Its a gas range. It needs a heat guard. Once you get that, you will need to pull the range out to install it. That would be the time to pull off the quartz and put a little schulter trim.

Then it’s even worse than I suspected. GE requires a 12” clearance to non combustibles side and rear. Not 6” No way around doing a backguard. Optional here means that you need to pick one of them or gocustom that’s NFPA approved.

"Fred- there isn’t a gap on the bottom. What are you talking about?"

Meredith, your OP photo makes it look like a gap is there. Fred S posted above with a red arrow pointing to it. Your range in that OP pic was covered in wrapping making it hard for the readers to discern what was going on with the range.

Setting aside the burn marks that it looks like you will get - because even if you only cook on the front burners, you can see how the oven's heat will vent right up against the quartz - setting that aside, I don't think that quartz backsplash looks "right" with your shiplap. If you don't like the idea of a stainless steel panel, then I would get inexpensive Daltile white subway tile (called "Rittenhouse Square") for that space behind the range, finished.

Alternatively, you can install the GE backsplash that Sophie Wheeler circled above, ZXADJB36PSS. Here is a pic, but my taste is to prefer a plain stainless panel, or the subway tile I mentioned.

Meredith Clatworthy

Fred- there isn’t a gap on the bottom. What are you talking about?

In your first pic it does look like a substantial gap.

The range specs require the backguard. Period. Unless she is willing to rip open the wall and reframe it with steel studs. 12” is darn restrictive compared to most Pro ranges. Can’t believe no one involved in that took the time to read the specs. Makes you wonder about other elements in that kitchen. Can the fridge door open? Are the electrical outlets in the right places? (Doesn’t appear to be on that one) And so forth.

What kind of Pro was involved designing this? What kind of GC executed this?

BACKSPLASH ACCESSORIES

All models require 12” minimum clearance to a
vertical combustible surface at the rear. If clearance
is less than 12”, the entire surface of the back wall
above and the full width of the range must be
protected by a backsplash. The backsplash must be
constructed of non-combustible material, such as
metal, ceramic tile, brick, marble or other stone.

Two Backsplash Accessories Available:

• The 12” high stainless steel backsplash accessory
is available. Use this backsplash in combination
with a custom, non-combustible backsplash built
beyond the 12” height. The combined height of
the backsplash accessory and the custom
backsplash must reach the bottom of a hood,

or when there is no hood, to 48” above the
cooking surface.

12” High Backsplash
ZX12B48PSS, for 48” wide ranges
ZX12B36PSS, for 36” wide ranges
ZX12B30PSS, for 30” wide ranges

30” to 36” Adjustable Height
Backsplash With Shelf
ZXADJB48PSS, for 48” wide ranges
ZXADJB36PSS, for 36” wide ranges
ZXADJB30PSS, for 30” wide ranges

• An adjustable 30” to 36” high backsplash with
shelf is also available. This backsplash fills in the
space between the top of the range and the
bottom of the hood. The shelf is positioned so that
heat lamps from the bottom of a Monogram
professional hood are directed towards the shelf.

31-10755-4

3

Good to know the model.

So both of these are from the actual installation instructions - and are a bit different than what Sophie posted, and kinda fly in the face of what has been discussed here as far as the "non-combustible" meaning, behind a range.

I still think quartz does not meet the requirement for a "non combustible" covering, but it appears that GE is saying that no matter what is behind the wall, as long as you have one of those materials on it, you are good.

Also appears you need a hood at least 600 CFM and with a custom hood install with exposed horizontal combustible surfaces, it mast have an Auto-on feature. Your range is currently using the factory installed ISLAND backsplash and is not compliant or safe. Not being a fanatic - warning you of an unsafe, improper install. Should be thanking us now.

Chess - they are referring to the backsplash material above the minimum 12" heat guard that is required to the hood. That is an unusual requirement and indicates that this is a pro range with very powerful rear gas burners and a griddle. On some gas models, the back burners are less powerful, but on this model, every burner is capable of 18,000 BTU.

BETTER GET THE 12" HEAT GUARD AND CHANGE OUT THE QUARTZ OR GET THE LARGER ADJUSTABLE HEAR GUARD WHICH SHOULD COVER THE ENTIRE WALL BETWEEN RANGE AND HOOD.

Here are the two options.

Maybe you could install the tall one right over the quartz without pulling the range out?

"I still think quartz does not meet the requirement for a "non combustible" covering, but it appears that GE is saying that no matter what is behind the wall, as long as you have one of those materials on it, you are good."

Please read all of Fred S' links on this. He throughly puts this myth to bed. In G 2408.1 (305.1) General, the manufacturer's instructions only supersede the code when the manufacturer's instructions are MORE strict than the code, not less.

Suzyq53, that’s not how the installation instructions read at all.

"If clearance is less than 12", the full surface of the back wall above and the full width of the range must be protected by a backsplash. The backsplash must be constructed of a non-combustible material, such as metal, ceramic, tile, brick, marble or other stone."

That's pretty clear to me. If you have less than 12" clearance, then one of those materials must cover the wall above & behind the range. They go on to offer a backsplash (backguard) accessory, that can be used in conjunction with the materials suggested, that would then go ABOVE the accessory. Those accessories are most likely the 1" wide type, and I think would provide the best protection, but they are NOT saying that those accessories are a requirement.

Joe, I read the links. I’ve read them several times. But now we are saying that the manufacturer’s installation instructions cannot be relied upon at all. If that is the case, then why even bother with them?

Just the fact that the manufacturer is calling those "backsplashes" and not heat guards or heat shields is intentionally misleading. Most of them are at least an inch thick and have a heat vent on the front. I don't think these optional "backslashes" are technically compliant either.

Well, first, we all need to get on the same page. (7)

http://products.geappliances.com/MarketingObjectRetrieval/Dispatcher?RequestType=PDF&Name=31-10755-4.pdf

The warning makes it more clear.

The "0" to non-combustible material" on the left side of the page still means any material including the studs within the wall "disregarding any intervening protection" - Table G2409.2

"Fred- there isn’t a gap on the bottom. What are you talking about?" - my bad, sorry for the extra worry ;)

"Chess - they are referring to the backsplash material above the minimum 12" heat guard that is required to the hood. That is an unusual requirement and indicates that this is a pro range with very powerful rear gas burners and a griddle."

This and page 7 explain chess's highlighted pictures, but this (extra tile) is usually for a "grill", not a griddle, (flame protection, not intense prolonged heat) that causes this requirement, as a grill will often have occasional more or less intentional flare ups. (Not the constant direct heat of the burner requiring the "real" protection) I believe I saw grills on the pictures in the installation instructions.

Its even less clear to me and intentionally so. It def isn't clean whether the taller backsplash is sufficient without a custom backsplash and it isn't clear what a custom backsplash is other than suggesting some surfaces.

Whether they want to call it a stainless backsplash or a backguard is irrelevant. It is the "Listed" assembly that allows 0" clearance. It has been tested to work against a combustible back wall, and is most likely double walled with vents for air circulation.

Their "listed" backsplash that goes all the way up to the hood would not require any additional wall protection.

It is best to read these instructions written by lawyers to confuse people without a preconcieved notion of what they mean by backsplash or backguard etc, because it keeps changing.

These are picture from the official GE site photo gallery.

A sales gimmick - bait and switch.

All they have to say is that the entire back walls were constructed using cinderblock, CMU, brick....

" But now we are saying that the manufacturer’s installation instructions cannot be relied upon at all. If that is the case, then why even bother with them?"

I violated my own rule against trimming countertops for new appliances without the appliance being on site and it cost me an unpaid callback. I had to do the same job twice for the same money by believing GE when they said in writing the cutout for the slide-in was 30". It was 30 1/4".

So no, manufacturer's installation instructions and specifications cannot be relied upon. Everything they print must be confirmed in person.

"Chess - they are referring to the backsplash material above the minimum 12" heat guard that is required to the hood."

Nope, they are not saying that at all. That is not how the instructions read.

"If clearance is less than 12", the full surface of the back wall above and the full width of the range must be protected by a backsplash. The backsplash must be constructed of a non-combustible material, such as metal, ceramic, tile, brick, marble or other stone."

Chess, what it does NOT say is that a non-combustible material can be glued directly to drywall and wood studs for that, or that you can then go from 12" all the way down to zero.

If you can not read this, look it up at Table G2409.2

https://codes.iccsafe.org/public/document/IRC2015/chapter-24-fuel-gas

"Chess - they are referring to the backsplash material above the minimum 12" heat guard that is required to the hood."

Since the 12" listed heat guard would qualify as "The backsplash must be constructed of a non-combustible material, such as metal, ceramic, tile, brick, marble or other stone." AND is required,

Then all that is left is the space above the listed heat shield to cover.

You have to understand the ANSI Z21 listing requirements before you can understand the manipulation of the wording by the lawyers. They want you to stop reading where you did -- buy the appliance -- THEN read page 7 and figure out you are screwed...or just believe what you think you read so that they are absolved of all liability due to an improper installation.

Anything that is about half plastic is highly combustible. That’s quartz of any brand. And toxic fumes result from that combustion. That 93% rock is a onvenient marketing lie. That is based on weight, not volume. Volume? 60/40-50/50 depending on color and brand.

And it would not matter if it were tile, which certainly is non combustible, but does nothing to satisfy the 12” non combustible requirement. Even if that were natural stone, which is certainly non combustible, it’s not a 12” thick piece of stone. That’s the only thing that would comply.

3cm of plastic and rock not only does not comply, its an active danger.

Meredith:

Fred’s links define what is “combustible” and what is not.

The point is not whether the quartz is combustible, it is what is behind the quartz. Is there gypsum board and wood in your wall? Those are def combustible. Your stove is so strong on the rear burners that you would need 12" of clearance from the back combustible wall without a heat guard or backsplash as it is called for your appliance. You do not have 12" so unless your wall is made out of solid brick or solid cement a heat guard is required.

Even the huge Viking ranges have lower BTU on the rear than yours. They only need 6". We had our Viking built out 6" with a riser that contained a heat guard to comply with inspector at our old house. I installed the required backguard at our new house kitchen remodel but the inspector here never even mentioned it. So aside from passing an inspection or complying with the code, it really is a safety issue for you and future owners.

If you put a huge pot of boiling water on the back at full blast, the gas flames will come up the side of your pot and your quartz will get hot for sure. If you put two huge pots of boiling water on back, it will heat up even more. If you also use the griddle at the same time it will get really really hot. I'm not saying you would usually do that, but that is what your stove is capable of and how it is tested. The quartz probably won't melt or catch on fire, but the dry wall and the wood studs in your wall will also get hot and over time, dry up and they can catch on fire.

Fred S

"Since the 12" listed heat guard would qualify as "The backsplash must be constructed of a non-combustible material, such as metal, ceramic, tile, brick, marble or other stone." AND is required,

Then all that is left is the space above the listed heat shield to cover.

You have to understand the ANSI Z21 listing requirements before you can understand the manipulation of the wording by the lawyers. They want you to stop reading where you did -- buy the appliance -- THEN read page 7 and figure out you are screwed...or just believe what you think you read so that they are absolved of all liability due to an improper installation."

Fred, I understand what you are saying, but I honestly don't read it that way. To me, it reads that IF you CHOOSE TO USE the 12"high stainless steel backsplash accessory, it MUST be installed in combination with a custom non-combustible backsplash. And that finished backsplash, whether it contains the stainless steel accessory or not, must cover the entire wall (width +48").

Frankly I think most people would read it that way. I showed it to my BF, without even expressing an opinion, and he interprets it the same way I do. ( I'd love to take this to a KD friend-of-a-friend and see what she thought of it.)

That table above is not referenced in the installation guide, I don't think. But if this is the intent, that information should be laid out in the installation instructions.

My whole point with this is that so many here are slamming the OP hard for ignoring the installation specs. But I don't see how anyone would interpret this the way that you are - it may be that they screwed up the wording, but I have a hard time believing that it was intentional. I've half a mind to call GE on it, or at least write a letter. I sure would if I were the OP after all the information that has been presented here.

In any event, this has been very educational. OP, best of luck to you - I truly would have that quartz removed though, (and get the accessory backsplash installed!) - or just stick to using the front burners. That is a very powerful range, and quartz can't hold up to that kind of heat.

I get the feeling that you are deliberately trying to be obtuse, contradictory, and confusing.

"To me, it reads that IF you CHOOSE TO USE the 12"high stainless steel backsplash accessory, it MUST be installed in combination with a custom non-combustible backsplash."

1) stop trying to add words like "IF" and "CHOOSE" into places they don't exist.

2) stop trying to limit the definition of "backsplash" to just the outermost decorative finish.

3) stop trying to limit the surfaces being considered as burnable to just the outermost decorative finish.

The "Listed" stainless steel backsplash accessory is the highly engineered assembly that is actually tested to do the job advertised, not tile glued directly to a combustible wall with no air gap. Tile or stainless glued directly to a combustible wall will not protect the wall from burning any more than a crock or stainless steel pan will keep your food from burning, so why would the listed/tested piece of safety equipment be the optional part?

There are only 4 choices.

1) keep the range at least 12" from the back wall

2) use the Listed stainless backsplash and cover the remaining wall up to the hood with 'flash flame' protection.

3) follow Table G2409.2 and still keep the range away from the back wall the distance prescribed in the table.

4) build the entire wall, including finishes on both sides with non-combustible materials.

Slapping tile directly onto a combustible wall while pushing the range all the way back to the back wall, and not using the listed backsplash is NOT an option.

It is not a coincidence that the shortest listed backsplash is the same 12" height that the distance away from the wall would need to be without it.

"Frankly I think most people would read it that way. I showed it to my BF, without even expressing an opinion, and he interprets it the same way I do." - No, just those that try to use designer's definitions limited to the ornamental skin deep aspect of certain words to manipulate it to fit their preconceived notions where a more essential/ substantive definition is necessary to fit the physics/engineering nature of this code... and BFs that don't want to sleep on the couch.

"That table above is not referenced in the installation guide, I don't think." -

"CLEARLY, not looking with your eyes open."

From the testing/listing and installation instructions.

The following IRC sections are copied directly from ANSIZ223.1/NFPA54 referenced above.

"My whole point with this is that so many here are slamming the OP hard for ignoring the installation specs." - NO, I don't think anybody is deliberately trying to slam anybody. The reason this long thread that has been beaten to death is because OTHER people keep trying to confuse the OP by being contradictory and argumentative. It is those people (you) who are ending up slammed. most of us are just trying to be helpful and explain the situation correctly.

KSC36, This is NOT a wood stove. This area is NOT under the stove, or there would not be a problem in the first place. Good thing your bet isn't worth the time it took you to type that because you are unequivocally WRONG. I already posted what would be allowed using that stuff twice.

KSC36, It is you who does not understand. Just because you are wrong does not give me issues. Why don't you post something that says if you use Micore you can put the wood stove tight against a wall with no clearance requirements to the WALL? The hearth is on the floor, and the distance to that floor from the fire box is already preset by the pedestal or legs. You are not allowed to cut, alter beyond the installation instructions, or take the legs off the stove if you use Micore any more than you would be allowed to put the range tight against the combustible wall assembly without the listed backsplash, and that still would not allow zero clearance to sides or top.

Next time, do not make a bet if you don't want to be taken up on it.

You can do whatever you want to burn your house down, but none of what you are saying would even remotely pass any building code. Good thing you are not a rocket scientist - apparently unaware of what failed on Columbia. Your guessing on here is both irresponsible and dangerous. Air is just about the best insulator there is.

As they say, you are just pissin' into the wind.

Fred S

"I get the feeling that you are deliberately trying to be obtuse, contradictory, and confusing."

And I get the feeling that you are choosing to ignore what I am saying. The backsplash accessory, that is made by GE, is optional. That means you can CHOOSE to buy it and CHOOSE to install it, and IF you do, the entire wall (above that 12" height) must be covered as well, with a non-combustible - in other words, you cannot use the 12" guard, alone. I am not saying that it is stating you should not have the appropriate backsplash/guard (or whatever you wish to call it) but THAT one is certainly an OPTIONAL ACCESSORY, and therefore an OPTIONAL INSTALLATION. As to your "BFs that don't want to sleep on the couch" - no idea what your intent was with that comment - but FYI probably not wise to assume too much. The BF is a building inspector, which isn't even relevant, but I wanted to know how he interpreted the instructions, as just a regular person reading them, I didn't ask him to use any expertise about the install. The install instructions leave a lot of room for improper installations and in looking though the many other threads here on Houzz, it sounds like there are many many other similar/improper installs.

Enjoy your condescension; it bothers me not. My point was made whether or not you choose to acknowledge it. Sorry, I don't feel "slammed" at all LOL. But good to know that was your intention (as usual). :-) Have a lovely day.

ksc36:

As I've previously posted here, manufacturers can be wrong about the installation specifications of their products.

Ksc36, prove it - post a link to the manual. Otherwise, we all know that you are not allowed to alter listed equipment or install it in a manner not approved. Do you really think anyone bought that? It still would not be "zero" clearance to the fire box itself.

Since when does .39 meet or exceed the .40 difference?

Irrelevant tangent aside, that says nothing about using no legs at all, or putting the back of the stove tight against the wall -- which is what we are actually talking about.

You need to realize that there is no double wall fire box, fire brick, or built-in air gap between the back stove top burners and wall to help with that minimum R value board if someone were to do what you are suggesting. The Table G2409.2 is perfectly clear as to how much clearance reduction is allowed when using that insulation board, and it is not down to "zero".

I don't think any of us are disagreeing with the position that buying one of
GE's backspashes is the simplest scheme for being compliant. But in my view there is an underlying issue with the IRC dictating specific requirements for conformance.

Fred S once wrote, a long way up the page: "Every single model range is independently tested by an independent
testing laboratory, using very specific testing procedures designed to
ensure that adjacent surfaces will not reach a temperature above 194°F
(below boiling point, so it won't dry out wood) under normal conditions." If this is the fundamental requirement, and not fire prevention, one might question the NFPA's intervention here. If wood drying is related to ease of wood combustion, or somehow of firecode sheetrock combustion, then at a minimum there should be tables related to wood species and other construction approaches. If wood drying is related to structural strength, then whether a given stud is load bearing comes into play.

(As an independent study exercise, experimentally observe how easy it is to light dried redwood on fire.)

But drying aside, one can see from all the material Fred S has provided us how a fundamental requirement has been expanded to requirements on construction such that one can be compliant only by following these specific derived requirements or by paying for UL testing. (Somehow wood drying seems to have been dropped from the IRC conversation, which is all about combustible materials.)

This is how bureaucracies stagnate civilization. It is a modern counterpart of the Mandarin bureaucracy stagnation that allowed a trivial amount of projected power by the British to force China to trade silver for opium in the 19th Century.

A better approach would be to specify distance versus thermal resistance of any insulating assembly used to protect a combustible surface, along with the maximum allowed temperatures of widely used combustible materials that might be found in residential construction. Formulas for this can be provided. Table 303.10.1's examples have an implied thermal resistance, and whatever this thermal resistance is should be allowable for any other protective assembly (e.g., space shuttle tiles) so long as one can show compliance by analysis. Otherwise, the process of compliance is just supporting UL rent-seeking.

kas

Not wrong, ksc36 The fact still remains that you can not use insulating board to get to the zero clearance to the back wall for this range without using the listed stainless backsplash...and be code compliant. PERIOD.

Nor can you CUT off or completely REMOVE the legs of your stove, which is what I was asking you to prove, not the manufactured, tested, and listed heights.

Nobody is debating whether it is OK to install a stove per listing and manufacturer instructions....why would they?

KSC36, I am not changing my response just clarifying them so that your irrelevant tangents and rhetoric do not confuse anybody else.

Clearly, you try to pretend everything I say means something different than it does...shown by the entire irrelevant wood stove nonsense that has completely different characteristics than the kitchen range.

(Somehow wood drying seems to have been dropped from the IRC conversation, which is all about combustible materials.) - it is just built into the listing and labeling requirements (& installation instructions). The reason different ranges have different clearance distances... to take into account the different BTUs.

It is all there, they just tried to simplify it, and judging from this conversation, it is still confusing enough.

And yes, it is all about how much easier it is to ignite dry wood, regardless of species.

Another issue to consider is practicality. If you look at the far column in the table, you will see that the lowest number is a "2" which corresponds to what is the equivalent to 1/2 of the overall sectional of the Listed backslash. (Sheet metal + ventilated air space) ...air is the best insulator. If you look at mineral wool (Micore) at 3" clearance, and if you were to double that up to get below 3" even though it is not allowed, then the insulating assembly would be about 3" thick. Since you would still be measuring the 3" clearance required to the combustible material behind the insulation, you have essentially just built the wall out to meet the range instead of being able to move the range back to the wall...doesn't help much.

Further, since heat spreads out much like light, without looking up an exact formula, the heat would be roughly inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the heat source. So, if you want to cut the clearance distance in half from the table alowance, you would not double the amount of insulation, but 2² or quadruple.

The radiation (radiant heat in the infrared) spreads out like light (because it is light), but this only falls as 1/R^2 when it is emitted from a point source. Other shapes only approach this at a significant distance. There are whole pages of thermal transfer functions applicable to one shape transferring heat by radiation to another nearby shape. But I get your intent. The heat flux density is higher closer to the gas flame, due both to more concentrated radiation, and to convection from the more concentrated hot gas impingement onto the shielding material.

If the shielding material were highly conductive -- e.g., thick copper instead of thin stainless steel with an air gap behind it -- the thermal conductivity (heat spreading) could in principle be sufficiently high that, assuming a large enough surface with only some of it heated, it could conduct and then reradiate or convect back into the air the heat input such that all parts of the slab remained below the critical temperature. A heat pipe like architecture could also be imagined performing this function with less copper employed. The GE backspash, however, is the more practical approach.

There is something somewhere that said you could use a custom backsplash with this appliance. Where would you get that engineered?

I am glad you wrote all of that instead of me ;) I actually deleted a last sentence on my last post that said something like; In the case of a large steel plate radiating heat from the bottom of a wood burning stove, the more concentrated heat under the center of the plate would be more linear in nature in relation to the distance to the pad below. But I did not want to explain it in that much detail,.. and then have to reexplain it like everything else on this thread...

And yes, the formula would not be exactly inverse squared, but still closer to that than a 1 to 1 ratio under the "normal use" the appliances are tested under. Yes, distance matters more when the source is no a smaller point but that is also why extrapolation below that of the table is not allowed. Of course, a common mistake is bridging a large rectangular griddle across the back two burners and too close to the backsplash, which messes up the formula and the backsplash...

It would be easier and more practical to just make the entire wall out of non-combustible materials than to try to engineer something with insulating millboard because of the exponential nature of the formula. The build up of insulation necessary to get the range as close to the wall as the listed backsplash does would eventually defeat the purpose... especially when starting out with a massive 12" clearance to combustibles. You would be building the wall out in reality, rather than moving the range back.

maggkemm24

That's very true but honestly, things we've done and not liked (mistakes etc) were glaring in our eyes and a constant source of irritation even though no one else noticed. People would always say no one notices. However, we do things for us not others. So in the end, we notice and it's hard to not look at the wood trim that was not correct. Yes?

Inga

I really like how this turned out, and I'm one of those who feel shiplap belongs outdoors only. :) Maybe it works because you have all the windows--it has a classy summer kitchen feel.

I'm pleased your house hasn't melted into a gooey pile of plastic flames, too!

I love how it turned out!