To upstand or not to upstand...

2 years ago

When tiling a whole kitchen splashback, would you include an upstand or not? I'll be fitting pure white Dekton worktops on a 3m long run (including sink), with wall units above. The tile I've chosen is this one (Mandarin Stone Groove), which has, well, a groove in it! They'll be laid vertically like the picture and will fill the whole space between worktop and wall units. The tiles are 800mm tall x 310mm wide so there won't be any horizontal grout lines, just vertical ones. My tiler thought we didn't need an upstand and certainly it would save a few quid not to have one. I was concerned about water pooling in the grooves but he said the sealant would create a straight seal anyway. I just wonder whether it would look better with an upstand and my builder thought it would be better for the tiles to sit on top of one. (By the way for anyone who remembers my other tile post a few days ago, that one was for the utility room, whereas this is the kitchen, so a different dilemma!)

What would you do - upstand or no upstand?

Comments (12)

minnie101
2 years ago
No upstand with tiles, lovely tiles!
pjdklm
2 years ago
Nice tiles, but those grooves would make me nervous, too. I’d want to make sure I could get a clean sealant line against the grooves. I would settle any doubts by creating a mock-up with one of the tiles and sealant.
Related Discussions
Final kitchen questions!!
Q
Comments (1)
All lights on dimmers wherever possible. Tile directly above worktop - no upstand. Not sure what you mean by pull outs, post a pic of kitchen elevations. Shelves can vary a bit but do need to work for you - depends on whether you're going to use the stuff on shelf every day or if it's more for displaying items, what the ceiling height is, what else is on the wall beside them (cabinets, extractor, etc). No experience of latches, other than having an internal sliding bolt type fixing on the inside of the door you want to keep shut, but then you need to put your hand into the cabinet to open it?
...See More
Pine upstand - paint it, tile it or splashback?
Q
Comments (5)
Oh, paint it. Personally I’d paint it a dark grey similar to the worktop so that the line between the two disappears, if that makes sense. It will tone well with the floor and make a lovely backdrop to simple accessories. You might need a fair number of coats, but I have had something very similar in two houses now—including behind the hob—and it has proved very resilient and easy to clean. Also, the wood provides a nice surface for sticking stuff to as the seasons change. I put tiny little Christmas trees (card decorations, really) on the border and this time of year. In the past I’ve stuck everything from ceramic plaques to pretty paper plates.
...See More
Splash back with an up-stand?
Q
Comments (16)
Thanks to bad renovation timing coinciding with the start of Covid lockdowns, we used DIY removable wallpaper above our upstand as a temporary “make do” measure because all work and shopping had to stop. Three years later (!) we are finally getting around to removing a chimney breast to completely finalise the kitchen, including replastering, and I am fairly certain I will be using the same wallpaper again. The only difference is it will be professionally hung! We have received so many compliments and it’s been shockingly robust, even behind the hob. We used a greyish shiplap patterned wallpaper above a Carrera marble countertop and upstand, with white upper and pale grey lower cabinets.
...See More
Kitchen upstand queries
Q
Comments (2)
10cm tall……. Unless you have a window cill whose height makes 9cm or 11cm more logical. And it makes little difference to install them before or after decorating
...See More
AM
2 years ago
I would have the upstand. It gives a nice finished look to the worktop as well as being easier to clean.
Juliet Docherty
2 years ago
I would also be worried about the sealant. It has to be just the right colour. As the above comment says, test it with an offcut of worktop and an offcut of tile.
Sonia
2 years ago
I’ve noticed that people who have upstands don’t have tiles and just use washable paint above the upstand.
Ellie
2 years ago
I would say upstand or tiles but not both.

Also although the tiles are lovely they do look as if they should be in a bathroom....
hedgehog99
Original Author
2 years ago
I just have upstand in our current kitchen, and I’ve found that it generally has a slightly unfinished feeling, plus the wall paint doesn’t wipe down all that well (perhaps because the walls are quite uneven).
@ellie why do you say that? I’ve never really considered that there are tiles which should only be used in one of the other. The picture shows a bathroom but the description on the mandarin stone website mentions kitchen in the usage list.
Ellie
2 years ago
@hedgehog.... I've just never seen a kitchen with large rectangular tiles placed vertically.

Tiles, are they really 800 mm X 300 mm? So you will only get one tile high?
hedgehog99
Original Author
2 years ago
Yes, the idea being that it will be a splashback block of vertical grooves, minimal grout lines so not really looking like tiles particularly, but providing textural interest (it's a very minimalist kitchen, oak and black with a pure white worktop) and more protection to the wall than just paint would provide. Starting to doubt myself now though... :)
Jonathan
2 years ago
Consider doing it in Corian instead. You can get a texture finish put onto some of the Corian styles
Jonathan
2 years ago
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=66gXcXgL4IE&feature=emb_imp_woyt

Corian inspiration
rinked
2 years ago
Normally it's either tiles or upstand, but since these tiles indeed look hard to seal, better try a mockup before deciding. Because on top of a small upstand you could just grout the seam.

To upstand or not to upstand...

Comments (12)

minnie101

pjdklm

Related Discussions

AM

Juliet Docherty

Sonia

Ellie

hedgehog99
Original Author

Ellie

hedgehog99
Original Author

Jonathan

Jonathan

rinked

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

To upstand or not to upstand...

Comments (12)

Related Discussions

hedgehog99Original Author

hedgehog99Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

hedgehog99
Original Author

hedgehog99
Original Author