Kitchen worktops in Heston

Yes. Extensively extended semis and detached houses with large open kitchens, a big island, two sinks and frequently a separate rear prep kitchen kept for heavy cooking so the main kitchen stays presentable. 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. 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. It is why the arrival time is what it is.

1930s semi, postwar detached, heavily extended family house and recent detached infill. Houses of this period came with generous garages and utility rooms, so a second short run of stone is often part of the same job. Walls between the original room and the extension are frequently out of square, which affects the template but not the price; what does affect it is the appliance list, because a drop-in range, an undermount bowl and a half, a boiling tap and a separate drainer are four separately priced cut-outs. That is what the itemised lines are for.

Wide roads, driveways almost universal, and the A4 with M4 Junction 3 on the doorstep. The only obstacle is that the drives are usually full of cars. The van gets close to the door and the stone comes off the tail lift onto a trolley, which is about the shortest carry we ever get. We price the carry from what you tell us about the route, so photographs of the approach are worth more to us than a floor plan. You see that figure before we template, not after.

Worktop design & quotation, worktop installation and worktop fabrication, in that order. Where an annexe has been built or converted, its floor and its walls are newer than the main house and behave differently under the same run. Where the window is fixed there is no second day to fall back on, so the prep list matters more than usual. Sealed before we leave. The second prep kitchen is a genuine spec here, so price two templates and expect two different materials rather than one continuous order.

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. It is the shape rather than the square metreage that moves the number, which is why two kitchens the same size quote differently. Shape first, area second. Where a breast interrupts a long wall the join can often go there, so it reads as a natural break rather than a line in the middle of a worktop. This is the item most often left out of a cheaper quote, and it comes back as a variation once the templater has been. Better on the quote than in a variation. 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.