Services
Installation and fitting day
Fitted by our own installers rather than a subcontracted crew. Scribed to your walls, joins pulled and sanded flush, sink and hob seated, sealed and cleaned down before we leave.
Walls are not straight, and the worktop has to pretend they are
A worktop cut dead straight along its back edge will show a gap against your plaster, because plaster is not straight. Scribing is the trimming of that back edge on site so it follows the actual line of the wall. It is fiddly, it is the reason a stone fit takes hours rather than minutes, and it is most of the difference between a professional installation and a bad one.
The balance is due before installation, so the fitting day itself is about the work rather than about money. Our installers arrive with the pieces protected and labelled by run, and with the drawing that came off your template.
Everything we do that day is covered by the 5-year workmanship guarantee, which is separate from the 25-year material warranty on the stone itself.
At a glance
- Visits
- One
- Typical duration
- Half a day to a full day
- Balance
- Due before installation
- Plumber
- Book them after us, not alongside
Fitted 3–7 working days from template. Deposit at template, balance before installation.
What is involved
Fitting day, hour by hour
One visit. How much of the day it takes depends on runs, joins and cut-outs, and we tell you which at template.
- 01First
Protect and unload
Floors and units covered, a route cleared from the door to the kitchen, and each piece brought in by hand. Stone is heavy and there is no gentle way to carry it, so the route matters.
- 02The long part
Dry-lay and scribe
Pieces are offered up, back edges scribed to the actual wall line, overhangs checked against the units. This is where the templating work either pays off or does not.
- 03On site
Bed, level and fix
Worktops are bedded onto the units, levelled and packed where needed so the surface is true across its whole length and the joins meet cleanly.
- 04On site
Pull and finish the joins
Joins are drawn up tight, bonded with colour-matched adhesive, then sanded and polished flush so there is nothing to feel under your hand.
- 05On site
Seat the sink and hob
Undermount sinks are bonded and supported from beneath, inset sinks and hobs seated into their apertures, and everything sealed into the stone. Seated and sealed, not connected.
- 06Last
Silicone, clean down, hand over
Sealant run along the wall junctions, protection lifted, surfaces cleaned, and a care guide left that is specific to your stone rather than a generic leaflet.
On the day
How long it takes and what we leave behind
Straight answers to the questions people ask us on the doorstep.
One visit, not a return trip
Fitting is completed in a single visit. A straightforward run of units is a morning. A kitchen with an island, several joins and full-height splashbacks will run most of the day. You are told which yours is at the template stage, not on the morning.
There will be noise and some dust
Scribing and joint finishing happen in the room, because they can only be done against the actual walls. We protect floors and units before we start and clean down before we leave, but this is not a silent trade.
The sealant needs time before it takes water
Freshly run silicone must cure before it is loaded. The installer will tell you on the day when it is ready, which is why your plumber should be booked after us rather than for the same hour.
What we leave you with
A fitted, levelled worktop with finished joins, all cut-outs machined and sealed, sink and hob seated, surfaces cleaned and our protection removed. Plus a care guide written for your material: quartz, granite and sintered surfaces do not want the same cleaning products.
Two guarantees, covering different things
The 5-year workmanship guarantee covers our fabrication and fitting: joins, cut-outs, edges and how the worktop is secured. It applies in England, Scotland and Wales. The 25-year material warranty covers the stone itself against manufacturing defects (Residential installations in England).
Fitting day
What to have ready, and what we cannot do
The right-hand column is the one that catches people out, so book the other trades around it.
Have this ready for us
- Parking as close to the property as you can arrange: every piece is carried in by hand
- A clear route from the door to the kitchen, with nothing to squeeze past
- Base units emptied of anything that has to be moved mid-fit
- Somebody on site with access for the whole visit
- Your plumber booked for after us, not the same slot
- Pets and small children out of the working area, as there is heavy stone moving through the house
What we do not do
- Connect taps, waste pipes or water supply: we seat and seal, and a plumber connects
- Wire in hobs, sockets or extractors, or move any electrical point
- Plumb in a dishwasher, washing machine or fridge under the worktop
- Fit, level, alter or repair kitchen units
- Tile, plaster or make good decoration around the finished worktop
Questions
Installation: the questions we get asked
If yours is not here, ring and ask. You will get a straight answer rather than a call-back from a salesperson.
How long does a worktop installation take?
A single visit. A straightforward run of base units is usually a morning; a kitchen with an island, multiple joins and splashbacks takes most of the day. We tell you which yours is at template so you can plan the other trades around it.
Can my plumber connect the sink the same day?
Usually, but afterwards rather than alongside. The silicone needs to cure before the sink takes water, and the installer will tell you on the day when it is ready. Booking a plumber for the same hour as the fit is how people end up with a joint that has to be redone.
Do I need to be at home for the installation?
Somebody needs to be there with access for the whole visit and able to sign off at the end. It does not have to be you, but it does have to be somebody who can make a decision if one is needed.
Do you take the old worktop away?
Removing an existing worktop is part of a replacement job rather than a new installation. If you are swapping out laminate for stone, that sequence is set out in full on our worktop replacement page.
Where this happens
Installation in your part of London
Twelve neighbourhoods whose housing stock throws up this job most often. Each page covers what installation actually involves in that stock: the access, the era of the building and what that does to the work.
These twelve are a sample, not a coverage boundary. We work in 723 Greater London neighbourhoods and out into Surrey, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Essex.
Next
What usually happens either side of this
Every job runs through more than one of these. Follow the thread rather than guessing which order things go in.
Next step
Send us the kitchen and we will price it properly
Plans, a sketch or photographs with rough run lengths is enough to start. Nothing is payable until we template.