Kitchen worktops in South Beddington

Yes. A regular grid of inter-war semis with the standard small rear kitchen, mostly upgraded rather than extended, so the work is typically a 3m run plus a 1.5m return on existing units with a new sink and upstands. A drive that shelves towards the house needs the van chocked and the trolley controlled, since a loaded A-frame gathers speed quickly on a slope. 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. It is a full day at the kerb, not a delivery.

1930s semi, 1930s terrace, post-war infill and bungalow. Original quarry-tiled floors sit lower than a later screed, so a run crossing that junction needs the units packed to one level. The junction between the old floor and the extension floor is where a run crossing it needs packing before stone goes on. What is under the old top is the real question.

Straightforward suburban access with front drives, dropped kerbs and side gates, and quiet enough streets that a van can sit outside for a couple of hours without causing a problem. 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. With no room to turn, the old top gets cut up in the kitchen instead, which is dusty work and needs the room emptied first. That is agreed before a plumber is booked.

Worktop replacement, worktop splashbacks & upstands and worktop installation, in that order. Extension kitchens are usually specified long before they are buildable, so the run lengths on the drawing and the run lengths in the room are different numbers. The carcasses have to be sound, because stone is several times the weight of what is coming off. Sound carcasses or it does not go ahead. Straight replacement work on 1930s units means the old tiled splashback usually comes off with the top, so an upstand is the practical answer rather than retiling the wall.

A galley puts the sink on one side and the hob on the other, which spreads the cut-outs across two pieces instead of weakening one. Joins are pulled with suction clamps and finished flush, then colour-matched, which is the last thing done rather than the first. The join is the last thing finished. The returns into a breast recess are the tightest scribes in the room, and they are eased in rather than forced. 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. An upstand rides what a panel exposes. 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 replacement keeps the units and changes the surface, which is the least disruptive way to do this in an occupied property. Sound carcasses are the condition. 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.