How To Prep Your Kitchen for Granite or Stone Counters
Renovating a kitchen is a big project that can disrupt even the calmest household. One of the biggest steps in getting a new kitchen is bringing in a new countertop. It’s also the one step that has the biggest wow factor, especially if your current countertop is incredibly dated and worn and you’re going for new material. Once you’ve decided to have a granite or stone counter installed, there’s just a bit of work to be done to make the installation process that much easier for the pros doing the work (and do leave it to the pros to do it).
Talk to Your Contractor
Ask your contractor any and all questions you have. If you have a new sink coming in, make sure they’re aware of its dimensions. One important question for your contractor is whether or not your existing cabinets can support a countertop made from a heavier material. This should be covered in an initial consultation, but like most obvious questions, it can be missed.
Schedule Everything
You’re going to want to schedule a day for this process with nothing else getting in the way. A best-case scenario would have this procedure taking roughly two hours. But as you know, best cases don’t always happen. You want to be there (or have another appointed decision-maker) on hand for any last-minute decisions. If you do have to have other work done in your house on the same day, just make sure they’re in another part of the house or otherwise out of the way.
Removing the Old
Most likely you’ll have the installer remove the old countertop. If that’s not the case, this obviously needs to happen before the new one goes in. And not right before! Make sure the whole removal process is absolutely finished before the installation starts. The removal contractors should also make sure that the cabinets the countertop rests on are completely level. It’s possible this wasn’t the case with your initial installation, so best to make sure.
Everything Must Go
It’s best to remove everything from your kitchen that’s loose and not a heavy appliance, even from the overhead cabinets. Best to not risk anything breaking or getting in the way. Lastly, make a clear path for the workers to travel to and from the kitchen. They’ll be transporting very heavy materials, and anything you can do to make that go easier is better. On the day of the installation, you’ll want to secure away any pets.
Finally
Once the job is done, there will no doubt be clean up to be done and epoxies that need to dry. Again, ask any questions with your contractor and see when it is safe to bring any food into the kitchen, when you can move items back into it, and when any other work (such as having a plumber install a sink) can proceed.
Taking care of these tasks can ensure that both you and your contractors will have as stress-free an experience getting a new countertop. And think of the rewards: at the end of the day, your kitchen will be completely transformed into something newer, better, and inspiring.