Barnet · NW11
Splashbacks and upstands in Temple Fortune
Stone taken up the wall, cut from the same slab run as your worktop so the batch actually matches.
Temple Fortune kitchens
What the kitchens here are actually like
Two runs and a return into a rear extension is the pattern, and the return is the piece that never nests neatly on a slab. What decides between a slim upstand and full-height stone is nearly always the wall rather than the taste. Siliconed to the top, never grouted.
The surrounding houses are comfortable interwar semis where the kitchen is knocked through to the dining room for a 3.6m run and a peninsula.
Flats above the distinctive shopping parades have small, awkwardly shaped kitchens set into the roof and gable spaces with sloping ceilings that rule out wall units above part of the run. Sloping ceilings over part of the run mean the slab cannot be tilted upright at that end, so it has to enter the room already close to horizontal.
The classic arrangement is the original back room with a later extension bolted onto it, so the kitchen is two ages of building in one room. The ragged band left when old tiles and laminate come off together is what usually decides upstand over full height. The wall makes that decision, not the brochure.
What turns up on the job sheets is Arts and Crafts style parade with flats above, 1920s-30s semi and purpose-built mansion block. That mix is why two jobs on the same road can run completely differently.
True everywhere
Splashbacks and upstands, in short
- Cut from the same slab run as the worktop, at the same time.
- Ordered later, from a different batch, the match is not reliable where the pieces meet.
- Socket and switch positions must be final before templating.
- The joint to the worktop is siliconed, never grouted.
Covered from the Watford patch. Fitted 3–7 working days from template.
period detached houses and villas
Getting stone into the room
Flats over the parades are reached by narrow shared stairs from the rear yards, with no lift and a turn at each landing; Finchley Road frontage has loading restrictions and constant bus traffic.
period detached houses and villas
What gets asked for here
This is not the local speciality and there is no point saying otherwise: worktop replacement, worktop templating and worktop installation is what the housing here actually asks for. It is quoted, cut and fitted exactly the same way regardless.
period detached houses and villas
The building, and what it does to the job
A low sill over the sink run is what decides between an upstand and stone dying into a window board, and there is often less clearance than an upstand is tall. It is usually what pushes a job towards a 100mm upstand instead of a full-height panel, because an upstand rides what a panel exposes. Scribed, dubbed out, or set proud. Pick one.
Access
Getting stone into a Temple Fortune kitchen
Flats over the parades are reached by narrow shared stairs from the rear yards, with no lift and a turn at each landing; Finchley Road frontage has loading restrictions and constant bus traffic.
Tell us what the approach looks like when you book the template and it gets built into the day rather than discovered on it. Where the route is genuinely tight, it changes how the pieces are cut, which is a fabrication decision rather than a delivery one.
3–7 working days
From template to fitted, working days from template. The same on this patch as every other.
Watford patch
Temple Fortune is worked from our Watford run, covering Hertfordshire & North London.
We come to you
Templated in your kitchen, cut in our workshop, fitted by our own installers.
Access told straight
If the route forces an extra join, you hear that at quote stage, not on the day.
Questions
Worktop splashbacks & upstands in Temple Fortune
If yours is not here, ring and ask. You get a straight answer rather than a call-back from a salesperson.
Is Temple Fortune on your patch?
Yes. Temple Fortune is on the patch, and the postcodes we work here are NW11. It is run from the Watford side, covering Hertfordshire & North London. Underground loading has a height restriction, and a van with an A-frame on it is taller than the driver remembers. Splashbacks are normally the last thing off, so a short parking window is exactly when they get rushed. That is why they are crated the way they are. We template in your kitchen and fit in your kitchen, so there is nothing to visit and nothing to collect.
Why would worktop splashbacks & upstands in Temple Fortune be any different from anywhere else?
These kitchens have been retiled at least twice, and stripping the tiles takes the bottom band of plaster with them because the old laminate ran underneath rather than up to them. These kitchens are nearly always retiled at least twice, and stripping the old tiles takes the bottom course of plaster with it because the original laminate top ran underneath the tiles rather than up to them. Cut from the same slab run as the tops. Sloping ceilings over part of the run mean the slab cannot be tilted upright at that end, so it has to enter the room already close to horizontal.
How would you get a worktop into a property in Temple Fortune?
Flats over the parades are reached by narrow shared stairs from the rear yards, with no lift and a turn at each landing; Finchley Road frontage has loading restrictions and constant bus traffic. Stone goes up on edge, and it is the half-landing turn rather than the flight itself that sets the maximum piece. Where the route is tight we break a long splashback at a natural vertical joint instead of forcing one panel through. It decides panel size before anything is cut. Tell us what the approach looks like when you book the template and it gets built into the day rather than discovered on it.
Is Temple Fortune really a worktop splashbacks & upstands area?
Not particularly, and it would be easy to pretend otherwise. What the research on this patch actually lists is worktop replacement, worktop templating and worktop installation. That is a statement about the local housing rather than about the work. It is quoted, cut and fitted exactly the same way here as anywhere else on the patch. The junction between the original room and the extension is the point to watch, because the two floors rarely sit at the same height. Socket and switch positions have to be final before templating, because a cut-out in the wrong place means a new piece. Siliconed to the worktop, never grouted. A new extension slab is not automatically level, and that wants checking before templating rather than after the stone is cut. Socket and switch positions have to be final before templating, because a cut-out in the wrong place means a new piece. Siliconed to the worktop, never grouted.
What moves the number on a quote around here?
Because a peninsula is seen from both sides, the underside of any overhang gets the same edge treatment as the top, which is easy to leave out of a spec. Upstands follow the run exactly, so every internal and external corner is a separate mitred or butted piece. Joint placement is a decision, not an accident. Material is £110-£550 per square metre supply only, and templating, fabrication and fitting are quoted on their own lines.
What needs to be ready before you come to Temple Fortune?
A low sill over the sink run is what decides between an upstand and stone dying into a window board, and there is often less clearance than an upstand is tall. Where the wall cannot be made good, setting the stone deliberately proud on a subframe with a shadow gap reads as a detail rather than a bad fit. Make the wall good first, or accept the detail. The old tiling must be off and the wall made good and dry before templating, not on fitting day. Owner-occupied kitchens are usually being done once, which is why the edge profile, the vein direction and where a join falls are worth the conversation. Full-height panels need the wall made good first, which is another trade and another timescale. The wall has to be ready.
Related
More around Temple Fortune
Other work we do in Temple Fortune
Next step
Splashbacks and upstands in Temple Fortune, priced properly
Plans, a sketch or photographs with rough run lengths is enough to start. You get an itemised written quote and the template dates we can offer on this patch.
25-year material warranty and a 5-year workmanship guarantee, both stated on your quote.