How to Prepare Your Kitchen for New Countertops

Clear the path from the truck to the kitchen before anyone talks about stone, because installers carry every slab on edge and a tight hallway or a corner with a door swing will stop the job. The checklist on countertops tallahassee marsha qualey lists the prep items in the order they get done on a jobsite, and each one affects how the countertops go in around Tallahassee, FL.

Measure the route for the slab

A slab travels upright, so measure the width of every door, the turns in the hallway, and the clearance around the corner nearest the kitchen. Take down hanging pictures, pull rugs, and move furniture. Keep the route open on install day, since a slab cannot be tipped flat to squeeze through. A remnant is lighter and easier to carry, but a full slab sets the rule for the path.

Get the cabinets ready first

Base cabinets have to be fully installed, fastened, and level before templating, because the template records the cabinets exactly as they stand. Moving a box afterward means the template is wrong. Cabinets also have to carry stone. Boxes under an old sink are often weak or water damaged, and they should be repaired before new tops go on. Check the frames and the sink base floor, not just the face.

Level the floor, then the run

Older homes in Leon County often have floors that are out of level. Cabinets may need shimming so the countertop gets a flat, continuous bearing surface. Granite, quartz, and quartzite are heavy and stiff, and a low spot under a seam or a long span invites a crack. Shim, fasten, and check with a straightedge along the whole run.

Choose fixtures before templating

Cutout sizes come from the actual sink, faucet, and cooktop. Have them on site, or fully specified, before the template is taken. An undermount sink cut for the wrong bowl cannot be fixed on a finished top. The same goes for edge profile choices such as eased edge or bullnose, and for overhang at an island, which should be settled when the template is drawn along with seam placement.

Plumbing, appliances, and tearout

Disconnect the plumbing before tearout and reconnect it only after the sink is set and the adhesive has cured. With stone tops, the dishwasher is usually fastened to the cabinet sides with brackets rather than screwed up into the underside of the countertop. Plan for that before the old top comes off.

Removing old tops can damage the drywall or tile backsplash behind them. Budget for wall patching or new backsplash work, especially behind laminate that was glued tight to the wall. Old countertops do not always come off clean, and the wall repair should be done before the new tops are set.