Home / Gallery / Backsplashes

Cast, not bought

Backsplashes nobody else has.

A tile backsplash comes out of a box, and the same box is on a shelf in every store in the state. These are cast in a mold, coloured by hand and sealed — Fractured Quartz, veneer stone, barn wood, slate, glass and river rock — and no two ever come out identical. The same panels go on fireplaces, feature walls and shower surrounds.

A dark display board showing eleven different SBC concrete backsplash panels: stacked stone, split slate, barn wood, mosaic squares, river rock and glass patterns in a range of colours. — **Eleven of the patterns, side by side**Stacked stone, split slate, barn wood, mosaic squares, river rock, fractured quartz and glass. Every one of these is cement cast in an SBC mold and coloured by hand — which is why the same mold can produce a warm sandstone and a near-black slate.

The panels

Two castings, two completely different stones.

The mold gives you the shape and the texture. Everything after that — the colour, the depth, whether it reads as desert sandstone or wet slate — is done by hand on the panel. That is the part that cannot be bought in a box.

A concrete stacked stone backsplash panel coloured in warm gold, tan and cream, photographed against a black background. — **Warm sandstone**Gold and tan worked over a stacked stone casting, with the recesses left darker so the courses read separately. Sealed matt to keep it looking like dry stone.

A concrete stacked stone backsplash panel coloured in dark charcoal and silver with a metallic sheen, photographed against a black background. — **Wet slate**The same idea taken cold — charcoal and silver with a fine metallic lift across the faces, so it catches light the way cleaved slate does.

A kitchen backsplash of near-black stacked stone running around an inside corner below white cabinets, above a black and white marbled concrete countertop. — **Black slate, around a corner**A near-black casting run around an inside corner beneath white cabinets, over a black and white marbled concrete counter. The corner is cut and butted, not mitred — on a split face nobody can find the joint.

A bar with a glossy grey and cream concrete top containing a river of embedded stones, on a base faced with dark stacked stone panels. — **A bar top over a panelled base**A poured top with a river of exposed stone through it, sitting on a bar faced in the same panels. Backsplash, counter and base all cast in the same shop.

A kitchen backsplash of warm gold and rust stacked stone with scattered dark stones, above a black granite countertop with a stainless sink and oak cabinets. — **Installed, over black granite**Warm stacked stone taken from the counter to the underside of the cabinets, with darker stones scattered through the courses so the run does not repeat. Against a dark counter and oak doors it is the only thing in the room you look at.

Past the counter

The same panels do not stop at four feet.

Everything below is the same Fractured Quartz and veneer stone as the backsplashes above — same molds, same colouring, same install. Which is the argument to make to a customer standing in their kitchen: the wall behind the stove is the small version of the job.

A floor-to-ceiling fireplace clad in grey stacked stone panels with a cast concrete mantel shelf and a grey hearth slab veined with rust, on a wood floor. — **Grey stone, cast mantel and hearth**Full surround in cool grey, with a cast mantel shelf and a hearth slab carrying a rust seam through it. Mantel and hearth are cast concrete too — same job, different mold.

A fireplace clad in dark green and grey stacked stone panels with a rustic timber mantel beam and a long brown concrete hearth. — **Dark green slate with a timber mantel**Deep green-grey courses against a rough-sawn timber mantel, over a wide concrete hearth coloured to match the room rather than the stone.

A living room wall clad entirely in pale gold and grey stacked stone panels, with a wall mounted television, a dark shelf and an electric fireplace. — **A whole wall behind the television**Panels taken corner to corner and floor to ceiling. At this scale laid stone would need the wall opened up and reinforced first — this went on the wall as it stood.

A freestanding fireplace surround clad in multi-coloured green, gold and rust stacked stone panels, showing the mitred corner return. — **A freestanding surround**Built as an object rather than against a wall, with mitred returns down both sides. The corner is where a cladding job is judged.

A curved glass shower enclosure with the interior walls clad in multi-coloured gold, cream and brown stacked stone panels. — **Inside a shower enclosure**Panels taken right into a wet area and sealed for it. The curved glass runs against a wall that had to be cut to follow it.

A powder room with walls clad in warm multi-coloured stacked stone, a dark vanity with a blue-green marbled concrete top and a hammered copper undermount basin. — **Powder room, walls and top**Stone taken around every wall, with a blue and copper vanity top and a hammered copper basin set into it. The top is concrete as well.

A tall recessed water wall feature clad in multi-coloured stacked stone panels with water running down the face, lit with blue LED light, over a bed of river pebbles. — **Water Wall Feature**Water sheets down the full height of the stone into a river rock basin at its foot, with LED lighting washing the recess behind. The panels are sealed for constant wetting — and running water over a split face is what makes every course read separately, which is the whole reason to build one out of this stone rather than a flat panel.

In the showroom

Sample boards, and why they sell the job.

The same casting in three colourways, hung side by side, is how the choice actually gets made. It is also the cheapest sales tool a contractor can build — three offcuts on a wall.

Three stacked stone sample panels in red, white and brown hung on a showroom wall beside a black stacked stone backsplash and a black and white marbled concrete countertop. — **In any color the Veneer Backsplash looks natural and spectacular**Red, bone and walnut hung together, with a black slate backsplash and marbled concrete counter alongside. Every surface in this corner is cement.

A close-up of a barn red stacked stone concrete panel mounted on a wall above a cream panel, showing individual split stone faces. — **Barn red, close up**What the panel looks like from three feet. The colour sits in the stone rather than on it, and the split faces still read individually.

How they are made

This is the part that makes it a business.

A backsplash is a small job with a high ticket, and it is made flat on a bench in a garage rather than on a ladder in somebody's kitchen. It is the easiest of the nine methods to start selling, which is why it is where a lot of students take their first paid work.

Several large rectangular concrete barn wood molds laid out on a plastic-covered bench in a workshop, showing plank grain and knots in different colours. — **The molds, in the shop**Barn wood molds laid out ready to cast. Cast from real reclaimed boards, so the grain, the knots and the saw marks belong to a real plank rather than a sculptor’s guess at one.

A hand brushing brown colour onto a cast concrete stone-pattern panel, with blue silicone molds in the foreground. — **Colouring the casting by hand**Colour brushed into a cast panel, working the darks into the recesses first. The silicone molds alongside are what produced the individual stones.

Close-up of clear sealer being poured across a cast concrete mosaic tile panel, bringing up a high shine. — **Sealing a mosaic panel**Sealer going onto a finished mosaic casting. As with countertops, this is the moment the colour arrives — the panel looks chalky and flat until it goes on.

Two men staining a cast concrete barn wood wall with a brush, working across weathered grey and gold planks. — **The same method, taken up a whole wall**Barn wood panels run floor to ceiling and stained in place. A backsplash is where students usually start, but nothing about the method caps it at four feet.

The range

Stone, wood, slate and more — 42 patterns.

Eight of them below. Every design set contains six molds in that pattern, cast at 1′ × 2′, so a run lays up without the same stone appearing twice in a customer’s eyeline. Mix sets across jobs and no two installs look alike.

Concrete panel cast in the Fractured Quartz pattern, showing sharp split stone faces. — **Fractured Quartz**Sharp split faces. The premium set, and the pattern SBC is best known for.

Concrete panel cast in the High-End Veneer Stone pattern, showing long thin stacked stone courses. — **High-End Veneer Stone**Long, thin, tightly stacked courses — the dry-stack look.

Concrete panel cast in the Rugged Ashlar Slate pattern, showing squared blocks in a random layout. — **Rugged Ashlar Slate**Squared blocks in a random ashlar layout. One of the two most popular for fireplace surrounds.

Concrete panel cast in the Best Slate pattern, showing large cleaved slate slabs. — **Best Slate Pattern**Large cleaved slabs with a riven face and deep joint lines.

Concrete panel cast in the Best Barnwood pattern, showing weathered plank grain and knots. — **Best Barnwood**Cast from real reclaimed boards — grain, knots and saw marks.

Concrete panel cast in the Best Travertine pattern, showing a grid of square tiles with a pitted face. — **Best Travertine**A regular square grid with a pitted, honed face.

Concrete panel cast in the Micro Slate and Glass pattern, showing fine linear mosaic strips. — **Micro Slate & Glass**Fine linear mosaic. For smaller runs where the detail is read close up.

Concrete panel cast in the Best Brick Slate pattern, showing brick coursing with a textured slate face. — **Best Brick Slate**Brick coursing with a slate face rather than a fired-clay one.

Also in the range: Castle Stone, Best Mayan Glass, Micro Slate Baseboards, Best Log Cabin Wood, Ashlar Slate corner molds, and the Large 3′ × 4′ Water Wall Panel System.

Applications

Built for every job — interior and exterior.

Backsplashes & countertop surrounds A fully custom stone, slate or wood-grain finish where standard tile would be ordinary. Indoor-safe year-round regardless of weather, which makes it work you can book in January. Pairs with the SBC countertop edge form liners.

Outdoor kitchens & accent walls Outdoor living commands premium budgets. With the proper sealer these are exterior-grade — a high-end stone look at a fraction of the material cost. Pairs with the large 3′ × 4′ Water Wall Panel System.

Feature walls & fireplace surrounds High-visibility surfaces, high-margin results. The 1′ × 2′ format gives the detail control that complex curved and angled surrounds need. Rugged Ashlar Slate and Castle Stone are the most popular here.

The process

From mold to finished panel in four steps.

Step one

Choose your design set

Select from 42 patterns — stone, wood, slate, granite and more.

Step two

Prepare & pour concrete

Get your mix to the right consistency and pour. Allow standard cure time.

Step three

De-mold & finish

Remove the panels, sand the edges as needed, and apply colour treatments.

Step four

Install & get paid

Seal, install, and hand off a premium custom finish your client will show everyone.

Pricing

Choose the design sets that fit your business.

Start with one set and grow — or go all in with the Mass Production Package and own the complete SBC library. Design sets are sold direct rather than through the online store: call 855-744-2900 to order.

Design set	Price
Most design setsSix molds per set — stone, slate, granite, barnwood, travertine, exotic wood and more	$1,500
Fractured Quartz A–FPremium six-mold set	$1,950
Rugged Ashlar Slate A or B · Micro Slate Baseboards · Best Mayan GlassSpecialty smaller sets	$750
Ashlar Slate corner moldSet of four corner molds	$1,800
Best Log Cabin Wood A–CSet of three	$1,200
Chiseled Edge Countertop Edge Form LinerSet of ten	$770

Backsplashes are taught as part of the course — casting, colouring, sealing and hanging — and the molds, colorants and materials are all on the SBC store.

Learn the method

Molds Order a design set

Design sets are sold direct, not through the store — call 855-744-2900 and we will talk through which patterns suit your market.

Colour Colorants & pigments

Acrylic colorants, epoxy pigments, mica flakes and powder — what turns one casting into eleven stones.

Materials Raw materials

The blends that let a panel this thin come out of the mold in two hours.

Want a backsplash nobody else has, or want to start selling them? Call 855-744-2900 or 623-267-4336.

Get in touch