The Zig-a-zig-ah of Granite Worktops
How many phone calls begin like this: “You fitted worktops for us a few months ago. We’ve decided we want a filter tap/hot water tap/airswitch for a waste disposal unit/pop up socket/set of drainage grooves/downdraft extractor slot. Can you do it with the stone already fitted?
I hope that our response is always polite, and helpful, and fair. I hope that we charge for these extras in a decent way – that genuinely covers our costs but which doesn’t exploit the customer. But inside, we are always groaning. And it seems to happen more and more often.
The problem is that customers don’t say what they want, what they really, really want, at the point of quotation. What’s more, they go on not telling us what they want, what they really really want, even on templating. I guess people don’t tell us what they want, what they really really want, because they haven’t yet decided it or thought it through. Sometimes the penny only drops – “We really MUST have one of those knew Quooker taps, John!” – after the worktops are installed. We get that. But the process is painful.
Stone is strangely hard stuff. In fact, it is that very hardness which makes it such a great material for kitchen worktops. Even simple tap holes are best cut with quite big machinery, and drainage grooves and extractor fan cutouts are extremely difficult to do in situ. The best way to get the granite worktops you want for your kitchen, and for them to really work for YOU, is to think through in advance exactly how you want your kitchen to work. Work out what you really really want, and tell us. And we will make it.
What can we do after fitting, and what does it cost?
- A tap or air-switch hole? Yes – can be done on site. With travel and extra time on site, you may easily be looking at £140 or more, rather than £16 as part of the fit, but we can do it.
- Pop-up socket hole? Yes – can be done, but it isn’t easy. We tend to have to drill a sequence of smaller holes and then join them up and smooth them out. The CNC in the workshop, once programmed, would do the job in two or three minutes. Our guys on site will need an hour or more and it will be messy. Given typical travel, £170 upwards.
- Alterations to allow for different sized ranges and hobs? Generally the worktop will need to be removed in order to be machined, though it may not be necessary to bring the section back to the workshop. £200 or more
- Drainage grooves and extra cutouts? The worktop will need to be removed, and may need to be brought back to the workshop, with another trip out for fitting afterwards. Typically, over £240
The lesson is… work out what you realy want, in advance. Get a good kitchen designer, and work through the options. Once granite worktops are on, things really will be (excuse the pun!) set in stone, and making alterations is ten times harder and more expensive. Work out what you want, and then tell us what you want. What you really, really want.
Then you will have the kitchen of your dreams. Zig-a-zig-ah!
We are Affordable Granite, the leading installer of granite and quartz worktops in Surrey, Sussex and across the South East. For samples, quotes and any questions connected with any aspect of worktop installation or kitchen design, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01293 863992 or by email on sales@affordablegranite.co.uk/ .
