Kitchen worktops in Biggin Hill

Yes. A lot of the older stock started as plotland bungalows and has been extended piecemeal, so kitchens are wide and shallow with several different wall builds in one run. The newer self-build replacement houses at the top of the hill go the other way, with proper full-height cabinetry and a large island. A front drive is the best thing that can happen to a fitting day, because the tail lift comes down within a few metres of the door and nothing is on a clock. A replacement is a two-way job, with old tops going out and new stone coming in, so the van needs to stay put across the whole day. Old tops out and new stone in, both through the same gap.

1930s plotland bungalow, chalet bungalow, 1960s detached and self-build replacement house. Everything on one level means no stairs, no landings and no turns, which is about the easiest carry there is in domestic work. What catches people out is the junction between the old floor and the extension floor, which is rarely at the same level, so a run carrying across it needs the units packed before stone goes on. Units kept, surface changed, one day.

The whole area is on a steep hill, and driveways run sharply up or down off the road. Steep, sloping drives are the problem, because a loaded trolley will not hold on a gradient and slabs get carried by hand. A short hard approach with no steps means a full-length piece can be walked in flat by two people rather than turned up on edge. Worth remembering that the old tops have to come out the way the new ones come in, and a laminate run is easier to remove in one length than to carry in one. It sets what the day actually looks like.

Worktop templating, worktop installation and worktop replacement, in that order. The junction between the original room and the extension is the point to watch, because the two floors rarely sit at the same height. Where the window is fixed there is no second day to fall back on, so the prep list matters more than usual. One visit, done properly. Long shallow runs across a patchwork of extension walls throw out the depth, so we template the front edge as a straight line and take the variation on the scribe at the back.

If the island is a few hundred millimetres longer than the usable length of a slab, a second slab gets bought to gain that overhang, and the whole slab is paid for rather than the part used. The template records every angle in that shape as it actually is rather than as the plan drew it. Real angles, not plan angles. A run can measure dead right at both ends and still belly out in the middle, which only appears once the template plots the intermediate points. One measurement never describes it, which is why a tape reading taken before the visit rarely matches the template. Measured at worktop height, nowhere else. Material runs from £110 per square metre supply only, and templating, fabrication and fitting are quoted on their own lines rather than rolled into one figure.

Where someone is living in the house through the work, the strip-out and the fit are planned so the kitchen is out of use for a day and not a week. The fitting day is arranged with whoever can actually give us access for the whole slot. Access for the whole slot, or a different day. Tell us the building when you book and the lift, the stair turn and any freeholder notice get built into the day rather than found on it.