How Do I Choose a Good Countertop Installer

Most people pick a countertop from a two inch sample and never ask to see the slab it was cut from. The questions sitting on countertops ann arbor combattocorporate list them in order, and they hold for any countertops job in Ann Arbor, MI, from a Kerrytown bungalow to a newer build in Washtenaw County. Each one points at a place where work goes wrong on site.

Approve the slab itself

Natural stone varies in color and veining from slab to slab. Granite, marble and quartzite can look quite different from the sample on the shelf. Ask whether the slab can be viewed and approved before it is cut, and mark the section that lands on the main run. Quartz is more uniform, but lots still differ, so the same check applies.

Seams and templating

Ask where the seams will go and request a seam layout drawing before cutting. Seam placement should stay clear of sink cutouts and the cooktop, where the stone is weakest. Templating decides all of it, so ask who measures, what the template is made of, and how the installer handles walls out of square. Older homes in Ann Arbor are often out of square, and a straight stone against a bowed wall leaves gaps that need scribing or shimming.

Plumbing and appliances

Disconnecting and reconnecting plumbing and appliances is often a separate trade. Settle who pulls the sink, faucet and range, and who sets them back. A crew that only delivers and sets the top leaves a plumber to be booked, and the kitchen stays out of service until that visit happens.

Overhangs and edge profile

Ask how each overhang will be supported. A seating overhang on granite or quartz may need brackets or corbels, and the drawing should say which. Ask which edge profile options are offered and handle the samples. An eased edge is plain and wears evenly, a bullnose is rounder under the hand, and a waterfall edge needs careful seam work at the corner. Sharp profiles chip sooner, and deep grooves hold grime when wiping down.

Care and past work

Ask what care and sealing the finished material needs, and get written care instructions. Soapstone, marble and some granite are handled differently from quartz or porcelain. Then ask for photos of completed seams and cutouts on past jobs, not just finished room shots. Close photos show gap width, color match and how the cutout corners were radiused. Those details can be judged before the stone is ever set.