What's behind your range?

[teapot]

I am in the midst of a kitchen remodel and the star of my new kitchen will be a Capital Culinarian 30" range. I have never before had a gas range, and no experience cooking with the kind of power the Culinarian has (23,000 BTUs per burner). Above the range will be a 600 cfm hood. But what do I do with the wall behind the stove? Stainless? Tile? Shelf? Rail?

I have heard that tile is easier to maintain than stainless, which shows everything. Shelves will interfere with hood performance and above the stove makes lousy storage. I'd like to hang some utensils (or even pot lids stored behind rails) but is that practical over a powerful gas range? Do they get too greasy or hot?

I would really like to hear from you (and soon) -- what works and what doesn't behind a gas range? Pictures welcome!

Thanks!

[Kerry Beal]

My first thought - dust bunnies!

[Emily_R]

My recommendations - no shelf (I had this in the past -- everything on it gets covered in atomized grease, and reaching it while cooking requires reaching over a hot stove).. And if you do tile, make sure that the grout is dark -- otherwise no matter how well sealed the grout is, grease and spatter will darken it... (that said, I'm looking forward to hearing what other people have to say here, as I recently put in a new range, and we still haven't settled on a backsplash to put behind it...

[heidih]

I currently have just a semi-gloss painted surface in an olive/beige tone. It wipes clean, does not highlight crud, and can easily be re-painted if things deteriorate. Mine is the oven actually so it sits a bit higher but I think the idea applies.

[Raoul Duke]

My range is backed with s/s that is in front of tile. The s/s isn't that hard to clean, I expect it's easier that tile when it has grease bonded to the tiles by the heat from the range. It will be the grout that may be difficult to clean. The shelf is convienent but the underside collects some grease and can be a PITA to clean. I'd do s/s again. The picture, assuming it came out OK, shows just how much junk one can collect on, or near a range.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Now I have serious range envy.....

Mine is a simple MABE, and it's up against the wall with a tile backsplash and a window that opens (poor woman's range hood). I've got a ledge right in front of the window, that's about 1' above my burners, and it holds whatever I'm sunlight infusing (at the moment that's a few herbs for perfume) and anything I might be sprouting for the garden. That's it.

Then again, I've got a Latin American style range with a closeable tempered glass cover, which means that when I'm cooking the lid is up and catches almost all the grease and whatnot, and when I'm not cooking the lid's generally down and prevents any kind of ickiness from getting on my burners and stovetop. It's very convenient. It also means that when the stove's not in use, I have an extra chunk of taller countertop to work on, which is very nice.

[ScoopKW]

My recommendations - no shelf (I had this in the past -- everything on it gets covered in atomized grease, and reaching it while cooking requires reaching over a hot stove).. And if you do tile, make sure that the grout is dark -- otherwise no matter how well sealed the grout is, grease and spatter will darken it... (that said, I'm looking forward to hearing what other people have to say here, as I recently put in a new range, and we still haven't settled on a backsplash to put behind it...

Epoxy grout will not stain. It's expensive, and it's a pain to install. But once up it's trouble-free. We have travertine behind the stove, on the floor, on the walls of the island (but granite counters).

If I were to do it again I'd go with roto-printed porcelain (which looks like real stone, but won't react with acids), with epoxy grout. My only beef with travertine is that acid (like lemon juice and vinegar and a hundred other things I use in the kitchen) will etch it. So I have to be vigilant about cleanup. But other than that...

[teapot]

Good to know about the epoxy grout! I am considering some Ann Sacks tile to create some visual interest and if I do that, I'll use the epoxy grout.

No one yet has commented on the idea of having a rail from which you can hang metal utensils. I've seen this in a numbe rof photos and it seems like it would be convenient, but I don't know if this is something an interior designer came up with to make it look like a chef's kitchen or if it is truly practical. Any thoughts?

[Emily_R]

I agree -- ScoopKW, thanks for the info on epoxy grout! Here's a good article from This Old House on the topic...

Epoxy Grout Article

Em

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I'd avoid the rail behind the range - there's the issue again of reaching over hot burners to get the tools you need. Rails or pinracks to one side, on the other hand....

[SaltySnack]

I burned the hell out of my arm the other day reaching for a pot on the back of the stove that the handle just happened to be barely close to the burner in front of it that was going. I'd stay far far away from having to reach over a stove and pick something up especially something metal.

In one of of my old apartments, the kitchen was small, storage was minimal and the cabinets must have been designed for some giant man. I baked something in a dish in the oven, got it out, set it on the stove top, reached above it to grab something out of the cabinet above, and my shirt lifted up and I burned my stomach!

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I like a cooktop with nothing above it that can potentially burn me.

I have tumbled marble behind my stove with an iron decorative insert. I did not design or decorate the kitchen nor do I really fry anything close to the backsplash, My tile could stand a little scrubbing but that's mostly because of the pot filler which must have a bad connection because every time I turn it on the water is brown.

[andiesenji]

Your best solution is glass tile, the mini "subway tile" gives a more linear look and as mentioned above, the epoxy grout is non-porous and does not stain.

A friend has a combination of clear and light bluish-gray tile with a gunmetal color grout that looks really good with stainless steel and brightens the area under the hood.

[LindaK]

Your best solution is glass tile, the mini "subway tile" gives a more linear look and as mentioned above, the epoxy grout is non-porous and does not stain.

A friend has a combination of clear and light bluish-gray tile with a gunmetal color grout that looks really good with stainless steel and brightens the area under the hood.

I have a glass tile, a medium blue-grey, oversized subway (6x12"). The grout is a very light grey, it looks white from a distance. I love it. My kitchen doesn't get a lot of light (despite many windows, it's a tight urban space) and the reflective quality of the tile really brightens the kitchen. And though it hides nothing when it's dirty, it's a snap to clean, just some windex and a paper towel. The downside is that it's expensive to install. And definitely go with the epoxy grout, whatever you choose.

I would not put a rail or shelf behind or over the stove. The safety hazard others have noted. Sitting over high BTU burners can't be healthy for any ingredients and grease will coat everything.

Have fun with your renovation!

[teapot]

Thanks all for the advice. I will stay away from any sort of storage behind the range. I had considered glass tile but the one I like would have been about 800 bucks for the area just behind the range (and that doesn't include installation). That seemed a little grand for my modest home.

I will post photos of what I eventually come up with.

[ScoopKW]

Thanks all for the advice. I will stay away from any sort of storage behind the range. I had considered glass tile but the one I like would have been about 800 bucks for the area just behind the range (and that doesn't include installation). That seemed a little grand for my modest home.

I will post photos of what I eventually come up with.

I don't know how handy you are, but a backsplash is really, really, really easy. Anyone can do it. It's a lot easier to do tile vertically than horizontally. (You wouldn't think so, but that's how it is. I'd rather do 20 backsplashes than one bathroom.)

[cbread]

Flat sheet of stainless.

[andiesenji]

$800.00 seems a bit steep to me.

My friend had a backsplash ten feet long, 20 inches high, except behind the range where it was 36 inches high 48 inches wide and the total cost installed was $487. including tax.

The tiles cost 14.99 per 12x12 sheet and her son did some of the work, prepping the wall.

They ordered the tile online with free shipping from Amazon.

[gfweb]

Make really sure you seal the grout very well. It'll be easier to clean.

[LindaK]

$800.00 seems a bit steep to me.

My friend had a backsplash ten feet long, 20 inches high, except behind the range where it was 36 inches high 48 inches wide and the total cost installed was $487. including tax.

The tiles cost 14.99 per 12x12 sheet and her son did some of the work, prepping the wall.

They ordered the tile online with free shipping from Amazon.

Your friend did very well. Choosing smaller tile that comes in sheets is always a cost-saving alternative. Larger or irregular sized tile that needs to be individually hand set will cost more, both for the product and the installation. The $800 for tile + installation mentioned here doesn't surprise me at all.

[teapot]

Yesterday we grouted (with epoxy grout) the backsplash behind my new Capital Culinarian range. Now that I am actually working with this range, I'm so glad I listened to the advise of those on this thread who suggested I don't do any sort of shelf behind the range. I found some nice tile pattern from Kibak - selected the colors I wanted and had it custom made. It's simple but I like it. And the epoxy grout should keep it easy to clean. Anyway, thanks again to all for your sage advice.

[Snadra]

We still only have a painted wall (which I wipe down fairly frequently) in our house, but our plan is to get a colour-backed glass splashback. They're highly durable and you can have any colour you'd like. I have several friends who have them and they love it - dirt shows, but it cleans up easy, and no grout to dirty. They show up in display homes and kitchen renovations with high frequency in Australia.

[LindaK]

Teapot, nice tile choice, it looks great. Congratulations on the kitchen remodel, and enjoy the new range!

Snadra, when I did my remodel a few years ago, I considered a large sheet glass backsplash for all the reasons you mention. Here in the states, at least, they're very expensive. I was also warned about the high cost of any repair, since if there's any damage you have to repair the entire sheet. In the end, I went with oversized glass tiles and epoxy grout, still not cheap but more affordable. Cleanup is a breeze, as you say. And a few months ago when my heavy Kitchen Aid mixer slipped out of my hands when moving it and slammed into the backsplash and cracked a tile, I only had to replace the one.