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Backsplash tile to counter or is counter trim piece needed?

8 years ago

I'm sure this question has been asked, but I'm having trouble getting the right search terms to find it. Our builder is arguing with the architect (again:) so I'm looking for knowledge. He says you need a piece of granite around the back edge of the granite counter even if you have a tile backsplash on the wall. Architect says no way, bring the tile right down to the counter edge. Builder says that is a recipe for water problem. I see both in pics here on Houzz so I was wondering if anyone could summarize the conventional wisdom for me. Is this just purely a matter of aesthetics? Thanks!

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Comments (4)

cawaps
8 years ago
The granite piece makes it easier for the counter fabricator--the thickness of the granite gives them more margin for error in templating. Tile is thinner, so they have to be more precise. But the idea that tiling down to the counter makes for water problems is wacky--tile counters were very popular for decades, and they didn't go out of fashion over water problems (dirty grout and an uneven work surface were the main culprits there).
pjderosa thanked cawaps
Navy Momma
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Definitely no counter piece. It looks like the backsplash is an afterthought and far less custom that way. Your builder is saying that because it's easier for the fabricator- that piece hides gaps in the wall where the drywall may be uneven or out of square.
pjderosa thanked Navy Momma
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The tiled backsplash usually sits just off the countertop by an 1/8th inch or so and the gap is caulked. The caulk can be cut away and the countertop should be able to be removed without damaging the backsplash. That's in a perfect world. Some installers set the bottom course of tile right on the countertop. Less clearance. Depending on how the countertop is attached to the cabinets below, that can affect things. The shape of the counter. A straight run or and "L" shaped? Are the ends open or captured? How the countertop is constructed? A slab of stone? Or a tiled-in mud bed? Sometimes the countertop needs to be sectioned out in pieces. In general, the backsplash can usually be preserved, but getting the countertop out might be ugly, especially if it's piece by piece. So..."it depends".
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You absolutely don't want grout there for a reason - when the plane shifts and expands, as it will, grout would crack open. That's why you use a colored silicon caulk that matches your grout (all grout companies make it). Don't use grout and cover it with caulk as this defeats the purpose and you'll just have a caulk-coated crack. Hang the bottom row of tile the same distance above the counter as your grout joints, and that joint will just look like another grout line: I'd agree re. the quarter-round trim - I'd fear wood would get wet too often in that area, discolor and ultimately rot away, or else hide wipedown crud underneath it as it loosens over time. :-/
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BEAUTIFUL! You have to enjoy working in your garden, because it is really well tended and planned also. Love it. I see your high chain link fence is like my back fence....7 foot tall and 100 feet long. I've planted Confederate jasmine...or trachelospermum jasminoides....or something sounds like that? It is evergreen here, and makes a gorgeous privacy fence withing a few years. Maybe in 4 years but by 5 it is very effective....they use it in Italy everywhere, including to climb over arbors, up old stairways, and covering fences to create a living privacy fence. Let me recommend it to you for that purpose. If you like, I'll create a Flickr album about the use of this jasmine in Italian gardens (the ones I saw anyway) in Umbria. Etc. Here the cabana was covered in blooming jasmine, the short fence covered in the jasmine is kept trimmed as a short hedge, no hint of the chainlink frame holding it up inside.
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pjderosa
Original Author
8 years ago
Found the right search: "tile backsplash granite counter" and sure enough many people have asked. Here's one: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2696049/3-granite-backsplash-needed-if-plan-to-tile-backsplash-kitchen?n=5

Takeaway is that it is definitely not necessary and the majority of people don't like it with the extra granite piece. Someone observed that this probably ends up this way most often when the tile was added later over the original granite backsplash.
PRO
MarkJames & Co
8 years ago
Most often we do tile to the counter BUT I always specify that the first row of tile starts 3/16 above for counter and is filed with caulk that matches the grout. A lot of installers start the tile right on the counter. That doesn't leave enough room for the caulk to function properly, in those cases the caulk fails as the house moves. Everything moves with changes in climate.

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