24/7 Emergency Glass Repair
Broken window, smashed door or a break-in. Board-up and make-safe any hour, glass replacement to follow.
Learn more →What gets installed
A splashback is a single sheet of 6mm toughened glass, back-painted or low-iron clear, fixed to the wall behind a cooktop, sink or vanity. The whole point is that it is one continuous surface. Oil, steam and food spatter wipe off with a cloth, and there is nowhere for grout to stain or mould to colonise, which is the failure mode of tiled splashbacks in Melbourne kitchens ten years in.
It is toughened for two reasons. Heat near a cooktop, and safety — a large glass panel at bench height in a kitchen is a position where AS 1288 wants grade A safety glass, and toughened glass breaks into blunt granules rather than shards.
Colour, and the green problem
Ordinary float glass has a green tint from the iron in it. Over a strong colour you never notice. Over white, pale grey, soft beige or anything pastel you absolutely do — the panel reads mint rather than white. The answer is low-iron glass, which is close to colourless and is standard practice for light colours. It costs more, and a quote for a white splashback that does not mention it is worth querying.
Beyond back-painted colour there is mirrored splashback, which needs care near heat, and printed or digitally imaged glass. Clear glass over an existing painted or tiled wall is also an option when you like the wall but want it wipeable.
The sequence that avoids expensive mistakes
- Benchtop installed and level.
- Electrician sets out the power points and the rangehood position, final.
- Glazier templates the actual opening, including every cut-out and hole.
- Glass is cut, holes drilled, edges worked, then toughened.
- Installed with silicone and, where needed, mechanical fixings.
Everything in steps 3 and 4 is permanent. Toughened glass cannot be trimmed, drilled or notched after the furnace, so a power point that moves 40mm after the template means a new panel. Allow one to two weeks between template and install.
Bathrooms, laundries and alfresco
The same product works behind a vanity, in a laundry above the trough, and in an alfresco kitchen, where it also gives a wipeable surface that copes with weather better than a painted wall. In a bathroom, running the same glass as the shower screen and templating both with the mirror in one visit saves a call-out and keeps the tint consistent.
For pricing variables, see the cost guide; for the rest of the interior glass range, see our services.
More services
Explore our other services
Window Repair and Replacement
Reglazing timber and aluminium windows, plus custom awning, double-hung, sliding and louvre units.
Learn more →Shopfront Glass
Laminated shopfront panels, entry doors and after-hours board-ups so the shop still opens in the morning.
Learn more →Shower Screens
Framed, semi-frameless and frameless screens in toughened safety glass, made to the opening you actually have.
Learn more →Double Glazing
Insulated glass units for Melbourne's cold snaps and hot northerlies. Retrofit or full window replacement.
Learn more →Mirrors
Cut-to-size bathroom, wardrobe, gym and studio mirrors with polished or bevelled edges.
Learn more →Glass Balustrades
Frameless and semi-framed balustrades for stairs, balconies and decks, built to the fall height rules.
Learn more →Glass Roofs and Skylights
Overhead glazing, awnings and skylights in laminated glass, because overhead glass has its own rules.
Learn more →Pool Fencing
Frameless and semi-frameless glass pool fences built to the Victorian barrier rules.
Learn more →Glass Doors
Hinged, sliding, stacker and bi-fold glazed doors, plus reglazing the door you already have.
Learn more →Fly Screens
Pleated, sliding and fixed insect screens in extruded aluminium with PVC-coated mesh.
Learn more →Smart Glass
Switchable privacy glass that goes from clear to opaque, for partitions, consult rooms and bathrooms.
Learn more →Table Tops and Furniture Glass
Cut-to-size table tops, shelving and cabinet glass with polished, bevelled or pencil edges.
Learn more →Scratch and Graffiti Removal
Polishing scratched and acid-tagged glass instead of replacing it, where the glass can take it.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Can a glass splashback go behind a gas cooktop?
Yes, with toughened glass and the correct clearances. Toughened glass handles the heat of a domestic cooktop, but the appliance manufacturer sets a minimum distance between the burner and any combustible or glazed surface and the installer has to work to it. Behind a freestanding cooker the same rule applies, so the specification gets checked against the appliance, not assumed.
How are the colours matched?
The back of the glass is painted in a colour selected from a standard paint chart, so almost any colour is achievable. Two things surprise people. Clear float glass has a green cast that shifts pale colours, so whites and greys are usually done in low-iron glass. And the colour reads darker on a large wall than on the chip, so it is worth seeing a sample in the room.
Do the power points and rangehood have to be cut out first?
Yes, and that is why the template happens after the benchtop is installed and the electrician has set out the points. Every cut-out and hole is made before the glass is toughened and none of it can be added later. Move a power point after the glass is made and you are buying another sheet.
Is glass better than tiles behind a sink?
For cleaning, clearly. There is no grout to stain or mould, and it wipes with a damp cloth. Tiles win on cost, on patching a small damaged area, and on tight spaces with lots of returns and corners where glass needs multiple panels and visible joints. In a laundry or a rental, tiles are often the more practical call.
Free, no-obligation