I'm in the process of having my counter tops replaced with granite, with the type and color up to my wife, I'm just the project manager, or more commonly referred to as the husband.

I have an electric cooktop but might at some point want gas. Is there a more common cutout size than others, which is to say what cutout size would accommodate the largest range of future changes in the cooktop?

They all seem a little different but there is wiggle room to be sure. My current electric cooktop is actually a replacement and the cutout hole is actually larger than recommended but it has worked out fine.

It would be nice to just be able to plop a gas cooktop into the cutout in the granite.

As for my backsplash, I think we're going with the customary travertine. I know that it is rock and porous and has to be sealed but was wondering if it could be a problem with staining from splatter, from say tomato sauce or whatever. We do a lot of cooking and sometimes it gets messy. Travertine is awfully light colored.

The wife did mention she wanted glass though, I ruled out any of the very small glass tiles though as its too busy for my eye.

So I dont know what to think about the backsplash. If staining is not an issue I'm sure we'll be going with the travertine.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.