Countertop Template/Install Checklist

I want to talk to you today about the Template/Install Checklist. What y’all need to do to prepare for us to come by and have a smooth process.

First of all, what’s first? Templating. I can’t cut your counters without actually making a template of your kitchen. In some cases, it’s measurements. In other cases, it’s actually a physical template we have to make.

Therefore, the prep items that we need from you guys, and we would appreciate if you guys help us out, clear off all the countertops. Clear off all these countertops so that we can get a really, really good measurement from point A, B, all the way down, follow this point right here to this point right here. Those are the points we need perfectly accurately where there’s a physical, actual template of measurements so I can go back to my shop, cut this off efficiently, come back and install it.

In addition to that, we talk about things like, what overhang do you want right here? We’ll go over what the maxs are. We’ll try to isolate what you like. All we need from you is, say, things like, is it going to be 10 inches? Is it going to be 8 inches? It’s a pretty good 90 degree angle, but in other people’s houses that are more traditional, they actually want this to be pretty round, so you can by it really easily and not have the sharp point.

Materials-wise, if you’re buying a new faucet, and most of you do, I need you to have your faucet purchased ahead of time. And also, tell us items you want to use in the faucet. Tell my installer specifically, “I only want use this faucet head and not the soap dispenser, or, if I do, I want the soap dispenser here,” or, “I want it here.” You’re the boss. The more you can think of those things upfront, the smoother the install will go for everybody.

The other item which is optional, really, is taking the items out of the drawers. Just take them out and put them away. Imagine this gone, right? All the stuff’s gone, installing the new stuff, it’s very heavy, we’re pushing it in place. It’s grinding on the top of the cabinet, producing sawdust that falls into this space (there’s actually voids here) in between the drawers where sawdust can come in on top of the drawers and coat all of your stuff with a thin, thin, veil of sawdust.

Last thing is if you have a cook top, which this customer did not, this is a free sitting stove, well, let’s say it’s a cook top that comes into your extra countertop, we’d have to have it here to actually– the physical cook top here would cut out perfectly on site at the install and fit it to make sure it works. We don’t cut off with dimensions, upper cut sheet, it can be inaccurate, it can lead to a wrong cut and it can’t be replaced so we shave that physical coat top here as well.

So all those things are things just to think about, plan for, even write down if you want, just have them so when we show up we can come in, get in, get it done in 45 minutes and walk away with really accurate information and measurements.