Full granite backsplash vs 'something else'...
Comments (42)
glad
16 years agosarschlos_remodeler
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Full granite backsplash and Electrical Outlets
Comments (7)Gneegirl - Chill babe... it's all good !!! HA! ;-) This is NOT a problem AT ALL - here's what needs to happen: 1. Determine what the thickness of your stone is - 2CM or 3CM? 2. Have a sample piece 4" x 4" on hand for your electrician to use when he comes over to your home to re-set the depths of the outlet boxes. This (IMHO) should NOT be a new experience for EITHER your Electrician OR your Fabricator.... 3. Have your Electrician re-set the depths of the outlet and switch boxes.... (this should be done without the outlet recptacles and/or switches and trim plates in the boxes when he does this - just the wires should be sticking out with the protective wire nuts on each wire to prevent getting a shocking experience) ...so that that the finished stone will extend past the outside edge of each box when it is set by about an 1/8" - this means that prior to the splashes coming, your outlet boxes will protrude from the walls by the thickness of the stone PLUS an eigth of an inch. (the extra 1/8" will alow for adhesive to set the slab pieces to the walls) AND ... NO WALLS ARE PERFECTLY PLUM AND STRAIGHT, so allow for some variation - 1/8" should be enough, BUT - you may need to go 1/4" - this depends on your walls - if they are really flat, true and plumb or if they are "ca-ca"..... HOWEVER -AND THIS IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT: IF your walls are nice and flat, you could have the boxes set so that they are flush with the stone - WITHOUT the extra 1/8" too - this will all depend on how wacky your walls are...make sense??? Ask your Fabricator to get involved on this if you have trouble.... 4. Check your walls with a 6 or 8 foot straight edge to be sure.. you may have really wacky walls, and in that case, you should (again) have your Fabricator check them (hopefully, he already did) This is something that I go over in detail with all of my customers that receive full height slab splashes, so they don't get all freaked out over something like this - it's really not a big deal at all - they (your Fabricator) should have gone over it with you already (IMHO).... Any ways............... Once the full height backsplashes are installed, your Electrician will be able to install the outlets & switches without much wailing or mashing of teeth... HA! ;-) Problem Solved !!!!! Hope that helps kevin Kevin M. Padden MIA SFA Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to the Natural Stone Industry www.azschoolofrock.com...See MoreQuick Poll: Full backsplash or short granite backsplash?
Comments (18)From what I can tell, full tile backsplashes in kitchens are a fairly recent trend (with some exceptions -- see the 1928 bungalow thread -- though that was more a tiled room than a backsplash per se). When your corners aren't quite square, it makes countertop installation easier if there is a 1" thick backsplash to cover any gap between the countertop and wall. That said, I agree with the pp's that the short backsplash currently looks a bit dated. That might change in time. After all, I don't know anyone in real life who has put in a new kitchen with no backsplash at all, but I have seen some beautiful no-backsplash kitchens on this forum... maybe that will be the next trend. [grin] I haven't decided about the backsplash for when/if we redo our kitchen. We are old enough and have been in our house long enough to take the long view, so probably we will do something that's either relatively timeless (i.e. white tile) or easily changed....See MoreHas anyone done a full granite backsplash behind range?
Comments (28)sskit, I agree with Live Wire, while the concept is not new, hanging large format 2cm stone on a vertical wall should be taken seriously. Any well thought-out stone installer will know to ask the right questions and they will make certain other tradesmen are not left holding the bag after the stone is installed. Just make sure the obvious utilities are accessible and the rough in is complete and most importantly identify who is responsible for each task. Another option for the stone installer is to install mechanical clips around the exhaust opening. It�s another way to help pin the stone to the wall without having to worry about hiding the anchors. Something similar to Hohmann and Barnard #432 would work great (again I am sure your stone installer can also provide alternate options). All the best Caayu...See MoreUnable to view Photobucket
Comments (13)Photobucket is actually very reliable, have used it for 2 years with never one problem. The problem is many people using it don't understand how it works. Many people only use the free site which gives them limited space and they delete the photos to make room for more, and when you go to look for it, it is gone. Sometimes people post the wrong link because there are 4 or 5 to choose from under each photo in Photobucket. More often, it seems, people make changes to the photo, change the title of it or do something else to change it and this changes the "link" required to access it. The old one no longer works and people can't figure out why. If you want a photo on Photobucket to remain available you have to leave there and not change it. You can try emailing the original poster and ask them to post a new link to the photo. We just can't make people leave them them there untouched so we can access them later, unfortunately. I have also found a large number of photo links on the finished kitchen blog were wiped out when Yahoo closed their photo sharing site and most people have moved on with their lives since the remodel and either aren't aware of it or no longer care to take the time to replace them all with new links. If you try to access a link that no longer exists on Photobucket, you will probably get the home page, the same if they post the wrong type of link. The only part of the address that might still be valid is the part telling your computer that it needs to go to photobucket, the part telling where on photobucket to go is wrong and doesn't work. Sue...See Morepatty_cakes
16 years agocindylou2006
16 years ago
3katz4me
16 years agobrosamj
16 years agopharaoh
16 years agojessie21
16 years ago
debo_2006
16 years agopatty_cakes
16 years agowhenicit
16 years ago3katz4me
16 years agoyanalg
16 years agoFull backsplash here, did not feel that the granite was overwhelming the kitchen at all! In fact, I think it gets overwhelming when granite gets mixed in with different pattern/texture/color scheme of the backslash. It was hard enough to match the granite to the cabinetry!
To me, kitchen with a full backsplash appers more polished, and also looks like it was carved out of stone. Together, granite and cabinets become the focal point.
chinchette
16 years agowhenicit
16 years agoathomewith3
16 years agokitchendetective
16 years agosusan4664
16 years agoI had a difficult time with this decision as well. KD tried to talk me into full backsplash, and I might have been inclined to do it if I had chosen a light granite. I went with a dark granite and I didn't want that dark reflective look when I entered the kitchen. We went with a tumbled marble to give some contrast to the dark cabinet and countertop and we love it. People often comment on the backsplash. Here is a picture.
glad
16 years agojt562
16 years agosusan4664
16 years agopatty_cakes
16 years agobklyn2pok
16 years agoI think the final decision comes down to a few factors-what look are you trying to create, what do you want to look at everyday in the kitchen for the next 10-20 years. We debated the backsplash question for quite a while before we started our remodel and ended up with travertine tile and granite countertop. We don't have a large kitchen and felt that full granite would be overwhelming.
Still working on the remodel - mostly diy but here's an early picture of the backsplash.
susan4664
16 years agojgirl_2007
16 years agosvwillow1
16 years ago3katz4me
16 years agoathomewith3
16 years agojustnotmartha
16 years agoFor me the choice to do a full granite BS was based around the floor. Since I had one pattern in the tile and another somewhat busy one for the granite counter I thought adding a third pattern with a BS would be too much. I also believe it has a lot to do with the granite itself - AB black lends itself to a BS much better than my Santa C because it is not busy. In my new house I'll be doing a wood floor, less patterned counter and a BS. I'm curious to see which I'll like better when it's all said and done.
Here is a link that might be useful:
shezzy_in_sj
16 years agoI actually love full BS, because once I fall in love with a granite, I love to see it upright. Especially the ones with movement.
We chose a dark granite, Emerald Pearl. But with our situation I really have only one wall that was going to get any backsplash: behind the range. So having the dark granite as the backsplash wasn't overwhelming.
We got creative and had the fabricator hand chisel a slab in a mountain profile (some people see a wave, some people see the curve of a woman's body - whatever floats your boat I say).
I had always loved hand chiseled counter edges. LOVE them. But 1.) way too expensive, and 2.) being out on the west coast where we only get laminated edges, it wasn't going to work. But we were able to get the hand chiseled edge on the backsplash and it's just so appropriate.
The reason why I love the hand chisel is that the roughness reminds me, and others, that this beautiful material is actually rock, actually comes from a mountain, and not man-made. We found it important to remember "from whence" our granite came.
Oh, btw, we made the mirrors: they are the sun (or moon) and stars setting behind the mountain.
coffeehaus
16 years agosvwillow1
16 years ago3katz4me
16 years agoredforever
16 years agochinchette
16 years ago3katz4me
16 years agoCowgirl_in_the_Sand
11 years agoluckymom
11 years agoginny20
11 years agoOf course you should get what you like. I'm not trying to convince anyone to get full granite BS, but here's my kitchen. I chose full granite BS for my small galley kitchen because, as someone said earlier, in a small space it's good to minimize the number of finishes. I chose a quiet granite. I love it, especially when I wipe down the part behind the stove after I cook something that splashes, like bacon. (mmmm...bacon).
angie_diy
11 years agoginny20
11 years ago
heathdbar