Remodel Planning

Kitchen backsplash zone — the 18″ band between the 36″ counter and 54″ upper cabinets

A kitchen backsplash is a band, not a whole wall: standard tile fills only the 18″ between the 36″ counter and the 54″ upper cabinets, so tiled area = run (LF) × 1.5 sf/ft. A full-height run tiles counter-to-ceiling (LF × 5.0 on an 8 ft ceiling) and a 4 ft range feature adds ~20 sf. This tiled area feeds the backsplash-tile calculator and is subtracted from the paintable wall.

Source: Standard 36″ counter / 54″ upper-cabinet heights; surface-overlap deduction (composer rule)

What this diagram shows

A kitchen wall elevation showing where backsplash tile lives. The countertop sits 36 inches above the finished floor and the bottom of the upper cabinets sits 54 inches above the floor, so a standard backsplash tiles only the 18-inch band between them. Two presets change the height: a full-height run tiles from the counter all the way to the ceiling, and a range feature wall carries a roughly 4-foot counter-to-ceiling tile section behind the range and hood where there are no upper cabinets. The tiled area equals the run in linear feet times the height, so a standard run is linear feet times 1.5 square feet per foot, a full-height run on an 8-foot ceiling is linear feet times 5.0, and a 4-foot feature is about 20 square feet. That tiled area feeds the backsplash-tile calculator and is subtracted from the paintable wall so paint is not over-bought.

Kitchen Remodel Calculator

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