I need a piece of brushed stainless steel (about 2′ X 2′) for a kitchen backsplash. Does anyone here do any fabricating? Where would I look to get a piece made. Doing a search on “stainless steel fabricator” yields 1.5 million hits. I think I need to narrow it down (ya think?).
I’ve never worked with stainless steel so even if I could just buy a sheet, I don’t have the tools or know-how to roll the edges.
Thanks,
Don
A little background… There used to be ceramic tiles there. It’s actually not the backsplash, but a cabinet that is next to the stove. Like, right next to the stove. I’m guessing there are codes that restrict how close a cabinet can be to a stove, but in this case, it’s already there. It’s so close, that a large pot or frying pan would actually be touching the tiles.
Needless to say, the tiles didn’t hold up. In fact after removing the remaining tiles and glue, I can see heat damage to the cabinet case. My plan is to use stainless steel and stand if off from the wall (1/4″ or so). Any heat that gets behind the steel should rise through the air space and provide some protection to the cabinet.
Replies
Check your local yellow pages.
Find a local commercial kitchen supplier. Most of them either do custom stainless worksurfaces, shelving, etc., of they can point you toward someone who does.
Bob
I just had a ss backsplash, hood and some other odd parts fabricated at a local sheetmetal shop. I just brought in some sketchs and templates and they did wonders. Seems like there's a mom and pop fabricator/sheet metal shop located in just about every industrial park in town. I actually got a reference for the shop that I used from a local kitchen showroom. There's a lot of ss in new kitchens, so I'd call a few kitchen places and see if they could recommend a local fabricator.
I've used a stainless steel covered laminate for back splashes but I don't know about using a laminate cosidering your proximity to a heat source. Outwater Plastics, http://www.outwater.com carries it. They are just up the road from you in Bogata, NJ.
Good luck
Constructing in metric...
every inch of the way.
I've bought small quantities of stainless steel here. Good folks:
http://www.onlinemetals.com/
Check this for backsplashes:
http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?step=2&id=30
Billy
Edited 12/13/2006 10:24 pm ET by Billy
I can see heat damage to the cabinet case.
It's so close, that a large pot or frying pan would actually be touching the tiles.
Because it's there don't make it right. I'm surprised you're trying to fix what is so obviously a bad design and major fire hazard. If a burner gets left on by mistake instead of a pan melting it's ok to have a design where the house burns down?
My insurance would consider a superficial "fix" of an obviously dangerous situation to be grossly negligent and wouldn't cover any judgment against me if the house did burn. No thanks.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
My insurance would consider a superficial "fix" of an obviously dangerous situation to be grossly negligent and wouldn't cover any judgment against me if the house did burn. No thanks.
That's a really good point. Thanks for the reminder. I had considered it, but figured that doing nothing was worse than attempting to protect the cabinet. I suppose that they could always claim that by "fixing" it, I was implying that it was safe to use.
Do you know of any fire/safety or building codes that would apply in a situation like this?
-Don (from New Jersey)
I had considered it, but figured that doing nothing was worse than attempting to protect the cabinet. I suppose that they could always claim that by "fixing" it, I was implying that it was safe to use.
Do you know of any fire/safety or building codes that would apply in a situation like this?
If the stove is recent enough and the installation manual is available online, it will spec out how far to the sides and above the cabinets need to be. If that isn't available some generic specifications are applied by our HVAC inspector. Off the top of my head I can't remember the generic specs, but they are pretty conservative.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
Thanks. I found at least one set of installation instructions online that specify a minimum side clearance of 6".
I spoke with the customer. I was hoping that they would like the stainless steel idea because then I would just point them in the direction of a fabricator/installer and I could be be out of the picture. However, they want to put in tiles again. They said they would call me when they find their tiles.
I haven't decided what I should do, but I'll probably lay the tiles for them. After all, I'm not the one who put the stove next to the cabinet .
-Don
Are these tiles set directly on to the cab? If so, and if they insist on tile, I'd at least put some Hardi behind it for a bit of added insulation.
You might also want to get them to sign off on a strongly worded liability waiver (e.g., "My contractor told me my house would burn down if I did it this way -- he don't know squat, so I insisted he do it MY way -- if the place burns down, it's MY fault) so when their house burns down, they don't come looking for you claiming YOU told them it would be OK!
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
You need 302 brushed 16 ga SS. Sounds like you need some insulation behind it. Usually use construction adhesive or silicone II, but with that much heat, you may have to have some stand-offs welded to the back.
Or just have the fabricator make a shallow "box" about 3/8" deep, with edges turned in that you can glue to.
Sounds like you may have a potential fire hazard there. Got an extinguisher handy?
we have this sheetmetal company that makes gutters, trim, HVAC duct. I had one made by him, He had scap metal and was only $20