Kitchen worktops in Harold Park

Yes. A low-density pocket towards the Essex boundary with a lot of single-storey and heavily altered houses, many of them originally modest bungalows that have been extended, raised or replaced. Kitchens are consequently all different sizes and shapes, often with a wide side extension giving an unusually broad, shallow room best suited to two facing runs. 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. It is noted on the job sheet at template so the fitting crew inherit the answer rather than rediscovering it. Two hours is the realistic figure.

inter-war plotland bungalow, 1930s semi, post-war detached and modern replacement house. Wide doorways and level thresholds mean full-length pieces go in whole and the join count comes down to slab length alone. Access is usually the easy part here, as most of these have a side gate and a back door straight into the kitchen, so we carry down the side alley rather than through the house and keep the mess outside. Walked, measured, protected, then lifted.

Quiet roads, deep plots and plenty of off-street space, with the main constraint being that many properties sit well back from the road behind a long front drive. 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. We walk the route with a tape and protect it end to end before the first piece is lifted. That is what the morning is planned around.

Worktop templating, worktop installation and worktop design & quotation, 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. The fitting day is scheduled to suit that rather than to suit the diary. The prep list is not optional. Nothing here is standard, so we template even simple-looking rooms — the extended bungalows regularly have a floor step or level change mid-run.

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. The template records every angle in that shape as it actually is rather than as the plan drew it. Real angles, not plan angles. Floors settle, and once base units are packed and levelled properly the stone sits true while everything else in the room admits it is not. Rushing that is what leaves a gap you look at every morning for fifteen years. 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.

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. 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.