Removing granite upstands

[Zozo1982]

We recently moved in to a house and hope to make some improvements to the kitchen. At present there are granite worktops and upstands, but horrible tiles which go behind the upstands (so upstands sit forward of the wall). We want to get rid of the tiles. Our plan is to remove the upstands and then tile down to the work-surface (without replacing upstands). Is it possible to remove the upsands without damaging the existing work-surface, and will it be possible to remove the mastic/glue from the worksurface so that it looks ok? Thanks.

I’d probably ask a builder to come and have a look. They’ll be able to assess how it’s been put together and if it’s likely to come off easily. But I wouldn’t get your hopes up as it seems tricky to remove all that without chipping or cracking the granite at all.

Could you keep the original upstands and just have the tiles that show above them taken off and replaced? Or could they be tiled over making the whole thing flat?
Perhaps add a metal strip between the original upstands and the new tiles to neaten things up?

Unfortunately I don't think that would work. I'll post a picture if I can. We'd love to find a way of getting rid of them! I'm hoping there might be a way of prising off the upstands, but maybe not.

Just wondering how you got on with removing the upstands? I am in a similar position .... in our case really dislike the upstands we have and want to remove them but don't want the worktop to be damaged in the process. Did you go ahead with removing yours?

(I've even considered painting the upstands white to blend in with the white wall if it isn't possible to remove them without causing damage)

Maybe a Granite installer could advise you.

Our builder got them off without any bother. We now have tiles down to the worksurface. The previous owner had put the upstands over old tiles so I don't know whether that made it easier/harder to get the upstands off. Hope that helps.

Great... thanks. My upstands are directly onto the wall... will checkwith builder what he can do.

Sounds like no damage done to your worktop then?

Hi Jools. I have removed granite upstands many times. They are nearly always stuck on with silicone. Depending on the length and the type of granite they can break if you are not careful. We always run a Stanley knife where they join the worktop and wall as there is usually a run of sealant there. Then slide a paint scraper down the back of them and keep moving along inserting the scraper until the upstand is loose. Good Luck.