Kitchen worktops in Crystal Palace

Yes. Big subdivided villas mean unusual kitchen shapes: high ceilings, tall sash windows down to worktop height and runs that stop short because of a chimney breast or a boxed-in riser. Whole-house owners on the terraces mostly go for a side-return kitchen with a long island. Where the frontage is a clearway the unload happens away from the door and the carry gets longer, which is a crew and time question rather than a stone one. Splashbacks are normally the last thing off, so a short parking window is exactly when they get rushed. One trip is always better than three.

large Victorian villa, villa converted to flats, Victorian terrace and 1930s mansion block. A range sitting in a chimney recess is common, and the flanking pieces are cut with the manufacturer clearance built into the template. These runs are long and often include a range recess, so the splashback is nearly always more than one piece and the joint placement matters — put it in a corner or over a hob centre line, not randomly in the middle of a clear run. Cut from the same slab run as the tops.

Very steep hills, red routes and bus lanes on the main roads, and permit parking on the side streets. Upper-floor flats in converted villas often have three flights and a narrow original stair. Stone goes up on edge, and it is the half-landing turn rather than the flight itself that sets the maximum piece. Splashback panels are lighter than a worktop and far more awkward, because a tall thin piece has to be carried on edge and cannot be tilted to clear a turn. It decides panel size before anything is cut.

Worktop templating, worktop replacement and worktop splashbacks & upstands, 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 template visit is booked once the units are genuinely in, not when they are nearly in. Appliances on site, not on order. Sash windows sitting almost on the worktop line mean the upstand has to stop and return at the reveal, which needs proper detailing rather than a cut-off at the sill.

An island is a single visible piece with four finished edges and no wall to hide against, so it is the piece the whole kitchen is judged on. Long runs almost never take a single panel, so the joint positions want agreeing before anything is templated. Joint placement is a decision, not an accident. A boxed soil stack or service riser in the corner of a run eats into the worktop depth and has to be scribed around rather than cut square. A tall panel that fits at the worktop will stand off the wall at the top unless the wall is dubbed out or the panel is scribed. Make the wall good first, or accept the detail. 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.

The householder is normally on site at template, and that is the right time to settle sink position, tap centres and overhang rather than agree them by email. A template booked hopefully around another trade is the commonest cause of a wasted visit. Appliances on site, not on order. 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.