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I've had paper wallpaper vinyl coated, but I would never put it directly behind heat. Your stove placement is very problematic. It should not be up against a wall.

I'm sure that stove top has required clearances to the rear and sides from combustibles. And paper is combustible.

Not knowing what the laws and safety standards are, applying sheets of stainless steel to the back and sides would probably be the least expensive and easiest solution.

That's what came with the apartment so it's intangible. But I do wish to do something so that this part of the kitchen is not so less appealing. I came across this on Amazon and have been stuck trying to make my mind and order one roll first and see if it'll work; Kitchen Backsplash Wallpaper Stickers, Kitchen Stickers Self Adhesive Kitchen Aluminum Foil Stickers Oil Proof Waterproof Kitchen Stove Sticker -15.6 x117inc https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GDBN5VM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WBtqDbZ4339MJ

I'm hoping this could take care of the oil splashes and heat affects. One could easily wipe of oil and grease off of this as compared to the painted wall.

I have this exact some problem. While I expect that the clearances are all to code and so forth, I've often wondered what idiot involved in the design of my building thought that ordinary kitchen wall paint would stand up to all the heat and splatter destined to come off of a stove.

I've thought about all sorts of things:

• Ceramic tile is out because I'm a renter (as I'm guessing OP probably is).
• Vinyl wallpaper might melt or burn.
• Vinyl floor tile in a not-too-floor-specific pattern might work, if I didn't have to buy a whole box to get 4 sq. ft.
• Metal backsplash tiles might work, but how to finish the edges?
• A piece of luan or very thin plywood might work, as long as its finish held up didn't catch fire itself.
• I have a roughly 2-ft-square scrap of polycarbonate greenhouse sheeting that I'm thinking of trying. It may not be all that attractive, but it'd look better than the scarred and splattered paint that's there now.

Vinyl Floor Tile, Plywood, and or Polycarbonate may be worse ideas than wallpaper. Stainless Steel with rolled edges would be my choice for side and backsplash for this application. In fact a rental I had had that exact option.

This appliance installation is a fire hazard and needs to be changed. No tile, no fireproof paper, no nothing. Move it.

Since chnaging the location of the cooktop is a difficult thing to do, I would start with sheet metal on the walls. You can decorate the metal by hammering it, grinding it, or piercing it. You could use copper, or stainless steel. If this is your own kitchen, I would think hard about planning a change on safety grounds. In the meantime, exercise caution.

Okay, the plywood was a dumb idea.

In fact, I think the reason this might not be such a fire hazard as it appears is that my walls (and perhaps also the OP's walls) are not wood to begin with, but sheetrock/drywall. My building has extensive fire safety measures, including sprinklers and multiple alarm systems, all of which are inspected twice annually. It would seem odd to me if the apartment management went to all that fuss and bother while leaving such a stove-to-wall proximity fire safety hazard extant in each of the 140 units here.

(Management has done some odd things around here, but not that odd.)

Yikes! I just looked up the flammability of vinyl tile (yeah, I should have done that earlier in my thinking process), and so that idea is O-U-T out.

millworkman (and others), what do you see wrong with using polycarbonate? It isn't flammable, doesn't start melting until until 300 F/150 C, and is tough as nails. What am I missing here?

All the suggestion on fire hazard are well appreciated. I just want to make this part of the kitchen easily cleanable. I use vinegar to clean the stove and that didn't go well with the wall paint. Have you seen the Amazon link I shared on the aluminum sheet? So far that is the only thing I see as a viable solution, I intend on covering the walls as well as the little part of formica plywood with it.

Here's the link again: https://amzn.to/2yDb26h

Metal sheeting.

@Bri Bosh

I like this idea! Could you lead me to where you got this from? And is it an easy DIY material to work with?

Commercial kitchens often have stainless steel wall coverings.

DIY, not unless you have the tools. You could contact your local sheet metal shops, they could cut it for you, and you fasten the sheets to the walls.

Next time you are in a restaurant with an open kitchen, even a burger place, look at the kitchen walls.

I got this sheet at Lowe’s! It was just the right size so I didn’t have to cut it down. It’s thin enough that it slid into place.

" It isn't flammable, doesn't start melting until until 300 F/150 C "

How hot do you think a gas flame gets?

"How hot do you think a gas flame gets?"

And the fumes when it does burn/melt.

"Stainless Steel with rolled edges would be my choice for side and backsplash for this application."

And the picture Bri Bosch is exactly what I was describing.

Metal sheeting does not fireproof a wall. That appliance is not installed per manufacturer's instructions. The fact that there are 140 of them makes no difference. A drywall wall with wood studs is not fireproof. This is the opinion of the National Fire Protection Association.

Weedmeister and Millworkman,

I think a gas flame gets to somewhere around 3000-5000 F. I also think that by the time the wall 4-5 inches from the gas jets reaches that temperature, the wooden cupboards above the stove and the paper towels on the other side of the kitchen will have long since burst into flame.

You can't make stove completely fireproof, not without defeating the purpose of having a stove in the first place.

I agree completely Joe, the op has made it pretty clear the she is not moving the stove and my point was just that that is probably the best of a poor lot of choices if the stove is staying in it's present location.

Joseph Corlett,

My range was made by GE. Quoting from their installation instructions -

"Electric ranges require 0" side wall spacing above counter height, but up to 6" is recommended to avoid possible heat damage. Please review specific model installation instructions for required dimensions.

Gas ranges require 1"- 6"side wall spacing above the counter height for proper combustion. Please review specific model installation instructions for required dimensions.

30 inches between the cooktop and bottom of the cabinet above.

0 inches for sides below the cooktop."

(Scroll to the bottom of the linked page, under "Ranges.")

Naveed appears to have at least 1-2 inches of clearance, although not the full 6 inches that might required for some gas ranges. I by definition have the 0" required for my electric range.

Also, as a renter, what would you suggest I do?

- Go to management and tell them that they, their fire protection company, and our local fire marshal are all wrong; and they need to rip out and reinstall 140 stove units? (For the record, I have in fact done this, although without result.)

- Rip out and remodel the kitchen at my own expense? (For the record, my lease specifically forbids any such thing.)

- Move, probably to a place with less stringent fire safety measures than I have here? (For the record, that's not going to happen.)

(I'm not actually the OP; and, to Naveed, my apologies for hijacking your thread.)

I would be delighted to move the stove, if there were someplace to move it to. On the side away from the wall, the stove is six inches from the fridge. I need those six inches to allow light and elbow room for working at the stove, and to avoid heating and/or heat damaging the refrigerator. Stove, fridge, those six inches, and the fridge door swing clearance are all that fits on one side of my 6-foot galley kitchen. The other side is 50 linear inches of counter space centered on either side of a 22 inch sink.

It is well-laid out out and all works remarkably well for such a tiny workspace, with only a few flaws like the wall next to the stove being so vulnerable to heat damage.

EUREKA!!!! Naveed, thanks so much for the link!

I thought I had scoured Amazon (and Etsy, and Ebay, and...) clean of anything like this, but I never thought to search "backsplash" under "Range Hood Parts and Accessories." And there they are, a modest slew of non-flammable, finished edge, easily cleanable, slim profile steel and aluminum backsplashes at not completely unreasonable prices. Time to limber up the old credit card!

(PS: Polycarbonate, schmolycarbonate.)

A consumer grade electric range is not a gas range. Its very rare for any range, electric or gas, to have 0 as the clearance needs. RTFM..

A pro grade electric induction range is not a gas range. Most of these need at least 3”. Some 6” of clearance to a combustible assembly. Some 9”. RTFM.

A consumer grade has range is not a high BTU pro range. Many pro grade ranges require 6”-12” of horizontal clearance to any combustible assembly. RTFM.

A non-combustible surface over combustible material is NOT a combustible assembly. It would be like saying that the cast iron skillet between the flame and the steak keeps the steak from catching fire. If you leave it in the pan long enough, you bet it can dry out and catch fire. The wood studs inside a wall protected by a non combustible surface can still scorch, and experience a condition called pyrolysis. That means that it’s ignition temperature lowers over time and repeated heat cycles.

Placing tile, or stainless, or stone, directly over a wood studded wall without an insulating air gap, is violating the fire code, if it places that wood stud within the prohibited zone for combustibles. The reason that I mention an insulating air gap, is because that is how a manufacturer’s “suggested”( but required) backguard works to comply with code. There’s a small gap between it and the wall, so it doesn’t directly conduct heat into the wall assembly.

Plastic is extremely flammable. Enthusiastic ignorance is still ignorance. Please refrain from giving advice that will catch someone's Kitchen on fire and result in toxic fumes both. Do t guess. Either know the answer and answer. Or don’t answer. Don’t stick in a bunch of dangerous BS. Stick with talking pretty colors and decor. Design is a whole different ballgame. People’s lives are at stake in poorly designed kitchens. Not kidding. At all.

I understand the safety concern. The Formica on the plywood has been affected by the heat to the point that it's unsightly. However it is due to the large pot and grill pan touching that area. Direct flame is not coming anywhere near the wood. The only thing is oil that might get left off some days and harden off. I just want some sheet to cover all of this area so that I can use the most abrasive chemical to wipe off the grease. The goal is a clean kitchen. I understand the safety concern. The Formica on the plywood has been affected by the heat to the point that it's unsightly. However it is due to the large pot and grill pan touching that area. Direct flame is not coming anywhere near the wood. The only thing is oil that might get left off some days and harden off. I just want some sheet to cover all of this area so that I can use the most abrasive chemical to wipe off the grease. The goal is a clean kitchen.

GreenDesigns, I have a few issues with your post, so I'm going to take the liberty of quoting parts of it below, to better respond to them individually.

GreenDesigns: "A consumer grade electric range is not a gas range. Its very rare for any range, electric or gas, to have 0 as the clearance needs. RTFM."

I read the 'F' manufacturer's installation instructions for my consumer grade GE electric range, as posted on the GE website, and quoted above and here: "Electric ranges require 0" side wall spacing above counter height... ...30 inches between the cooktop and bottom of the cabinet above. 0 inches for sides below the cooktop."

GreenDesigns: "Placing tile, or stainless, or stone, directly over a wood studded wall without an insulating air gap, is violating the fire code, if it places that wood stud within the prohibited zone for combustibles."

Come to think of it, the studs in that wall are metal. And here I aways thought the builders had just been cheaping out.

GreenDesigns: "The reason that I mention an insulating air gap, is because that is how a manufacturer’s “suggested”( but required) backguard works to comply with code. There’s a small gap between it and the wall, so it doesn’t directly conduct heat into the wall assembly."

While the 0" spacing mention in the manufacturers installation instructions appear to only require that I not somehow place the range inside the wall cavity, the shape of the range prevents me from placing the cooktop directly in contact with the wall. Space being at such a premium in my kitchen, it's not that I haven't (inadvisedly, as I now see) tried. The gap currently stands at 3/8 of an inch.

GreenDesigns: "Plastic is extremely flammable."

Well, yes and no. That's kind of like saying "Kitchens have extremely little counterspace." While you will seldom find anyone saying the their kitchen has too much counter space, thoughtfully designed mansions generally have more than improvisationally built tiny homes.

As for the flammability of plastics, "Nitrate"-type celluloid filmstock fell out of use due to its nasty tendency to burst spontaneously into flame, while diallyl phthalate is suitable for high-temperature use in applications like jet fighter hydraulic systems. Polycarbonate, the polymer used in the greenhouse sheeting I mentioned, is a self-extinguishing material with a range of UL94 Flammability Ratings from V-0 to V-2, depending on the details of manufacture. Greenhouse sheeting can probably be assumed to be at the more flammable end of that range; but could generally be expected be substantially less flammable than, say, polypropylene or polymethylmethacrylate

GreenDesigns: "Enthusiastic ignorance is still ignorance."

Well, geez.

Was it my vast oversimplification of the Glass-Transition Temperature of polycarbonate as the temperature that it "doesn't start melting until" that made me seem ignorant?

Or that I did not fully research all my ideas elsewhere before seeking input and information on them here?

GreenDesigns: "Please refrain from giving advice that will catch someone's Kitchen on fire and result in toxic fumes both. Do t guess. Either know the answer and answer. Or don’t answer. Don’t stick in a bunch of dangerous BS."

It was not my intention to give advice, or to "answer" as if I were some all-knowing authority. I meant to put forward ideas and hoped to discuss their merits. (Admittedly, when directly challenged to "RTFM," I did answer that by quoting the best authority I could readily find.)

GreenDesigns: "Stick with talking pretty colors and decor."

It seems I may have to.

I was looking forward to have a interesting discussion here. Instead, I mostly got responses saying that the problem could not be solved or that everything I had suggested was wrong, without saying why or giving much other information at all. And, while my problem has been solved, it was not any of the knowledgeable experts who were so quick with those responses who were actually able to help - it was the OP.

I don't speak the language of didactic imperative very well, and that seems to be making it rather hard for me to converse. I don't take well to direct insults, either, and that's making it rather hard for me to want to converse with some of you.

No didactic imperative, Evelyn, just a thoughtful, informative and respectful post. The English have a lovely saying, Empty pots make the most noise. Thank you for not walking away from the noise.