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How do you quote backsplash square footage?

Backsplash is quoted as its own line item, not folded into countertop square footage. Measure one continuous strip per wall: length equals the wall run minus any tall units, running unbroken behind the range, and height is either the loose-splash spec (commonly 4" in many markets) or the full height to the underside of the wall cabinets (commonly 18"–20"). Islands get no wall backsplash.

Three-tier resolution order

  1. Drawn on the shop drawings — measure it.
  2. Specified in a note("4in BS", "4in for vanities") but not drawn — generate it: height × (back edges of wall runs + one side wrap per kitchen), islands excluded, and flag the line as assumed-from-spec.
  3. Nothing anywhere — flag as unspecified and confirm with the customer. Never silently quote zero.

What counts toward length

Include wall runs behind base cabinets. Exclude islands and peninsulas that do not meet a wall. Subtract tall pantry and fridge cabinets — they end the splash. Keep the strip continuous behind a range; the range does not break the splash the way a tall unit does.

Height choices

Loose splash is commonly 4" in many residential markets. Full-height splash runs from the deck to the underside of the wall cabinets — often 18"–20" depending on cabinet height and deck thickness. Vanities may follow a different note than kitchens; resolve each type on its own.

Counterly quotes backsplash as a separate line and follows the same drawn → specified → unspecified order, so assumed splash is flagged instead of silently zeroed.

From the shop floor

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