Kitchen worktops in Chase Cross

Yes. Post-war housing at the top of Collier Row with smaller, tighter kitchens than the inter-war stock down the hill, often a single run plus a short return and a serving hatch that the client wants closed up. Straight replacement is the usual brief, with a stone-topped breakfast bar formed where the hatch wall comes out. Where the van can pull up level with the gate the pieces are handled the fewest times, which is what actually protects them. The fitting slot is set around it, which is why we ask about it when the date is booked and not before we leave the yard. The day is built around that window.

1950s semi, 1960s terrace, post-war maisonette and 1980s infill. Post-war terraces have a short straight hall to the kitchen, which is a good deal kinder than the houses they replaced. The fitting itself is about squaring up to walls that look modern and are not: block or breeze walls with a skim that has been patched over decades, so we still dry-lay and scribe rather than trust the template edge. Walked, measured, protected, then lifted.

Open post-war layouts with verges, parking courts and hardstanding, so no restrictions to worry about, though the parking courts sit behind the houses and the front carry can be longer than it looks. Sign-in at the gate, a permit on the dash and a named contact are usually wanted before anything comes off the van. The fitting day is planned backwards from that point, before anything comes off the van. It gets checked before the first piece is lifted.

Worktop replacement, worktop templating and worktop installation, in that order. Party-wall and lease conditions in a converted building set when noisy work can happen, which shapes the fitting day more than the kitchen does. The carcasses have to be sound, because stone is several times the weight of what is coming off. A day, not a project. Closing up an old serving hatch changes the wall line, so we template after the plastering is done rather than working to the builder's intended dimension.

Two parallel runs with a walkway between them is the most efficient shape there is on a slab, because both pieces nest as straight lengths with almost no waste. A layout templated off one wall instead of one datum will not sit right once all the pieces are down together. One datum for the whole room. The stone carries the scribe because the wall cannot be persuaded, so back edges are cut oversize and eased in rather than dropped straight down. On the day it means dry-laying, marking, and cutting the scribe on site before anything is bonded. Dry-lay, mark, cut, then bond. 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.

Owner-occupied kitchens are usually being done once, which is why the edge profile, the vein direction and where a join falls are worth the conversation. The fitting day is arranged with whoever can actually give us access for the whole slot. Protection goes down first. 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.