First, read G2409 through G2409.2

https://codes.iccsafe.org/public/document/code/553/9854210

Then give it to your builder, who should already know better, to read.

Then, you will find that all products like Wonder Board actually let more heat through to the combustible stud than plaster or gypsum. Stainless steel is also a good conductor of heat...probably why they make pans out of it.

You would be going the wrong direction with that approach.

Range clearances will be included in the installation instructions for each specific model. They can all be different.

Thanks for your comments. @frenchtarragon, we didn't really do any work in the kitchen. We were just updating the appliances and backsplash and countertop so we did not want to change the layout to decrease cost. The previous owner had an electric range in the same place. We didn't move anything around.
And now the backsplash and countertop were already done so changing the layout would be wasting tons of money already put into the project.

Can the microwave door be reversed?

Exactly how far can you open the microwave door?

I'm interested to hear if there's a safety fix for the range/wall issue. I can also see a problem with spacing/centering on the left burners. Just thinking several of my pots and pans are wider than the burners.

When you mentioned "your builder", I assumed you were building/changing things. Why are you involving your builder, if you are keeping this same kitchen placement? I don't care if there was an electric range before - this was bad placement, and a fire hazard before, and a fire hazard now. Just cause it was like that before, should not be the reasoning for you to do it again.

Many electric ranges have zero clearance requirements to side walls above the cooktop.

If you can't change the location, I would be adding a stainless steel sheet for some heat and fire protection. Another concern is its proximity to the outside door, especially with the handle next to the stove. It's not only the gas you have to be concerned about, but large pots being tipped and someone being burnt and with wall being so close, a large pot will sit precariously, so I would definitely always use the middle rack, so pot can rest across there as well or not even use the left burners unless necessary.

Thanks for all the comments. I am involving my builder because he is doing other work in the house and we asked him to install a gas line and gas range for us. He was the one who brought up the issue of placement of the range. Unfortunately, this was only brought to our attention after the granite was installed.
I am therefore trying to figure out the most cost effective way to remedy the issue. I am aware larger pots will not be centered on the left burners but I can use smaller pots on them. Larger pots and pans will have to be used with the right side.
Our plan was for this to be a short term update to the kitchen with the hopes of expanding and creating a larger kitchen which we couldn't afford to currently do.
The microwave opens about halfway. Unfortunately the door cannot be reversed :(

"I would be adding a stainless steel sheet for some heat and fire protection."

G2409.2 (308.2) Reduction table.

"The allowable clearance reduction shall be based on one of the methods specified in Table G2409.2"

"b. All clearances shall be measured from the outer surface of the combustible material to the nearest point on the surface of the appliance, disregarding any intervening protection applied to the combustible material." (The wood studs in the wall)

Will an extra 1/2" allow the micro to open? This is up against an outside wall?

Why would you put a gas cooker next to a door .. what happens when the wind blows the gas flame out and I am sure you will get a warm door handle !!

It's possible the 1/2" would allow clearance for the microwave but the larger issue is the range so looking for a solution for both. Worst case, I'll buy a microwave that's a drop smaller. But the range is much more expensive to replace and I don't even know if we could replace it with anything workable anyways.

Are you changing the cabinet layout ? Our kitchen had a similar layout as yours and we added a cabinet to the left and moved the stove a bit more to the right to keep the burners free and give more room to the pots on the stove. The microwave will also have more room if you do this . Sort of this idea

[houzz=[https://www.houzz.com/photos/sanchez-contemporary-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~52070[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/sanchez-contemporary-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~52070)]

this is our kitchen with the extra cabinet to the left

You can go back to electric. There is no issue with electric if you get the right kind. If you can't return and exchange the gas range, sell it on Craigslist or Nextdoor.

Get an electric INDUCTION range.

Get electric range and SS panels can be purchased from IKEA, Home Depot & Lowes off the shelf. Or you could run the tile on the wall.

Induction is pretty awesome if you cannot make the gas work.

Unfortunately we can't add a cabinet to the left because it's the wall of the house and there's no room to move everything over because it's the oven next to the dishwasher next to the sink.
And I know we were mistaken in purchasing a gas range in place of the electric now but I'm trying to make it work without changing the layout as that is more pricey than what we wanted to spend.

I think to be code compliant with a gas range up against the wall like that, you would have to open the wall and replace the wood framing with metal in the section from the slider to the back wall 24" high, then replace the plaster with cement board or something heat rated.

Sometimes things cannot be made to "work" safely and adequately.

it looks like everything is line up can you change the design ? think of it this way this is an investment that will last you many years you have gone this far why stop now ?

Can you post a picture of the whole kitchen ?

you need a triangle, not lined up appliances

[houzz=https://www.houzz.com/photos/fitzroy-renovation-and-extension-contemporary-kitchen-melbourne-phvw-vp~4396418]

[Kitchen triangle[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-set-up-a-kitchen-work-triangle-stsetivw-vs~1042314)

I am aware that sometimes things don't work but I was asking to see if they would work. This is a discussion board looking for advice in case there's anything to do besides redesigning my kitchen. We weren't looking to do that because we wanted to expand the kitchen in a few years so we were trying to avoid redoing the kitchen twice. We thought we had an easy solution but clearly we were wrong so I am trying to figure out if there is a way to safely keep this set up even if it's not ideal for the next few years.
I am attaching a picture of more of the kitchen.
Thanks again for your responses. I appreciate the help.

More pictures of the kitchen

I agree with cpartist's post. And while you are at it, sell your OTR microwave on Craig's List or give to charity and replace with:

• this Whirlpool OTR MW which claims to have a "90° hinge. With this innovative hinge design you can install this model next to a wall and still open the door easily"

or

• one of the MW's on this list from HD, in which I've sorted for a left-to-right swing. Make sure to check the specs first as to whether that is accurate: http://www.homedepot.com/b/Appliances-Microwaves-Over-the-Range-Microwaves/Left-to-Right-Swing/N-5yc1vZc3paZ1z0k9if

Perhaps there is another option ! about moving the stove where the dishwasher is and move the dishwasher where the stove is ?

Seems like you did a lot of work to a kitchen you are going to gut/expand in a few years? Not bashing you, just mentioning it for others reading who might be in the same position. Might have made more sense to put this money/time/stress towards the full project and get it done a bit sooner.

how about living without the dishwasher ??? since you will be redoing the kitchen down the road, remove the DW and move the stove over a foot or so. now you have plenty of room on both sides.

you are asking how to make this work and sometimes it just doesn't. Either return the gas stove and change to electric, take out the DW and move it over, remove the wall to the left of the stove, move the stove to the other wall OR possibly run the risk of setting your wall on fire. I mean, that's about all you can do. We are offering advice but aren't magicians.

honestly, getting an induction cooktop would be your safest alternative. you may have to eat the cost of the range if you can't return it, or keep it handy for when you redo the kitchen down the road.

I truly appreciate all of the responses. I know you're not magicians :-) just wanted other perspectives since we made a mistake originally in thinking we could simply swap out the electric stove with a gas one. So we're trying to make the best well informed decision we can with what we have.
And our intention of putting some money into the kitchen was to be able to be happy with what we have for 5-7 years and then put money towards a larger expansion at that time when we save up for it since we're doing a bunch of other work on the house right now. And the cost of what we were doing (before realizing our mistakes!) didn't compare to totally redoing and expanding our kitchen.
We have never done renovations before so we are learning a lot. And this post was to get more info and opinions. I know I won't get a perfect answer for what I'm looking for because then we wouldn't have the problem to begin with haha.
Thanks again.

no prob EM I don't know what part of the country you're in, but I've often found that Craigslist is a wealth of help when redoing things. I've found some incredible deals and buys when doing my own reno's and on flips we've done. For instance, you could have gotten some oak cabinets for a song and replaced yours. you could have painted the oak and ended up w/almost new looking cabinets to go w/your countertop and new appliances. (CL for appliances is another great source. In the flip we did I spent a total of 1800 for ALL of the kitchen appliances (except fridge) and they were all new!) .

you have to know how to shop. Flooring and tile is another one you can do on the cheap if you know how to look.

Just because you end up switching to an electric/induction range, don't think it's OK to have bare drywall on that wall. As Beverly mentioned above, you can get stainless steel panels at Home Depot or Lowes. I recommend you get one that goes alongside the range all the way to the floor, and up to at least the bottom of the microwave, or higher. A panel that size will not cost a lot, and will look better too. Seeing the bare wall next to the range, even if the range were electric, gives me the heebie-jeebies.

It is a worry for sure. There was an electric range in this spot which now has a gas stove….how did that happen? Seriously. Who hooked up the gas line…who removed the electric?

Assuming you did no pull a permit.

Don't see a frig...can stove/microwave and frig trade places?

That's got "Fire hazard" written all over it. The combustible wall has got to go.

The cabinets look pretty solid. Can the case of the cab next to the microwave be notched a little bit to slide the microwave over? I bet you can get almost a half inch.

As for the stove...induction. It's really great even if you don't have clearance issues.

I just saw another person who commented on another post. she posted a pic of her set-up, identical to yours. She was commenting on the shiplap backsplash, but I noticed she has this SS side panel. I can't post the pic so you're going to have to click on the link and scroll to the bottom where Terra posted her two pics. her gas stove is next to a wall exactly like yours.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/shiplap-as-a-backsplash-installation-dsvw-vd~4255163

From what Fred was saying, above, it's still going to get hot and transfer the heat to the inner wall/studs.

"Terra posted her two pics. her gas stove is next to a wall exactly like yours."

That does not look like a gas stove.

We thought we had an easy solution but clearly we were wrong so I am trying to figure out if there is a way to safely keep this set up even if it's not ideal for the next few years.

short answer: NO.

long answer with options: rebuild the wall with no combustible materials, replace the stove with induction, or switch range with the dishwasher and cut your counter piece to move too. none easy, but all better than burning the house down while you save up for a reno.

look at it this way , better to get it all done properly now and get over with , I don't know about the rest of you Houzzers but I totally dislike cleaning up all the mess that a renovation leaves behind , it takes months to get rid of the dust and washing everything down in the process.

As Genevieve has stated upthread, switch the DW and stove, your Granite guys can cut the granite currently over the DW and move that over to the new left location, you could now use the microwave you have. Stilll not the ideal functional kitchen appliance locations but workable and SAFE and not so much expense as selling and rebuying appliances. Adding metal sheeting to the left wall is NOT a heat shield, only a flame shield, unless you have a vented air gap between the sheet and the wall and you do not have any room for that so I think Genevieve's idea is the logical, least expensive approach, and your new gas stove looks good.

I put the stone in for temporary remodel because the Formica countertop was not in good shape. And we chose granite for personal religious dietary reasons but focusing on why I chose to do things previously is not why I posted here.
I appreciate your thoughts and ideas. I am going to stop responding because some people have been responding in a way that isn't helpful but more critical and that's not why I posted my question. I wasn't looking to be judged or made to feel inferior for decisions I made as a novice.
Again, thank you for those who gave helpful responses. I really appreciate your time and thought and it has been very educational for me.

E M, you are not alone in this mistake. If you look at pictures on Houzz of gas ranges and backsplashes, you will see thousands of examples of where "Pros" have elected to not use the required backguard because it did not go with the design. Funny thing is that they all claim it is fine because they put noncombustible tile over the combustible BACK wall, but will jump all over someone for thinking they can do the same thing on a side wall. Last time I checked, the heat from the flame did not follow their rule of only going in a left-right direction ;D

I am going to stop responding because some people have been responding in a way that isn't helpful but more critical and that's not why I posted my question. I wasn't looking to be judged or made to feel inferior for decisions I made as a novice.

I'm really sorry this has been your experience, but not at all surprised. This site has great potential, and a lot of great, helpful people. But it also has those who cannot read the topic at hand, and stay on it.One of this sites biggest downfalls.... And it's not just this place, it's lots of forums, but this one seems to excel at it.

I wish you all the best in your quest for a solution.

I haven't read all the replies, but is springing for an 18" dishwasher an option?

For the uppers, you could replace the current 24" cabinet above the DW with shelves.

I was thinking along the same lines as nosoccermom but you would lose the 24" cabinet over the dw and you would move the microwave cabinet over at least 6". You will need a 6" cabinet to the side of the range. The granite will need to be cut.

Option 2 is to get rid of the range and get a 24" cooktop and 24" oven to place under the cooktop. Did you confirm if you could still return the gas range?

Option 3 is to get a 24" range, there are not a lot of options but there are a few. This and the option above, would eliminate cutting the granite and replacing the dw. These two options will probably run north of $1500.

Both options would probably cost the same amount of money. With Option 2 and 3, you will be getting a smaller cooking appliance.

Check with building codes. I live in Ontario Canada and walls around a gas range (within 17 inches) need to be protected with the equivalent of 3/8 inch drywall. If you think about it - the range is always close to the BACK wall! And slide-in gas ranges don't have any added protection. Am I missing something obvious?

https://www.markham.ca/wps/wcm/connect/markhampublic/146aab07-7ae7-447c-9117-13f1e17ad4d4/TIP-014-2015.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=146aab07-7ae7-447c-9117-13f1e17ad4d4

Furthermore - it's food catching fire, not the heating appliance that causes issues no? Not sure what difference gas or electric would make. Again I may be missing something.

Thank you for posting this original question. I have a similar situation with a gas stove on the wall but mine is set back more from the door so that entry hazard is mitigated. My contractor didn't say anything about the gas range being too close to the wall. Possibly because there is tile there currently and there, clearly, is not other place in the kitchen to put a range. However, I can now take care of the inside walls with metal studs, etc. and line the stove area with stainless steel sheeting. Not perfect but it's going to be much safer than before. And, like the original poster, getting an electric stove is not an option at this point for many reasons.

I am having the same issue. In your situation I agree that you should move your stove and diswasher. I really wish I had that option. Good luck

I ended up removing all the old tile, taking the wall to the studs, adding concrete wallboard, heat deterrent drywall and stainless steel panels.