I recently fitted a glass splashback behind my gas hob ( in the instructions it stated there must be 110mm between the splashback and the hob) , and when i measured the gap it 'looked' like 110mm, after two days the splashback cracked, I was told by the company i bought it from to photograph the damage and the distance and to take them into the store so they could send them off to the supplier.
The supplier have said it looks like 106mm on the photos,so its not their problem, and that looks like the line the shop are going down,when i measured it again its 108mm.
My question is this, would 2mm make the difference between heat cracking the splashback or not?
If its any help the splashback is to BS7449, but doesn't state if the splashback is heat resistant or not?

eh?
mine was profesionally fitted right up against top of cooker and the hot air venting from oven (there is metal upstand at back of our freestanding range but that gets hot and is deffo less than 110mm)
been fine now for 18 months
dont recall any measurement that big in our fitting instructions

You would think not but they said 110mm

Was it fitted strained, i.e. under tension or compression against the fixings at all?

It was self adhesive on a recently plastered and painted wall, free of dust.
(It will be some fun to remove…..)

W@nk design if a 1.8% tolerance makes the difference between cracking or not. Sounds like they're trying it on.

just checked mine
8mm thick (black) glass, attached to wall in same way
60mm above surface of hob but like I said flush with top of oven splashback/hot air vent

Doesn't sound like your glass was toughened? Did it crack or shatter? If it just cracked all you've got there is a sheet of float glass (which I'd expect might crack under localised heat / distortion from poor installation)

Toughening is a highly controlled process done in industrial ovens at very high temps. I would have thought it highly unlikely your hob could put out the kind of heat necessary to shatter the glass after toughening

more important than the 2mm is surely the power output of your hob?
I imagine gas and electric generate different levels of heat, where as a large ring or wok burner etc at the back on full would generate even more
On that basis how can they be so prescriptive over 2mm?

The supplier have said it looks like 106mm on the photos

How the hell can they tell that from a photo ?

Bit of photoshop and you'll be fine 🙂

As stated, I'll bet that 2mm would not make the difference considering that there must be a reasonable tolerance built in to cater for different types of hobs and use.

Thanks for your replies,Heather Bash- it cracked (went with a big enough 'bang' to be heard upstairs!) after the gas hob being used twice.
I was asked to provide phtographic evidence of the distance from the wall it was mounted on ,to the hob, hence when 'checked' with a tape measure (quickly,as I wanted to fit it to surprise my wife) it looked 110mm, but subsequent measurement with a steel rule showed 108mm……..
Still awaiting latest responce from the shop, who I suspect will hide behind whatever the suppler tell them.
As its not marketed as heat resistant or toughened, is it fit for purpose? and how do i prove its not?

Just tile over it mate!

Not fit for purpose IMO but you are inside the guidelines. I'd take one of 2 routes; 1 photoshop, 2 tell them they have not factored in sufficient FOS for the design (fitting tolerances are not mm perfect) and as such should have specified a larger margin.

Unfortunately if they specify 110mm and you don't adhere to that then you'd have to prove that 110mm is unreasonable which I suspect may be difficult to do unless you can show that most other brands that are similar price/material/design/etc have much lower tolerance.

Many toughened glass ones say min for a float-glass cheapie is 150mm:

"The recommended distance in standard float glass splashbacks between the back of the hob and the wall is a non-standard 150mm."

So, it's NON toughened ergo if it's close proximity to a hob it is HIGHLY likely crack. As I said earlier the tougheneing process subjects the glass to far more heat then you could generate with your hob. The whole point in toughening glass is to increase its impact resistance – which is another reason why you dont want non toughened in your kitchen. A bi- product of that is that you also get a product which can sustain far greater temperatures than anything you can generate with your hob.

This 110mil thing is also highly subjective – 110 from what exactly? Most worktop / hob combos wont be deep enough to achieve that clearance anyway. Any non toughened glass used for that application is really not fit for purpose – an accident waiting to happen basically.

I love splashbacks

his 110mil thing is also highly subjective – 110 from what exactly? Most worktop / hob combos wont be deep enough to achieve that clearance anyway. Any non toughened glass used for that application is really not fit for purpose – an accident waiting to happen basically.

Wholeheartedly agree, but ultimately he has placed it outside the specified location, and then proved it to them!

Do the instructions say is the distance from the hob or above the hob?

If its from the hob, then take a photo measuring from the closet hob to the edge of the slash back, not from the top edge of the cooker.

>Wholeheartedly agree, but ultimately he has placed it outside the specified location, and then proved it to them! <

I agree but it very much depends on how that's worded exactly. The critical measurement is surely the distance from the actual heat source as every hob surround will differ slightly relative to the edge of the nearest hob. He is only 2mm out….

Doesn't really sort the problem though – best you can hope for is a refund as a down payment on the real McCoy 😉

If they're going to be arsey tell them that the back of the splashback is indeed 113mm away from the hob (assuming 5mm glass). If they don't specify whether they mean front or back, it's not your fault.

FTAO Heather Bash, just an update, I'm waiting for a reply from the area manager who has been to look at the cracked splashback, I have been looking through the various sites that advertise the product I bought and the only information relating to the glass suggest's its made to BS7449, which doesn't seem to mention any form of toughening, can you advise me regarding this, and possibly point me in the direction of further information sources I could use?
Cheers

Bump

Just heading out the door for the weekend.

I'm back Tuesday tho and will make a call for you then /post back up.

Bump- any chance of an update Heather?

Sorry – been away

BS7449 is primaraly about glasss shelves, furniture made from glass etc but a manufacturer could use either toughened or laminate to comply.

A splashback is more of an architectural application – our glass suppliers default for this would be to use toughened. I think its nebulous to argue over 1 or 2mm when they havent precisely defined where that distance is measured from.

How much cash is at stake here?

£140 for a lime coloured glass 900X700mm splash back (does that seem cheap?), its not really about the money at this point………