Kitchen worktops in West Drayton

Yes. 1930s semis extended at the back into kitchen-diners with bifolds, plus a wave of new-build apartments near the station where owners are upgrading developer-fitted kitchens within the existing layout. Where the frontage is a clearway the unload happens away from the door and the carry gets longer, which is a crew and time question rather than a stone one. A replacement is a two-way job, with old tops going out and new stone coming in, so the van needs to stay put across the whole day. It is a full day at the kerb, not a delivery.

1930s semi, postwar house, village green older stock and Elizabeth line new-build. 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 junction between the old floor and the extension floor is where a run crossing it needs packing before stone goes on. Units kept, surface changed, one day.

The station area is clogged with commuter parking and the level crossing. The village streets have drives, but the new developments are built on narrow shared surfaces with limited waiting. The van gets close to the door and the stone comes off the tail lift onto a trolley, which is about the shortest carry we ever get. We plan the strip-out and the carry as one movement so the kitchen is only out of use for a single day. That is agreed before a plumber is booked.

Worktop replacement, worktop installation and worktop templating, in that order. Developer-fitted kitchens come with thin cam-lock carcasses, which are fine under laminate and want bracing before stone goes on them. One visit, with the sink and hob seated and sealed before we leave. Sealed before we leave. New-build flats here come with thin compact laminate already fitted, so the upgrade usually means a new sink and tap as well as new tops.

The catch with a galley is that both runs are seen end-on from the doorway, so any difference in overhang between the two reads immediately. Old laminate has often been holding a run square for years, and taking it off shows what the units were really doing. Height change is checked before we cut. 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. We would rather find it at template than on the morning, which is why the templater looks behind the units. It is the usual surprise, and it is a known one. Material runs from £110 per square metre supply only, and templating, fabrication and fitting are quoted on their own lines rather than rolled into one figure.

An owner living in the house makes the decisions and lives with them, so the specification tends to go towards the material rather than towards the lowest total. The fitting day is arranged with whoever can actually give us access for the whole slot. Access for the whole slot, or a different day. Tell us the building when you book and the lift, the stair turn and any freeholder notice get built into the day rather than found on it.