Stone splashbacks

Heights

The upstand is usually 10 cm. It closes the joint with the wall and stops water getting behind the units. It's the cheapest finish and uses offcuts.

Mid-height runs up to the wall cupboards, about 50 to 60 cm, with sockets cut in.

Full height goes to the ceiling or the hood, often behind a range cooker. That's where veined marble in one piece really shows.

Behind the hob

Marble and granite cope with the heat of a gas hob. Quartz can discolour if the flame is close, so follow the hob maker's clearance or use something else right behind the burners. Dekton and porcelain don't mind. Polished wipes easier than honed where grease lands.

Matching or not

From the same slab as the worktop, the veins carry on, but you need enough slab for both, which we check before cutting. A contrast works too, polished Nero Marquina over a honed white top for instance, and it's a good use for a piece from our clearance.

Fixing

Usually 1.2 to 2 cm. A full-height 2 cm marble panel of 1.5 m² still weighs about 80 kg, so it's glued with stone adhesive and held while it sets. The wall must be flat, and the old plaster in Champagne village houses sometimes has to be lined first. We measure sockets and the hood chimney when we template and cut every hole at the workshop.

Where it meets the worktop, the joint is a flexible sealant close to the stone colour, never grout.

When we'd advise against it

The water in the Aube is hard. Polished dark stone next to a busy sink will show limescale every day, so we'd go honed or lighter there. And if you might change the kitchen layout, keep to an upstand for now.

See the kitchen page or call +33 7 45 20 76 39.