Your guide to buying a kitchen worktop
Buying new stone kitchen worktops is an investment that should last a lifetime. It’s a big decision, so if you feel a little anxious about kicking things off, that’s understandable. But here’s the thing, the process is actually very straightforward.
With the right preparation, getting the kitchen you’ve always dreamed of will be quick, painless and affordable. To help you understand what’s involved, we’ve put together this short brochure. In it, you’ll find:
- The information we need from you, in order to provide an accurate quote.
- What you need to know about our measuring and fitting process.
- Key differences between granite worktops, quartz countertops and marble worktops.
- How to prepare your kitchen.
- The guarantees we offer.
Pre-purchase preparation
You’re welcome to pop into our Bristol showroom at any time, but if you’d like a quote on your new kitchen worktops, it’s helpful if you do a little preparation beforehand.
Choose your colour
To help you decide which stone will work best for your kitchen, it’s important that you have a clear idea of the colour you’d like. We stock a large selection of marble, granite and quartz worktops, all of which come in a dazzling variety of beautiful colours. So before coming in, have a think, and decide not only which colour you’d like, but which tone of that colour. Also consider the pattern. Do you want uniform worktops with the same pattern throughout, or something more natural?
Show us some swatches
When you visit the showroom it’s a great idea to bring swatches of the colour that you’ve used (or plan to use) for your kitchen floor, walls and cabinets. Being able to see the colours next to your potential stone really helps when picking out the perfect product for your kitchen.
Bring an idea of your budget
It’s important that you come in with an idea of your maximum budget, even though, in our experience, many people tend to decide to spend a little more once they’ve seen some of the amazing stone available for their kitchen worktops! To give you an idea of what to expect, a new stone worktop, including measuring and fitting, will start as low as £2,000, and could go as high as you like!
Make sure you have measurements
In order to give you the most accurate quote possible, we need to know the area measurements of where you’ll be fitting your kitchen units. If you’re buying a new kitchen, you should have plans from the company you’re buying from — these would be ideal.
What kind of sink will you have?
It might sound unusual, but knowing which kind of sink you want is very important at this stage. Your choice of undermount or overmount could have a big impact on the worktop and kitchen design. If you have a digital copy of your sink information from your supplier, please bring that along when you come in.
Arrange a convenient consultation
Once you know what colour, pattern and price range you’re looking for, come and see us for an informal chat. We’ll use your information to show you a selection of stone that compliments your kitchen (or future kitchen).
Once you’ve chosen your material, we’ll give you an estimate on the cost. And after that’s agreed, it’s time to arrange for measuring, templating and fitting.
Want a kitchen from John Lewis, with worktops from us? No problem.
Many of our clients have already bought their kitchen carcasses from another supplier, and wonder whether we can fit our stone worktops on top. The answer is yes!
We pride ourselves in our skill and ability to fit your unique stone worktop onto any pre-built kitchen carcass. Our reputation for world-class workmanship is well known. Take a look at our Google reviews to find out more.
Inside the measuring, templating and fitting process
Our craftsmen have a wealth of traditional knowledge, skills and techniques. They learned what they know from masters of the trade, and they pass their knowledge on to our next generation of apprentices. This enables us to take on more complex, demanding projects and achieve results that most other stone suppliers can’t contemplate.
What we’re getting at here, is that you can expect a smooth process and immaculate results.
Here’s what you can expect during the process, including what will happen when, and what we need from you.
Stage one: measuring and templating
Essentially, our work on your kitchen happens in two stages. The first is the measuring and templating stage.
After your kitchen carcasses have been installed, we come in to take exact measurements and create templates for your new kitchen worktops.
This is probably the most important of the two stages, as getting it right will help ensure that the fitting goes off without a glitch. For this reason, we ask that someone with knowledge of the project is present during the measuring and templating. That way we can ask any questions we might need to, and avoid any surprises later on.
It’ll take around two hours, on average.
Stage two: fitting
Here’s where we actually fit your brand-new solid stone worktops, and transform your kitchen. On average, your fitting takes place 10 days after the measuring and templating.
It’s important to remember that we can’t deal with plumbing or electrics, so please make sure that any plumbing or electric work that needs to be done before fitting is finished — otherwise it could hold up the process.
Our friendly, professional fitters will generally take around 4 hours to finish. So in just a morning’s work, your kitchen is completely transformed!
Preparation checklist
- All units and furniture are fixed in their intended place.
- Taps, hobs, sinks and white goods need to be in place too.
- Have the sink templates to hand.
- Fix any under-mounted sinks in their support cradles, with the top of the sink flush with the top of the carcass.
- Any existing worktops that are being replaced are removed.
- All pipework boxing completed.
Product and workmanship guarantees
We’re confident that you’ll be more than happy with our workmanship and the quality of materials used.
To back this up, our materials are covered by warranties and guarantees, depending on what you choose. Just ask about what you can get when you come in and see us.
What next?
Because we carry out every part of the job ourselves — unlike the big chains on the high-street — our customers can be sure of dedicated service and a high level of skill across every part of the process. And despite the fact that we’re a small business, our prices are very competitive.
Hopefully, you now know the answer to any questions you might have had about the process of buying a beautiful new stone worktop. If you do want to know more about our kitchen and bathroom worktops, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Call us on:
Email us at: info@marblesupreme.com
Or pop in to our showroom:
Marble Supreme Ltd.
Unit 8 Bridge Road
Kingswood
Bristol
BS15 4FW