Kitchens can be a beautiful part of the home and it is too easy to focus on the aethetics, but as Selina Zwolsman explains, it must also be functional and safe.

Heat transfer through tiles or stainless steel behind a gas cooktop can cause the material behind the wall to ignite – particularly in commercial kitchens. While the wall may appear to be covered in a material that won’t catch fire, such as ceramics or sheet metal, it is what lies beneath that can cause the problem.

As a consequence, standards have been put in place to define safe design of domestic and commercial kitchen splashbacks.

While the purpose of a splashback is primarily practical – it’s there to protect the wall from splashes – the panel behind a sink or cooktop is often the perfect place for clients to be less conservative and ‘make a statement’ with some stand-out finishes.

With an enormous range of products on off er, it’s easy to get carried away with the aesthetic possibilities. It’s more important, however, to ensure that the splashback specified complies with the relevant Australian Standards and building codes, and accommodates the requirements of cooktop and rangehood installations. Before contemplating the aesthetic qualities of splashback materials, it’s important to assess the following criteria first:

1. Type of cooktop to be installed
   If your client has selected a gas cooktop, it is critical that you refer to both the Australian Standard AS 5601/AG 601 Gas Installations and the cooktop manufacturer’s installation requirements.
2. Distance between cooktop and splashback
   If the distance between the edge of any gas burner and the splashback is less than 200mm, both the splashback material and the substrate must be non-combustible. Examples of potential solutions follow:
   – Glass: a second Australian Standard comes in to play if glass is the material of choice. AS/NZS 2208 stipulates that toughened safety glass must be used, and it should have a minimum thickness of 5mm. Ensure the glass is fi t for purpose, and ask your supplier to confirm same in writing. The glass should be fixed on 10mm thick gyprock (as a minimum) or 6mm thick fibre cement sheet.
   – Ceramic tiles: tiles must have a minimum thickness of 5mm, and be installed on 10mm minimum thick gypsum plaster or 6mm thick fi bre cement sheet. (Although 600mm tiles have in the past been popular in this application, you should consider note 3 below before narrowing down your selections.)
   – Sheet metal: stainless steel splashbacks must be constructed from a minimum 0.4mm thick sheet on a 10mm gypsum plaster or 6mm thick fi bre cement substrate. A growing range of aluminium-based panels are making their way to market; make sure your supplier can provide you with written evidence of compliance.
   – Reconstituted stone: manufactured stone, or quartz surface is made from a ground stone powder and bonded with a polyster resin that is flammable and may be unsuitable for use without a suitable clearance around the cooker. If it is placed directly onto a combustible surface it must have a heat transfer coefficient of less than 20W/m2K.

If the distance between the splashback and burner is less than 200mm, then Energy Safe Victoria stipulates that protection of the combustible surface is required and should be installed to a height of not less than 150mm above the nearest burner. A facing material and fire resistant backing material is required.

3. Distance between cooktop and rangehood
   Australian Standard AS 5601 stipulates that the clearance between the highest part of the gas burner and the lowest part of the rangehood (or adjoining downward facing cabinetry/ shelving situated directly over the width and depth of the cooktop) must not be less than 600mm. It should be noted that most rangehood instruction manuals are now stipulating a 650mm distance between the cooktop and the base of the hood (regardless of type of cooktop). Ensure that you reference both AS 5601 and the appliance manufacturer’s installation requirements before selecting your splashback.