but I have a different brand high BTU faux-pro range. I don't have it against the wall so the island trim works fine. If you're still designing your kitchen, consider a deeper counter.