A stone doorstep is one piece of granite or sintered stone, templated off the step that is already there, cut to it in our workshop and fitted by our own team across London. Indoors, the same work makes a threshold between two floors. Stone is supplied from £110/m² (stone only), and the finish on the tread is chosen for grip before it is chosen for looks.
A kitchen worktop lives indoors, at a steady temperature, with a cloth never far away. A front doorstep has none of that. It is wet for half the year, it freezes, it takes grit on the soles of every pair of shoes that crosses it, and the one thing it must never be is slippery.
That decides the stone before colour does. Quartz is made with resin and is not one for outside, so it is off the list for an external step however well it would match the hall. Granite is the traditional choice and still a sound one; sintered stone is the other family that copes with weather and sun.
It also decides the finish. A mirror polish looks right on a worktop and is the wrong surface for a wet step. So the tread is flamed, honed or leathered for grip, the nosing is profiled so it does not chip, and an external step gets a drip groove under the front edge so water falls off rather than running back under the stone.
Fitted 5–10 working days from template. The payment stages are set out on your quote.
Which step
The same saw cuts all of them. What changes is whether the stone sees weather, and whether anyone stands on it with wet shoes.
The external step outside the front door: one tread, usually with a nosing that oversails the riser below it. Granite or sintered stone, a textured finish, a slight fall away from the door and a drip groove underneath the front edge.
The piece directly under the door itself, between the frame and the step. It sits against the frame and the weatherbar, so its height is set by the door rather than the ground, and it is templated with the door fitted.
The same job at the kitchen or garden door, often where a patio meets the house. The ground level outside and the floor level inside set the step, and those are fixed before we template, not after.
A narrow piece of stone where two floors meet in a doorway, for example tile on one side and timber on the other. Indoors there is no weather to answer to, so quartz is back on the list and can be cut to match the worktop.
A single stone piece where a floor changes level, or in front of a fireplace. It is the same templating and edge work as a step, and the same stone and batch as anything else in the room if it is ordered with it, as with stone window sills.
Two or three treads up to a front door are a small flight, and the treads should match and be finished alike. Longer flights and stairs inside the house are on our stone stairs page.
Choosing the stone
Supply rates are read from our catalogue and cover the stone only. Cutting, the nosing, the finish and fitting are quoted as their own lines.
| Material | Colours | Supply from | On a doorstep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quartz | 69 | £130/m² | Indoors only: an internal threshold strip or a step-down between rooms, matched to the worktop. It contains resin, so it is not one for an external step or a step in full sun. |
| Granite | 45 | £121/m² | The traditional external doorstep. Dense, copes with frost and tolerates grit. It is sealed before it is fitted and resealed periodically, and a flamed or leathered finish gives the tread its grip. |
| Dekton | 63 | £110/m² | An external step that should never need sealing. Stable in sun and frost. Thinner slabs need a fully supported bed under them, and the finish is chosen from the textured ones rather than the polished. |
| Sintered stone | 8 | £280/m² | Our own sintered stone range, for the same reasons as Dekton: no sealing, and it stands up to weather and sun. Like any sintered slab it wants a full, flat bed beneath it. |
Free samples are posted from the Worktop Worx quartz collection, up to four at a time. Other quartz, granite and sintered stone are judged from the slab.
What is involved
The stone goes on last. Everything it sits on, and everything it has to meet, is settled first.
The door threshold, the floor level inside and the damp proof course of the wall set where the top of the step can be. If any of those are changing, they change before we template. A step cut to the old level is wrong the day the new door goes in.
Outside, granite or sintered stone, with a textured finish on the tread. Inside, any of the stones, including quartz to match the kitchen. Seeing the finish wet matters more than seeing it dry, because wet is how a step gets used.
Taken off the actual step or base once it is built and set, not from a drawing. Old brick steps are rarely square and rarely the same depth at both ends, and the stone has to follow what is there rather than what the plan says.
The tread is cut to the template, the nosing profiled and finished on every exposed face, and on an external step a drip groove is cut along the underside of the front edge. Any return around a pillar or a reveal is cut here, not on the doorstep.
An external step is set with a slight fall towards the front edge, so rain runs off rather than towards the door. Indoors, the threshold is set flush or to the agreed lip so nobody catches a toe on it.
The parts that decide it
Small piece, unforgiving job. These are the details that separate a step that lasts from one that gets replaced.
A polished finish is wonderful on a worktop and the wrong surface for a wet tread. Flamed granite is rough to the hand, honed is matt and smooth, leathered sits between the two with a soft texture. Outside, the tread is one of those, and the polish is kept for anything nobody stands on. Not every stone comes in every finish, so we say which ones the stone you choose is available in before it is ordered.
Water reaching the front of an external step runs round the nosing and back underneath the stone, where it soaks the bed and, in a frost, lifts it. A groove cut along the underside of the nose breaks that path, so the water drops off instead. It is invisible from above and it is the difference between a step that stays put and one that rocks after a few winters.
An external step is not fitted dead level. It falls slightly towards the front edge so rain clears it, and so nothing pools against the door. Indoors the opposite applies: the threshold is set to the floors either side.
Stone set too high against the house can bridge the damp proof course, which lets ground moisture past it into the wall. Where the step meets the wall, its height is checked against the DPC before we template, and if the existing step already bridges it, that is a builder's fix, not one we can make with a thinner piece of stone.
A pencil round or a half bullnose on the front edge is kinder to shins and much less likely to chip than a sharp arris, which is the edge a dropped key or a dragged case finds first. On a step that oversails the riser, the nosing is finished underneath as well as on top.
A doorstep in one piece has no joint for water to find. Where the step is too long or too awkward to carry in one, the joint is placed away from the door line and away from where feet land most, and agreed before cutting rather than discovered on site.
Stone does not fix the step it sits on. If the existing brick or concrete step is cracked, hollow or moving, a new stone tread will crack or rock with it, usually within a winter or two. We will say so when we template, and the base gets put right by a builder before we cut anything. That is a slower start, and it is far cheaper than cutting the stone twice.
Before we template
Most of the first list belongs to the builder or the door fitter. It is on this page because the stone cannot fix any of it.
Questions
If yours is not here, ring and ask. You will get a straight answer rather than a call-back from a salesperson.
Granite or sintered stone. Granite is the traditional doorstep stone: dense, frost tolerant and available with a flamed or leathered finish that grips when wet; it is sealed before fitting and resealed periodically. Sintered stone needs no sealing and is stable in sun and frost. Quartz is made with resin and is not one for outside, so it is not offered for an external step.
A polished one can be, which is why an external tread is never polished. A flamed, honed or leathered finish gives grip, a slight fall towards the front edge lets rain clear, and a drip groove under the nosing stops water creeping back under the stone. Look at a finish wet before choosing it.
The stone is priced by the square metre, from £110 to £550 across the surfaces we hold, and a doorstep is a small area of it. A tread 1.2m wide and 0.4m deep is 0.48m². The nosing, the drip groove, the finish and fitting are where most of the cost of a small piece sits, and they are quoted as their own lines.
Often, yes, provided the existing step is sound and the extra height still clears the door and does not bridge the damp proof course. We template the step as it stands and check both. If the old step is cracked or moving, it is put right by a builder first, because new stone cracks with whatever it sits on.
Inside, yes: an internal threshold or step-down can be cut in the same quartz as the worktop, ideally from the same batch at the same template visit. Outside, the doorstep has to be granite or sintered stone, so match the colour and character rather than the exact product.
No. We template, cut, finish and fit the stone. The base step, any groundwork, the damp proof course and the door belong to a builder or a door fitter, and they are finished before we template so the stone is cut to what will actually be there.
Where we work
We template and fit across Greater London and out into Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. The stone is cut in our workshop and fitted by our own installers, wherever the job is.
Next
Every job runs through more than one of these. Follow the thread rather than guessing which order things go in.
Every tread templated on its own, with a nosing and a finish you can walk on.
Table tops, stairs, shelves, boards and more, cut from the same stone.
Read the detailFloating and bracketed shelves, matched to your worktop or cut on their own.
Read the detailWorth reading
The questions that come up most, answered in full rather than in a sentence.
How to tell whether your granite actually needs resealing, why the annual rule everyone repeats is wrong, and how to apply a sealer without leaving a haze you then have to fix.
Read the guideSintered stone is a worktop slab made by pressing mineral powders under very high pressure and firing them until they fuse into one dense body, with no resin binding it. That is why nothing in it can scorch, it never needs sealing and it can be made thin.
Read the guideThe best stone for an internal window sill is usually the one your worktop is made of, cut from the same batch at the same template visit. Quartz suits most kitchens and bathrooms, granite suits a sill you will seal, and a notched sill sits neatly inside the reveal.
Read the guideThe edge is the part of the worktop you touch every day and the detail that dates a kitchen fastest. What the common profiles are, what each costs you in labour, and how to pick.
Read the guideEvery one of these is on our Google profile under the reviewer’s own name. Nothing here is written by us, and the link goes straight to the source.
Read all 26 See them on Google
Count as read from Google on 4 September 2026
“Kareem did the countertops dur8ng my kitchen remodel, and I was so impressed that I had him back to do the laundry room as well, which tells you everything you need to know. He is an absolute gem. Shows up when he says he will (which, let’s be honest, is rarer than it should be), does beautifully work, and clearly takes real pride in what he does. The…”
“We recently had a Calacatta Gold worktop installed by Worktop Worx and are really pleased with the result. It has completely transformed our kitchen, much brighter, modern, and high-end compared to our old wooden surface. The team were professional, efficient, and the finish is excellent with great attention to detail. The worktop looks amazing and is…”
“We recently had the Arctic Starburst worktop installed by Worktop WorX and it looks amazing. The subtle sparkle really catches the light and gives the kitchen a clean, modern feel. The Arctic Starburst surface feels high quality, durable, and is easy to keep clean. The finish and installation from Worktop WorX were spot on. Really happy with the result…”
“Excellent service from start to finish. The team at Worktop Worx were professional, friendly, and really paid attention to detail. They listened to what I wanted, gave helpful advice, and delivered a high-quality finish. The worktop looks amazing and has completely transformed the space. Everything was completed on time and left clean and tidy. Highly…”
“I am really happy with the work! He fitted my kitchen granite worktop really nicely and got the job done on time, just as promised. He was friendly, professional, and made sure everything was done the way I wanted. Would definitely recommend Karam to anyone looking for a great job!”
“We recently had our kitchen worktops supplied and fitted by Worktop WorX using Laurent Gold sintered stone, and we couldn’t be happier with the result. The finish, quality, and attention to detail were outstanding from start to finish. Karem was incredibly helpful throughout the whole process professional, knowledgeable, and always available to answer…”
8 of our 26 Google reviews name Karem, who owns and runs Worktop Worx.
Next step
A photograph of the doorway and the existing step, with rough width and depth, and whether it is inside or outside, is enough to start. The quote costs nothing.