The Countertop Installation Process Explained

While it may seem like a relatively quick process, there’s a lot that goes into making a countertop before it is installed in your home. As a customer, you only see part of that process, and that’s why we want to explain it in detail. 

In general, the countertop process breaks down into five stages: consultation, templating, programming, fabrication, and installation. In this blog post, we’ll dive into what each of those five steps entails to help you understand how we do what we do.

Consultation

Consultation is exactly what it sounds like. In this step, one of our expert team members will answer your questions, suggest stones and styles, and kickstart the work process. 

Our team members can help you answer questions and get answers to topics like what type of stones are suitable for your project, what finishes and colors are available, and the pros and cons of each stone. Other things to consider when in the consultation process are the price, project timeline, cabinet fit, and seams. 

In addition to answering questions about the process, our team will utilize its breadth of experience with a variety of past projects in our portfolio to help inform your decision-making.

For instance, our team has seen hundreds upon hundreds of projects executed and can suggest specific stones if you want a bright kitchen or if you want something to balance the color of your cabinets. Our experts have an eye for design and more experience with countertops than most, so they’re the right ones to offer tailored advice for your project.

Not to mention, consultation also entails the beginning of the work process. Choosing a specific slab or style enables us to order the slab from our supplier or pull it from our stock. Then, we can go about the process of scheduling a templating appointment, the next step in our process.

Templating

Now that you’ve picked out a stone for your project, it’s time for one of our team members to template the project. Templating is the process by which we map out the exact dimensions of your project to make sure we cut the slab perfectly to fit the unique requirements of your project.

In this stage, someone will come out to your house with a specialized laser tool to create a schematic for the installation. We use an LT-2D3D laser templator that records the distances between reference points to get the exact measurements down. We can also go back to the basics to fine-tune measurements with a good old-fashioned tape measure. 

During this stage, our team will ask you questions like how much of an overhang you want for a bar top or what type of edge profile you want. For a bar top, knowing the desired overhang length helps our team design a cut that makes sense for your space and the intended use of the countertop.

For example, choosing a specific overhang length can help create a more comfortable space to eat breakfast in the morning or sit at a few barstools when you have friends over. Additionally, measuring the edges of the countertop helps our team cut the exact edge profile in later steps. Knowing whether you want an eased edge, waterfall, or another style is a crucial detail.

Programming

After picking the slab and measuring your space, programming is how we tell our machines the exact dimensions to cut. Cutting countertops isn’t as simple as cutting a piece of wood or another material. The process requires our team to program every cut, angle, and detail to match the requirements of the project. 

In this stage, our team will need to take into account things like which side will be showing and where to make seam cuts. To do so, we use software called LT3Raptor to make layouts with the chosen slab. This means that we play a game of countertop Tetris as we need to find a way to fit every part of the countertop into the slab while taking into account cutting directions and spacing. 

For quartz countertops, we take into account ordering cuts to release slab tension. Not to mention, we try to program our cuts in a way that the veining will line up at the seams for the best possible appearance. 

Once the project is programmed, we send the information to our robot to make the cuts in the first step of the fabricating process. 

Fabrication

Now is when all of the planning in the consultation, templating, and programming stages starts to pay off. We start this stage by making the programmed cuts with our robot. This robot is the same one used on Detroit automaker assembly lines, but with a massive saw and water jet on the end. 

Before doing that, we need to place the slab onto the cutting surface gently. We typically do this by moving the slab with a forklift from our storage area to our fabrication area using a claw-like clamp to grab the heavy slab.

However, we can’t drop the expensive slab onto the cutting surface and call it a day. That’s why we use a special attachment for our forklift arm that essentially suctions onto the slab. This allows us to move the slab horizontally to the cutting surface, enabling us to set it down gently. 

Then, our robot does the rest, making all of the cuts based on the templating and programming data. It works by taking a picture of the cutting surface and the slab to map the program. Next, the robot makes cuts using the saw and water jet, depending on the cut requirements and order. 

After the robot does its job, we use another machine to cut the exact edges needed for the project. Once this is done, our team members will inspect the countertop and hand-polish it when needed. Lastly, we will build things like waterfall edges in the shop before finally sending the countertop out for installation.

Installation

This final step is when all of the hard work finally pays off as we install your stone. Our team will carefully load and transport your stone from our shop to your home. Our team treats your home like their own and does their best to make it look like we never even came (besides the beautiful countertop). 

Our team uses a gentle approach to handle the countertop properly, from delivery to installation. When needed, our team will add supports for heavy countertops or those with large overhangs. We also use adhesive material on cabinet tops to make sure your countertop stays in place.

Then, we fill in the seams for jobs that need to be cut into multiple pieces while making them as small and hard-to-notice as possible. Some final touches in the installation process include securing the countertop to the surface to ensure a proper seal with the adhesive material. 

After the Process

After this five-stage process is over, you’ll be left with a beautiful countertop that’ll be the centerpiece of your space for years and years to come. Some countertops require sealing and cleaning, so it is important to keep on top of that to maintain your countertop. If you have any questions about countertop care and maintenance, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!