Kitchen worktops in Wimbledon Chase

Yes. A good proportion of bungalows here mean single-level kitchens where the whole room can be worked at once, wide U-shapes with a run on three walls and no upstairs to negotiate. The semis follow the standard rear kitchen plan with the pantry recess absorbed into a taller unit run. Off-street parking means the van stays put all day, so tools, packers and the offcut we would rather have than not are all within reach. 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.

1930s semi, Interwar bungalow and 1950s detached. Wide doorways and level thresholds mean full-length pieces go in whole and the join count comes down to slab length alone. 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.

Driveways and dropped kerbs are common so the van gets close to the door, and single-storey properties mean the carry is level from van to room. The constraint is usually a low porch canopy or a narrow front door reveal rather than stairs. Everything comes through the front door and down the hall, so the tightest point on the route is usually the newel post at the foot of the stairs. 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. The strip-out is planned around it.

Worktop installation, worktop splashbacks & upstands and worktop replacement, 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. Where the window is fixed there is no second day to fall back on, so the prep list matters more than usual. The prep list is not optional. Bungalow ceilings are low, which means tall wall units come down close to the top, check hob clearance and upstand height before cutting the splashback panel.

With three walls in play the chance of one of them being out of square is high, and the template has to carry all three angles. Old laminate has often been holding a run square for years, and taking it off shows what the units were really doing. The units stay, the surface changes. A chimney breast left in place splits a wall into two alcoves, and the two are rarely the same width and rarely parallel to each other. It is usually what pushes a job towards a 100mm upstand instead of a full-height panel, because an upstand rides what a panel exposes. 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.

Owner-occupied kitchens are usually being done once, which is why the edge profile, the vein direction and where a join falls are worth the conversation. The fitting day is arranged with whoever can actually give us access for the whole slot. Protection goes down first. 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.