Backsplash switching from OTR Mic to Hood

10 years ago

We have 36" cooktop with a 36" GE Profile OTR microwave. The backsplash is tile laid on a diagonal. The existing backsplash ends at the bottom of the upper cabinets. Above that there is drywall. You can see a couple of inches of it between the bottom of the OTR microwave and the top of the backsplash.

The microwave just died. It has been repaired several times already and we are not inclined to repair it again.

We would not have chosen an OTR microwave, but this was existing in the house when we bought it. GE no longer makes a 36" OTR microwave. Kitchen Aid makes one that is $900 which we aren't enthusiastic about. We could get a 30" microwave and get fillers for the side, but we don't love that idea either since we don't love the OTR microwave.

We do not want to spend a lot of money on a solution. We expect someday (but not for several years) to replace the cabinets, but that time is not now.

We are inclined to replace the OTR microwave with an inexpensive stainless hood (appliances are all stainless). Basically, for functionality at this point, not so much looks. We would just buy a countertop microwave as we have lots of counter space.

The problem is that the hoods we would place under the upper cabinet are much smaller than the OTR microwave so there will be a lot of drywall between the bottom of the hood and the top of the backsplash.

Any idea of what to do about this if we can't find tile to match the existing backsplash? We want to minimize cost on this since we expect to redo the backsplash in a few years when we replace the cabinets. But, we do want something that looks aesthetically OK in the meantime. This is a very open kitchen and the backsplash area above the cooktop is visible from the living area.

I don't think it matters for this question, but - to be complete - we are also probably going to be now replacing our 36" gas cooktop with an induction cooktop (probably GE profile).

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Comments (6)

User
10 years ago
Put a sheet of stainless over the whole section. It will be fine.
kats_meow
Original Author
10 years ago
On the idea of a sheet of stainless over the section. That is a nice idea. But, a couple of questions.

The backsplash is tile so where the drywall is above it, you can see where the backsplash "sticks out" so to speak. That is, it isn't flush with the wall. The sheet of stainless won't be as thick as the tile. Will that look strange?

Also, who would I have to do this? That is, we aren't redoing our kitchen so we don't have a kitchen contractor. We would just need to hire someone to do this. What type of contractor would we look for?

Would this need to be done before the new hood is put in?

I realize these sound like dumb questions, but I'm trying to figure out the mechanics of how we find someone to do this and what we are wanting them to do.
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PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
10 years ago
kats meow:

I would have the stainless folded and shimmed to just past the thickness of the tile so it overlapped a bit.

This is one of those jobs that's small but a real PIA for a contractor because it's hard to make money on.

I'd look on www.homeadvisor for someone to do the work. The person installing the new hood would be a good choice; this would avoid confusion.
kats_meow
Original Author
10 years ago
I would have the stainless folded and shimmed to just past the thickness of the tile so it overlapped a bit.

Being clueless here - does the stainless go behind the tile or is it going to be placed on top of the tile?
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
10 years ago
On top, just a bit.
canuckplayer
10 years ago
kats, can you post a photo of current mw and/or wall above cooktop. Even though the tile sticks out further, the stainless can still work. You may just have to put a finish strip on the top of the tile and the stainless can still be adhered directly to the wall. These are available at any diy store.