Kitchen worktops in West Harrow

Yes. Edwardian and early interwar terraces with a rear kitchen in the back addition, and gardens deep enough that a modest single-storey extension is common but a full-width one is not. Finished kitchens run about 3.5m along one wall with a short peninsula, and the utility usually ends up under the stairs or in a lean-to. On a street with no restrictions the constraint is other residents rather than a warden, so it is worth putting a cone or a car out early. A van that has to move mid-fit costs the best part of an hour and takes a man off the tools to do it. The day is built around that window.

Edwardian terrace, 1920s semi and small 1960s block. The chimney breast in the corner has usually been left in place, so the run gains a return and two scribed ends. What catches people out is the junction between the old floor and the extension floor, which is rarely at the same level, so a run carrying across it needs the units packed before stone goes on. What is under the old top is the real question.

Terraced streets with a few dropped kerbs and mostly free but crowded parking, and side alleys of around 750mm shared with the neighbour, which usually works for a slab on edge if the gate is removable. Rear access usually lets us fit longer pieces whole, so the join count ends up decided by the slab rather than by the building. Worth remembering that the old tops have to come out the way the new ones come in, and a laminate run is easier to remove in one length than to carry in one. It sets what the day actually looks like.

Worktop replacement, worktop installation and worktop templating, 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 template visit is booked once the units are genuinely in, not when they are nearly in. The room as it is, not as it was drawn. The shared side alley is the deciding factor on these terraces, so confirm the gate width and whether the neighbour's fence can be dropped before promising a single-piece top.

Galley runs are usually short enough to come out of a single slab, so the material band you choose does more to the total than the room shape does. On the day that means dry-laying the whole layout first and only then pulling and bonding the joins. Dry-lay first, always. Where a corner is a couple of degrees off, a mitre cut to a theoretical ninety degrees opens on the wall side and there is no closing it afterwards. 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.

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 template happens when the units are in, fixed and level, whoever is fitting them. Fitted, fixed and level, then we come. 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.