If you truly cannot remove the slab splash, then leave the splash as is and add nothing. If you do tile, which I prefer, find a way to get that slab splash off, even if it means a little bit of cabinet touch up.

Agree with Dee Sanchez.

citymom99:

Removing the splash will not damage the cabinets.

You can redo the tile above it and leave it as it is, if you're not willing or able to deal with the hassle of removing it.

THanks everyone. How bad would it be if I kept the backsplash on the sides where the cabinets are (and the backsplash is glued to the wood, but removed it from the back and put tile . so on the side ove the oven i would keep the 4 inch backsplash but remove it on the wall in the back.

It would be terrible, IMO. I would rather see tile on the cabinet to hide the damage (if any) than see slab backsplash paired with tile. I don't think the damage to the cabinet is going to be as bad as you think it is.

I understand your desire to add something you love, but personally speaking I'd have to agree, adding glass tile above the granite backsplash might be a bit too much. I wouldn't want to see tile covering a damaged area on the cabinet either, though.

thanks everyone. but i cant risk damaging the cabinets- then i'm really stuck. so either i don't do anything or i guess i build up. would it be that bad if i did a plain subway glass tile above the granite?

Yes, it would be that bad. Granite splash paired with tile is outdated and ugly.

Uh, I wouldn't go so far as to refer to a granite backsplash paired with tile as ugly. Some would consider it outdated. I like it the way it is now, just painted. Cleaner looking IMO.

It looks very nice the way it is now. With your windows and electrical outlets any tile would look cut up to fit in those areas. And trying to end the tile around the windows would not be easy.

I would leave it the way it is. With that said, if you want the tile and the granite backsplash, it is your kitchen. You should do what you like. Plus, most people who come to your house will be too polite to say that the look is dated or unattractive.

You can do what you want. It's your kitchen. :)

Here's a great blog. If you scroll down, you will find a gorgeous blue kitchen with a backsplash lip from their stone countertop and then on top of that is white subway tile.

Maybe the U.K. is behind the times when it comes to interior decorating? What do I know? I don't even know who Devol is (but he must be someone special for this blogger to be gah-gah over him). Good luck!

Kitchen backsplashes that don't follow the rules

What rules? This is a personal choice, and the decorators/designers need something to do so they tell everyone it's outdated and ugly, so take it off. Generates more work for them. Having the 4" granite and tile is not the end of the world. If you want to add a splash of color with tile, go for it. Just make sure the tile is subtle. A plus for the tile....it will protect your walls from water, from grease, from hand prints, from splashed up food. If you want glass tiles, I'm thinking a sea glass green with a gray tint would be pretty.

Its usually not a great idea to have two different surfaces on your backsplash. What you have now looks nice enough. If you really can't get the lip off the cabs and you don't want to tile the side of the cabs, I'd leave it alone. Interestingly we had travertine backsplash to the upper cabs, but just a single run on the cab sides and they kept falling off.

I don't tell my customers to remove their slab splash before tile so that I have more work to do. In fact, the ease of removing a 4" slab splash doesn't really warrant much of a charge anyway. I tell them to remove it because I don't want them to tell their friends that I helped them with their design if it's left on. It will make me look bad.

Do you want the pro result or the Home Joe result ?!

What is with the animosity directed at pros giving advice that will lead to a professional result? For no reason other than we don't love seeing someone waste materials, money, and effort to get an inferior result. These pages are loaded with that inferior result, daily. Jeessh. Blows the mind. Not " the end of the world" but a possible great result vs. .........

Are you planning to sell in the next 5 yrs? If so, then I would follow the "rule" of not adding tile above the granite strip as that could be a negative for prospective buyers. If this is your forever home and this is what is going to make you happy, then go ahead and do it. Just make sure you do a lot of internet searching of photos with the 4" strip and tile to make sure you really love that look.

JAN MOYER: I personally don't have animosity over being advised to go in the direction of a professional result. I personally want this advice, but I'm going with a full renovation and like other's ideas and suggestions (however, my final decisions will be based on my aesthetics). The OP is not doing a full or even partial renovation.

Reading the OP's posts, I'm thinking she wants glass tile very much, but has a 4" backsplash which she strongly feels cannot be removed, and is asking (and has asked this question twice from my count) if it would look alright to put glass tile over the 4" backsplash.

citymom99, you've been given quite a few options and opinions, from removing the 4" backsplash for a more refined updated look, to going ahead with 'what you desire', as well as other options (leaving as is, etc.) In my opinion, I agree with tedbixby's post above. Alternately, if you've room in your budget (and I'd guess you might if you wish to install glass tiles yourself) consider having a tile person come out and give you an estimate on the cost for both backsplash removal and tile installation.

Thank you everyone for your input. I will talk to my contractor and see what options, if any, i might have.

Can you at least post of picture of exactly what it is that you think "cannot be removed"? I can't imagine where you would think that this was a problem. I don't see anything in the picture above that shows a backsplash "stuck" to a cabinet. I agree with others that tile above the granite extension would not look great. I mean, it's your choice of course. But I wouldn't do it, if it were me.

In one of your other post, you mention that you are considering painting the cabinets. If you are painting the cabinets, a pro could probably repair any damage from removing that piece in connection with the painting process,

THank you very much. I don't think I will paint the cabinets after all after getting some advice and quotes.

I don't have a picture on me as I travelling, but the 4 inch granite continues onto the cabinet that "hugs" the stove and the fridge. So it is glued directly onto the wood in those pictures.

So, I don't get it. If you remove the 4" backsplash from the cabinet (still would make more sense to me with a picture), are you saying that you would just leave that area with nothing on it then? If so, why is there even a granite extension there in the first place, if there is no need of a backsplash?

Is this the sort of area that you have? If so, take off that granite! You can easily repair the wood.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/74/f1/d0/74f1d05961f179631e487454722783f5--glass-subway-tile-backsplash-grey-subway-tiles.jpg

I actually really like your cabinets (and your whole kitchen), so I am glad you are not painting them.

Citymom - Do you like klyons kitchen picture?

chess, imagine that picture but with granite running up the side of the cabinet where the stove is. I don't know why it is there in the first place. I didn't design the kitchen!! :)

Thank you!!

citymom99, Your most welcome. Sometimes a visual helps.

Sorry, thought I hit the Submit button... on that first one, I accidentally left transparency on (while cutting out excess tile from your photo) so here it is a bit more realistic (the tile and grout would stand out more)

suzyq53, I would prefer it without the 4" extension.

citymom99 ,

"I don't know why it is there in the first place. I didn't design the kitchen!!"

LOL! Gotcha. So weird that they would have done that. I would still try to remove it.

I mean, it's not a felony. Here are some obviously NOT Joe DIYer granite lip and tile back splashes here on Houzz. They look great. If you don't want to go to the expense and inconvenience of removing it, then don't. It's not like the design police will come out with sirens blazing and put you away for life, or that your friends will come over and go "Whoa, what IS that tile in the kitchen all about?" They're there to visit you, not your back splash.

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LOL. No one is saying that it's a "felony". Obviously it is done, but I think it's usually done as an afterthought, after the extension is already there. I don't think most people put in both, as a plan.

I had no idea that a 4" granite backsplash was outdated - I'm gutting a house and getting ready to totally remodel, and am looking at granite countertops. I like how the backsplash looks - I'm looking at a blue pearl color type granite.

The kitchens that jenwen posted are great examples of how choosing either statement tile or all solid color tile will affect the look with the 4" granite. The solid tile makes the wall look painted but adds texture and helps reflect light. Which IMO isn't a bad thing..

Melissa- Just an FYI- I've had a 4" granite backsplash in a kitchen and the problem I had with it is that the painted wall above it would get splatters and I would end up with non-removable stains on it. It became a yrly job that I had to paint that area. I'm not that messy of a cook but it is amazing how stains appear on that area of the wall. If you are in love with the granite you choose, prefer not to do a tile backsplash and your budget allows you may consider running the granite all the way up rather than stopping at 4" height.

Agree with the above - the 4" is rarely enough, behind the stove, to prevent splashes and stains. As a result, a full backsplash tends to be preferred now. When I picked out my new counters, one of the first questions my fabricator asked was if I was going to do the 4" extension, as most of his clients opt to not do it, in favor of a different material for a full backsplash. Or some run the same material up the wall.

I had wallpaper behind my stove - and that stuff was 23 years old so you can just imagine the stains and yellowing. My 4" laminate extension was clean as a whistle.

I was thinking about a comparable colored tile - maybe glass, maybe a subway type tile - with white cabinets and trim. Whatever tile has to be inbetween the darker granite I like and the white of the cabinets - Ive seen a few things I like, but I just have to look at all of it together. I'm still in the yanking old insulation and drywall out of the house & figuring out where all the rooms are going to be!

Like this.

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Melissa May, there is no 4" backsplash there, that is what the OP is asking about. This backsplash has a pencil tile border - it plays nicely off that dark counter. The tile is probably a tumbled or honed marble subway.

Chess - the 4" strip is builders/flippers basic with no more tile, it looks fine. Or certain configurements with lots of windows make it a good choice. When real people live there, they realize 4" is not usually enough as you said. The next step is to move beyond by removing and replacing the splash. Generally, when you tile above the lip, it seems like you cheaped out in terms of resale. So, if OP wants it, thats fine, its the same as if she didn't do anything else at all. So its just whether its worth it for the time she's in the house. Most splash is relatively cheap.

Not sure why people ask for advice then argue with it.

Double and ditto............ Hard to believe, but there is a "so so" way, and a best way to do virtually anything. Evidenced on these pages with the "how do I fix this" question barrage every day.

If one throws roadblocks in the path, alternate solutions may be possible, such as run the existing counter top right up the splash, and forget about glass tile. The cabinet issue will be solved, and the op will have a real back splash. It just won't be glass. But it will be good looking.Match the splash height on the cabinet side.

Or....... remove the splash at all BUT the cabinet side. Glass tile the rest. Either way, it either is a glass back splash, or a granite splash. And yes, it is best to pick one. Sorry.

citymom99, is this what you're describing?

I don't view this as such a decorating sin as others might. We had a kitchen facelift done 11 yrs. ago and I am perfectly fine with how this looks. It's not front and center and my eye is certainly not drawn to it when you look at the backsplash as a whole.

suzyq53, I know exactly what it is, and why it is, and is not, used. Did you mean to respond to someone else?

citymom99, that picture there shows the extension backs up to the tile backsplash - not backed up to a full 4" extension. In that case, it would be fine to remove it, BUT, that is right next to a range, and that is a better reason to leave it, in my opinion. Is yours next to your range? And does yours go all the way to the wall, or does it terminate into the back section of granite splash?

When we bought our '80s-built home, the side of the double oven cabinet was covered with a laminate piece. It extended the full height between counter top and upper cabinet and all the way to the counter'edge. It was huge and ugly. In a fit of disgust, I got my really thin crow bar and popped it off. There was very little evidence that it had been removed and that easily remedied. I realize that granite is heavier than laminate-covered 3/4" plywood, but since it is only 4" tall, it may have been installed with very little adhesive. I would at least ask a pro to come take a look.