It has been 6 1/2 years since I had the Sea Pearl installed in my kitchen. I gave up looking for tiles, plus my dad needed more care (Alzheimer's). So, back to looking for a backsplash, and I think I may have found several tiles that may work. But, first, I need to figure out what to do with the countertop behind the rangetop.

Total 14 ft of counter with stainless steel sink, then 36" Blue Star rangetop and another section of counter. Height from counter to upper cabinet is 18" and from counter to the hood is 30".

The seam is pretty bad, and I think the fabricator used the wrong caulk. It stains. He stuck a piece of quartzite behind the rangetop and caulked it. It is also not level which is why I thought about using stainless steel behind the rangetop (over the top of the quartzite). I could have the stainless steel backsplash panel made with a 90° angle to cover that 36" x 3" piece of counter. (Some of the rock is 2.5" wide and some is 3".) Then, continue the stainless steel up to the vent hood. I don't think the steel will cover ALL of the caulk seam because the actual caulk seams go past the edge of the rangetop.

Three choices:

1. If I match the width of the rangetop, then the stainless steel panel will have a 3" gap on each side of the hood. Should glass tile backsplash go in the gaps on the left and right sides where the steel does not cover?

2. Make a stainless steel panel in a T shape where the top of the T is 42" wide and the leg of the T is 36" wide with a 3" wide angle to cover the seam??? Then put glass tile on the rest of the backsplash.

3. Use only glass tile for the backsplash. If I do not use the stainless steel panel, how can I hide the horrible seam? It seems a shame to have a 6k countertop with high end hood and high end stove next to the crappy workmanship of the seam.

Problem:

The stainless steel panel will be a lot thinner than the tile when installed. Does the wall need to be built up where the steel will be?

Silver is where steel panel would be. Seam will show if I match the steel to the width of stove.

If I make the steel wider to cover the caulk seam, it will be wider than the stove. Every time I clean the counter, I will scratch my hand on the steel.

Any suggestions? Most match the steel to the rangetop. Thanks for your help.