Published · Clear Vision Glass & Glazing
We install glass splashbacks and we think they are a very good product, so treat what follows with that in mind. There are still kitchens where tiles are the right answer, and it is worth knowing which is which before you commit.
The case for glass
- No grout. Grout behind a cooktop absorbs oil, discolours, and cannot really be restored. This is the entire argument and it is a strong one.
- A single seamless surface — cleaning is a wipe rather than a job.
- Any colour, matched to a Dulux or Colorbond code or to a physical sample.
- Installed in hours rather than days, and usually straight over the existing tiles.
- Reflects light, which makes small and galley kitchens feel noticeably larger — mirror splashbacks even more so.
The case for tiles
- Cheaper at the budget end, particularly for a small area with plain tiles.
- A damaged tile can be replaced individually. A cracked splashback panel is a whole new panel.
- Texture and pattern that glass cannot replicate — handmade subway, zellige, fish scale, natural stone.
- No lead time. Tiles can be bought and laid; glass must be templated, cut, toughened and painted before it arrives.
Two things people get caught by
The first is colour. Standard clear glass has a slight green cast, and back-painting it shifts pale and cool colours — a crisp white can read faintly green, and pale greys can move. Low-iron ultra-clear glass removes almost all of that, and if you are matching a white or a pale grey it is worth the upgrade. Ask to see a sample in your own kitchen light before ordering, not in a showroom.
The second is lead time. Glass is templated, cut, drilled for power points, then toughened and painted — around one to two weeks. Nothing can be changed after toughening. If you have a trades schedule to hit, template early. Deciding on final power point positions before the template rather than after is the single easiest way to avoid a problem.
Over existing tiles
In most kitchens the glass goes straight over the tiles that are already there. It saves demolition, mess, and the cost of re-sheeting the wall, and the panel sits only a few millimetres further out.
The tiles need to be sound, well adhered and reasonably flat. Badly stepped or drummy tiles do need to come off first, because a panel bedded onto an uneven surface will show it. We check flatness at template and tell you which situation you are in.
Where we would choose each
Glass for anything behind a cooktop, for small and galley kitchens where light matters, for anyone who cooks a lot, and for any kitchen where a seamless modern look is the goal.
Tiles where the texture is the point — a feature wall in a period kitchen, a handmade tile that carries the whole design, or a very small budget on a very small area. And in a rental, where individual tile replacement is a genuine practical advantage.
Want this looked at?
We’re glaziers based in Pakenham servicing Cardinia Shire and the City of Casey. Free quotes, and for most jobs a photo is enough to get a price.
