Burn marks on glass splashback

Hi all,

We recently got our splashback (off white on starfire) installed and after a week we noticed a burnt mark on it.

We rang our installer and they said the gas cooktop is too close.
They never mentioned anything like this to us and the cooktop was already installed before they were there.
They said we have to go buy a stainless steel sheet to put over it so it doesn't reoccur.

Im really annoyed because they never said anything about this occuring until now.

Im not sure what I should do. Advice would be appreciated.

IF the cooktop is too close, is it our builders fault?

Would anyone know the clearances required from cooktop to splashback?

AS/NSZ 4386.2:1996 - Clearance at back of cooktop to a non-combustible surface:
Minimum 50mm from the back edge of the cooktop to a non-combustible wall surface or splashback.

Cheers,

Earl

I just called electrolux and they said there is a minimum clearance of 148mm.
I also called another splashback installer and they said I am lucky the whole splashback didn't get ruined.

Im guessing I have to get the cooktop installer to fix this.

Now the question is, who is going to replace my splashback?

148mm sounds extreme unless they are talking about the gap between the top and a non fire retardant surface, where 200mm is a norm.

How deep (front to back) is the cooktop? Can you viably fit the top plus 148mm gap into a 600 deep top?

If the installation instructions you received with the unit state this 148mm minimum then the person who installed it is at fault for incorrect installation and any damage that has been incurred post that fact.

It's a bit of a grey area regarding the culpability of the splashback installer - if he adhered to the 50mm minimum then he has technically followed the standards, although all standards have the caveat that individual appliances may require greater gaps (as above).

It should still come back to whether or not the cooktop was incorrectly installed in the first place and go from there - he will have plenty of hassle as it is putting in a new benchtop if he has to move the cooktop as far as suggested and it can also be argued that the splashback has to come out for that to be done.

Would be interested regarding more information on the 148mm gap.

Cheers,

Earl

I have a big clearance about 150 mm
yes Australian standards is it just a standard not a rule nor law so it is open to individual interpretation builders are not responsible neither cabinet makers nor glaziers.

I had a rental property that we lived in for 8 years prior. We NEVER had an issue with my glass splashback while living there. After 6 months of tennants living in our house we too had burn marks on our splashback. We were told that certain cooking styles can also adversely affect the performance / protective nature of the glass, or what is behind that glass. SOOOO glad we sold that house, for this and other reasons!
Good luck with sorting it out.

Hi Rebecca, what do you mean "certain cooking styles" - can you tell me more about that?

Beebob, do you have any news as to how will this be resolved (and perhaps some pics of the damage??)? Do you know how did the damage occur in the first place?
Anyway, I wish you good luck with this!

Not really sure Lex, all we know is that they were Sudanese and we also found a sheep's skull behind our dishwasher. My property maanger said they had huge big pots that was always on the boil when she visited for inspections and the like. Very strange.....Not at all trying to generalise.....wish not to offend. Maybe just high heat for prolonged periods.

Hi Beebob,
I have never heard of a burn mark in a glass splashback before. Think of it like this, if a standard kitchen benchtop is 600mm deep and a standard gas cooktop is around 500mm deep, and your cooktop normally sits in around 50mm from the front, then the 50mm that you have at the back is very standard. Does your gas cooktop seem to be functioning properly? Drawing a long bow here, but sometimes gas cooktops are fitted with the wrong gas jets (ie natural when you use LPG). This can cause the cooktop to not function properly.
Anyway, I would get the person who installed you kitchen/cooktop back to have a look. I would think that it would be their responsibility.


Hope this helps

Well, guess what. A friend got me a sample piece of glass splashback and I tested it on gas stove. I had it right against the pot while I was cooking in it. I left it on sitting on the hot trivet after I've been cooking on it for some 10 minutes. I also held it agains the open flame.

Nothing. Not a single mark.

So, how do people get burn marks?

generally, gas specs are taken from the source, i.e, the trivets.

something to take not off as most manufacturers will measure from this when checking warranty claims.

i had a job where we fitted range hoods above gas cook tops and i hadnt taken 650from the trivets and
was in by 20mm and we had to replace the range hood. a simple silly mistake that i cost our company as i was going off what the architect had designed, not off what the appliances had specified.

i thought 150mm from the trivets to the splashback was the norm.

G

i dont understand. You said the burn mark was there at the start when installed. Why r we blaming the stove.

Is this question for the OP? If yes, unfortunately he/she is no longer around ... I was also interested to find out how did the burn mark "appear" all of the sudden ... ... especially now that I've done this (IMO) fairly brutal test

They notice it after a week...not at the start....but Im sure you would notice it the mark as you were cooking...wouldnt you????..

Emily, I was wondering how the mark appeared, not "when"

Anyway, if the mark was caused by user error, he/she might not have noticed it as soon as it happened. Maybe they noticed it after they washed up the cooktop area ... but in any way, the OP is not saying what caused the mark to happen, he/she doesn't even speculate on it ... unfortunately saying that "a mark appeared" doesn't really help us, does it
I doubt that the mark would appear/grow by itself

I have a scorch mark on my splashback. It was caused by my cooktop being placed too close to the splashback. The large jet is at the back of the cooktop. I was using the jet to cook in a medium size frypan. The frypan did not touch the glass but it was very close. I first notice a slight discolour in the paint and then the next time I cooked using the jet I removed the frypan and had a red scorch mark the size of a fifty cent piece. My builder has agreed to replace the splashback and cooktop as my bench does not allow for the cooktop to be moved any further forward.

Edit to add

Lex what did you have behind the sample when you had the pot on the glass. A glass splashback is stuck to plaster. Did you have space behind the sample to allow the heat to escape? How long did you hold the glass over the trivet. My pot was very close to the glass for approx 20min each time.

Emily - I couldn't see the mark appearing because the pan was in the way.

A glass splashback will scorch if a pot/pan is too close or against the glass for a period of time. Once the paint has started to scorch it will continue to get worse each time heat comes in contact with damaged paint. Our cooktop specifies the egde of the cooktop (not the burner) must be 131mm from a combustible surface. This allowes a distance of 200mm from the burner. Mine is 50mm.

Thanks very much Gaia, this is by far the most useful post about this issue

OK, and thanks for poiting this out - yes, I had the glass piece sitting over the hot trivets (glass side down) immediately after cooking on the burner below that trivet.
Then I placed hot pan (in which I've been cooking for 1/2 hour) right on top of the glass. The glass was sitting on a folded cotton cloth (painted side on the cloth).
It actually did cross my mind that it's not a full test (like for like) because there is no plaster backing on the painted side of the glass.

The rear edge of my cooktop is about 33 mm from the bare plaster (would need to add at least 6mm for glass) - so is that too close?
The rear edge of my biggest burner (which of course is at the back of the cooktop ) is about 100mm.

So, am I right to say that I won't be safe having glass with these measurements?

This is a very interesting thread! In ever knew there would be an issue with scorch marks.
Our builder puts a fire retardant layer on the plaster? behind the splash back... Would this be sufficient to prevent scorch marks
I am also getting a free standing cooker which will have a little stainless steel "splash back" on it..shall I assume this will be sufficient to protect my glass splashback?

Good point about the type of the plaster. However, at this stage I am still not clear on what is it that gets a scorch / burn mark. I guess I was assuming it was the paint at the back of the glass. However, it may very well be the plain plaster that gets burnt through the glass and then the burn mark simply shows through as if it was actually on the glass?? Or, even worse, if the plaster is the one that burns first, perhaps then it also discolours/attacks the paint on the glass, so both are damaged??
I am not sure what type of plaster was at the back of those s/backs that got the burn marks. Maybe the fire resistant plaster prevents them from happening?? That could also exxplain why so many people don't have any problems at all with their splashbacks.

It is the paint which has burnt behind my splashback. I have spoken to several splashback companies since my splashback was damaged and all of them have said that the paint will scorch if the pot/pan/flame is too close to the glass. A couple of them have said they would not have fitted a glass splashback in my kitchen due to the position of my cooktop. I do not have fire resistant plaster board fitted behind my splashback, just normal gyprock.