Can you tile straight onto plasterboard in a kitchen?

Yes for normal splashback duty, provided the board is fixed properly and primed with a suitable tile primer. In wet areas such as a shower, a tile backer board is the correct substrate.

What is the best splashback behind a gas hob?

Porcelain tile, toughened glass or stone all handle the heat. Acrylic and laminate panels have temperature limits and manufacturers usually require a clearance or exclude that area.

Should splashbacks go behind the units?

No — the visible area between worktop and wall units is what is finished. Tiling behind cabinets wastes material and complicates any future kitchen change.

How do you avoid grout going grimy?

Choose a mid-tone rather than brilliant white, use an epoxy or stain-resistant grout behind the hob and sink, and seal cement-based grout where the manufacturer recommends it.

Materials & Comparisons

Kitchen Splashback and Tiling Options

Name: Mighty Oak Construction
Address: Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1, GB
Telephone: 07850 357962
Price range: ££

The splashback is a small area with a disproportionate effect on how a kitchen reads and how easy it is to keep clean. The decision affects the fitting sequence too, because some options are measured after the worktop is in and others go on before.

Tiled splashbacks

Still the most flexible option: any size, any layout, easy to repair a single damaged tile, and a wide price range. Metro, square-format and large-format porcelain all behave differently on a wall that is not quite flat.

Grout is the honest weakness. Modern grouts resist staining well but a light grout behind a hob will darken over years, and epoxy grout is worth the extra where cleaning matters.

Glass and acrylic panels

A single sheet with no joints, wiped clean in seconds, and available in any colour. Toughened glass handles heat behind a hob; acrylic is lighter and cheaper but has temperature limits that rule it out directly behind gas.

Templated after the worktop and units are fitted, so allow lead time
Cut-outs for sockets must be exact — no adjustment on site
Silicone joints at worktop and wall need renewing periodically
Shows the wall behind if the panel is translucent or light-coloured

Stone and composite upstands

Matching the worktop material up the wall gives a seamless, high-end look and no change of material at the joint. It is the most expensive route and the joint detail between worktop and upstand still needs sealing.

It works particularly well as a low upstand with a different material above, which keeps the cost down while removing the vulnerable worktop-to-wall junction.

Preparation and sequence

Whatever the finish, the wall behind must be flat, dry and sound. Large-format tiles and glass panels are the least forgiving of an uneven wall, and a skim coat before fitting is cheap compared with the cost of a poorly seated panel.

Sockets, extractor ducting and any under-cabinet lighting cabling need to be resolved before the surface goes on. Chasing a wall after tiling means replacing tiles.