Glass Splashback Installation in Wellington

A splashback is one of the few pieces of glass in a house where the measurement has to be perfect. Toughened glass cannot be trimmed, drilled or notched after treatment, so every cut out is made first and the finished panel either fits or it does not. That is the whole job.

How the job runs

Four steps, and the order matters.

Template on site

We template after the benchtop is in and before you paint, because the glass follows the bench rather than the wall. Walls are rarely straight and a splashback that was measured off one will show a shadow gap at one end.

Colour matching

The colour goes on the back of the glass, so what you see is the paint through low iron glass. Standard float has a green cast that shifts pale colours noticeably, which is why whites and greys are almost always specified in low iron.

Cut outs before toughening

Power points, rangehood ducting, tap bodies and shelf brackets all get located and cut at this stage. Adding one afterwards means a new panel.

Fit and seal

Fitted on silicone with the bench edge sealed, and the panel is usually in and finished inside an hour once it is on site.

What glass splashbacks do well, and what they do not

They are a single continuous surface with no grout lines, they wipe clean, they take heat behind a gas hob when they are toughened, and they bounce light around a kitchen in a way tile cannot.

What they will not do is forgive a change of mind. There is no cutting a new hole, no shortening a panel and no drilling a shelf bracket. If a rangehood is moving, or the cabinetry is not final, wait. We would rather template twice than make a panel twice.

Timing it against the rest of the kitchen

Toughened and colour backed glass is made to order, so allow one to two weeks from template to fit. Booking us before the benchtop goes in does not help, because there is nothing accurate to template from.

The sequence that works: cabinetry in, benchtop fitted, we template, you paint, we fit. Plan the kitchen around that and nothing sits waiting.

Templating a splashback so it fits

Off the bench, not the wall

Walls are rarely straight and almost never plumb. A splashback measured off the wall will show a shadow gap at one end where the bench and the wall disagree.

We template off the finished benchtop, which is the line your eye actually reads, and scribe the top edge to the wall instead.

Sequence matters more than lead time

Cabinetry in, benchtop fitted, template, paint, fit. Booking a template before the benchtop is in wastes a visit, and painting after the glass is fitted means cutting in against glass you will then have to clean.

Allow one to two weeks between template and fit, and plan the rest of the kitchen around it.

Glass Splashbacks at a glance

Glass

6mm toughened, colour backed on the rear face

Low iron option

Recommended for whites, greys and pale colours

Cut outs

Power points, rangehood, taps and brackets, all before toughening

Template

On site after the benchtop is fitted, before painting

Lead time

One to two weeks from template to fit

Fit time

Usually under an hour on site