Faq

Once we have sent you a quote for your Granite or Quartz worktops the price will be valid for 31 days. After this date it will be up to the discretion of Marble and Granite Worktops to see if they can honour the quote. Please Note: The Final Price is based on the actual Templates NOT the quote.

Ideally we prefer you to make an appointment as our showroom is upstairs on the first floor above our production facility and has been incorporated with the factory, so there are Health and Safety rules we need to abide to for the safety of our staff and clients, we may be unloading a stone delivery which can be up to eight huge slabs which involves the movement of these huge Granite or Quartz slabs using our machinery, we need to organise the logistics of moving the large delivery vehicles around to access the stone, also our sales team may be out of the showroom so if this is the case the factory staff will not be able to take care of the client, all our staff may be out at an installation. The sales team need to allocate around an hour for a client’s appointment so they need to make sure other clients don’t just turn up at the same time which can be distracting and makes it difficult to give the client who has made the appointment the care and attention they deserve. This situation has occurred in the past.

We have been trading for over 18 years, we started trading in the 2007

It has been very hard, it has not been plain sailing, especially starting our business at the 2007 recession, but there has been a number of factors which have helped us, firstly a team of loyal and skilled staff with the same mind set and dedication to provide our clients with the very best possible service we can, at all times at a fair price. Even if our clients don’t know what is a good job or not, we must always try to provide them with the best experience from start to finish at the best possible standard of workmanship. We have continually tried to re-invest in our business up dating our machines for more improved and efficient machinery and consumables, taking health and safety into consideration at all times.

We have installed over 2500 worktops since we opened in 2007

We are an established factory founded in 2007, all our client’s worktops are manufactured at our premises in Luton by our long time serving skilled staff.

Yes, we do have a showroom on the first floor which is by appointment only

We can supply the client a choice of suitable materials for their kitchen worktops, at our showroom there are at least 18 different Quartz stones brands supplied by different manufacturers and wholesalers, each supplier has between 20 to 60 different samples for you to choose from. Quartz is available for your worktops in 20mm and 30mm thickness. If you are looking for a more natural look which has been formed by nature over millions of years then you can choose Granite, we have around 25 popular choice samples in our showroom but if you are looking for something different and unusual then we will invite you to one of our wholesalers to choose something you would like. For Granite kitchen worktops 30mm thickness is recommended, there is also 20mm thickness available for other applications. On our website you have a vast choice of different Granites to choose from as long as they are in stock and available. We can also offer you Ceramic and Porcelain which is a composite material the same as Quartz but have a different look and is mostly available in 20mm thickness.

Whilst every care is taken to upload actual photos of material in stock, Photos and samples you will see are still indicative. Actual pieces may vary in Design/Pattern/Hue and Colour. What you see on our website are images and they are of current stock at the time the Granite and Quartz images were loaded onto our website so there will be batch differences such as shade of colour, pattern and density of pattern. No two different batches of Granite or Quartz will be identical. Images and photos are not a true representation of the physical appearance of the actual stone. Granite and Quartz samples we show you are just to give you some idea and indication to how the stone can look, but are NEVER identical, especially with all the natural stones, the consistent pattern Granites like: Star Galaxy, Black Absolute Silver Galaxy, Black Pearl Tan Brown, Baltic Brown, Black Pearl, Steel Grey can be more similar but any natural stone which has pattern can vary a great deal as it all depends on the origin of the stone, the location it was extracted, the time it was extracted, batch numbers being different. If you decide to choose Granite then we will always advise you to visit one of our suppliers so that you can see the stone which is available for your worktops. Once it arrives at our factory we will call you to visit our factory to make sure the stone you saw is the same one as what has been delivered, as once we have cut this stone it will be too late. The Granite or Quartz stone worktops you will receive from us will not be identical to the physical samples or images you see.

For Granite, the price is determined by the demand and supply, where the Granite originates from around the world, the most exotic looking and the most fragile of Granites to manufacture tend to be the most expensive. For Quartz, the price is determined by the supplier and manufacturer, the plain pattern and the Mirror sparkle colours are the cheapest as they are mass produced and fast moving. The Marble effect Quartz colours are more expensive as they are individual in style and pattern thus hard to manufacture, the Calacatta patterns with gold are generally the most expensive.

It is recommended to use 30mm thickness generally for Granite, something like Black Absolute you can use 20mm thickness as this is made up of tiny grains thus making it one of the hardest and strongest Granite colour available, and if you choose Quartz you can have 20mm or 30mm but generally for Ceramic i.e. Dekton, or Neolith 20mm is only available and is suitable and generally the same applies to Porcelain.

One or two suppliers still offer Standard size which is approximately 3000mm x 1400mm Most popular and generally available are Jumbo size which is 3200mm x 1600mm One or two suppliers offer Super Jumbo size in a few of the most popular colour which are approximately 3400mm x 1800mm

20mm is available but 30mm is best suitable for kitchen worktops The sizes of Granite slabs can vary between batches and each different Granite colour, small slabs are around 2800mm x 1500mm and large slabs are 3300mm x 2000mm. The safest length to handle with either a hob or sink cut out is between 2500mm and 2800mm long for a worktop which is standard depth 600mm and for and island top you can almost use the full size of the slab.

We always try to be very fair with the price when comparing the quality of the stone and service our clients will receive from start of your journey, choosing your stone to the end of your journey which is having your worktops installed. It is like the saying goes “cheap is very rarely the best” especially in this day and age where everything is expensive i.e. materials, consumables, wages, rates, utilities, machine parts and servicing, vehicle maintenance, etc…. So, if you are looking for a fair price, a quality product and a service you can trust to be done right from start to finish, then we are certainly a Company that can achieve this for you.

Either use our “Get Quote” or by post or when you make an appointment supply us your kitchen plan with measurements, sizes of the base units, choose your stone for your worktops, we then send you the quote, if you agree the price, book the template date once all the kitchen has been installed, then we manufacture your Granite or Quartz worktops, we then call you three days after templating to book the installation date of your worktops which is approximately up to two weeks or 7 to 10 working days after templating. (we don’t work weekends), we then lastly install your amazing new worktops. That’s it!

We always aim to install your worktops sooner than two weeks if possible, it helps if you have already purchased your stone before we come to template which a lot of clients tend to do, but the main reasons for the two weeks lead time are due to supplier’s delivery lead times which can be up to one week, if one of our staff is off work, i.e. sickness, holidays or other personal reasons, if there is an issue with one of the machines and we need to book the engineer to sort the problem out. Since we started in 2007 we have not let any of our clients down within a two week lead time.

Basically, we email the client the invoice with our bank details based on their current quote, the client then pays us the 50% deposit based on the quote, we then order and pay for the client’s stone, once we have Templated their kitchen we check the Templates and notify the client if there are any changes and if there is any increase or reduction in cost and then adjust the balance on the final invoice accordingly.

Templating involves our Templater coming to your house and making physical templates of your actual worktops which we make from Correx sheets which is a trademark plastic which we place on top of your stone and cut exactly to the templates we have made of your kitchen worktops.

Two to three days.

YES! templating is as important as the installation day, the client needs to be present as they will see how their worktops are going to look in their chosen stone but in 3mm plastic, how they overhang past the cabinet doors and at the end of a run, where the joins will be, the position of their sink and hob cut outs, etc…Basically the templates are the client’s worktops but in plastic. The client and the templater will also have the opportunity to ask any questions, the templater will show the client the sample they have chosen and go through the templates once they are finished.

Depending on the size of the kitchen, a small kitchen can take between one to two hours and a large kitchen with utility can take up to three to four hours to complete.

All the kitchen base and tall units needs to be securely installed in their required positions fixed to each other and to the wall using decent wall brackets, all the legs need to be touching the floor, the tops of all the units need to be level, all the cabinet doors and end panels need to be on, if you have chosen an over mount sink it needs to be on site so that we can place the sink in position and mark the cut out size, the hob also needs to be on site, (please check the over mount sink and when the items arrive to make sure they are the correct items you have ordered and that they are not damaged). If you have chosen an undermount sink, this will need to be cradled in its required position by the kitchen fitter allowing for enough space for the tap to fix behind, (rule of thumb allow around 13cm or more from back wall to the back of sink bowl). The top of the sink needs to sit just 2mm below the top of the sink unit, the sink must NOT be glued in position but so that it can move from side to side and back to front 4/5mm either direction, once we silicon round and the silicon sets it wont move, if you have a Belfast sink, it also needs to be fitted in its required position adjusting the front of the sink where you would like it, some clients like it flush with the doors either side or slightly proud, make sure the gaps either side running down the front of the sink are equal, if you have a freestanding cooker or range this must be in place with the front of the cooker being in its require position with equal gaps running down each side of the front, raise the cooker so that when the worktops are installed the top of the cooker will be level with the top of the worktops or how you would like the top of the cooker to look with the top of the worktops (the cooker does not necessarily need to be connected). Install or put in place your dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer, this is so that you know these items will fit in case you have measured the gaps wrong. (sounds silly but this has happened in the past and will be a costly mistake to have made). The tap needs to be on site, check tap is not damaged and that the levers on the tap move in a forward direction and not in a backward direction when operating the hot and cold water flow, otherwise with a backward direction the levers may touch the upstands or the wall and reduce the amount of water flow. Pop up sockets need to be on site so that we can position them with the client and take the cutout size and mark on the template. Basically, how we need the kitchen for templating is if we had the worktops that day which is not possible and we installed them all you will need to do is fix your over mount sink and tap or tap if your sink is under mounted, fix and connect your hob and your kitchen is completely finished.

Depending on the size of your kitchen and what work is involved in the installation i.e. upstands, windowsills, splashbacks, it usually takes up to two hours for a small kitchen and up to five to six hours for a really large and involved kitchen to complete, especially if there is a utility room included in the installation.

Your choice of stone for your worktop depends on the look you want to achieve, although Quartz has a polished surface it will never be as highly polished as Granite as the physical make up is almost totally different. The only almost plain colour available in Granite is Black which is a stone called Nero Absolute or Zimbabwe Black. The maintenance for Granite and Quartz is pretty much like for like apart from Natural stone is porous and we seal the surface to help protect it from staining, but on all surfaces you MUST NEVER place hot pans onto the surface and clean with acidic or bleach products.

We offer one year guarantee on our installation, and the stone supplier or manufacturer’s Guarantees which can vary, once on the date of installation when you have checked your worksurfaces and the work we have done for you and you are satisfied nothing should happen due to a fault of our workmanship and materials i.e. the your Granite or Quartz stone worktops.

We can supply the client a choice of suitable materials for their kitchen worktops, there are at least 15 different Quartz stones brands supplied by different manufacturers and wholesalers, each supplier has between 20 and 60 different samples for you to choose from. Quartz is available in 20mm and 30mm thickness. If you are looking for a more natural look which has been formed by nature over millions of years then you can choose Granite, we have around 25 most popular choice samples in our showroom but if you are looking for something different and unusual then we will invite you to one of our wholesalers to choose something you would like. For Granite kitchen worktops 30mm thickness is recommended, there is also 20mm thickness available for other applications. We can also offer you Ceramic and Porcelain which is a composite material the same as Quartz but have a different look and is mostly available in 20mm thickness.

Prior to 2009 Granite was the most popular choice for a kitchen worktop and the best seller used to be either Baltic Brown, Nero Impala and Star Galaxy, Steel Grey, Tan Brown. Since 2009 Quartz stone has become more popular, as the years have gone by the suppliers in this country for quartz has exceeded fifteen. In 2007 Black Mirror used to be the most popular then the demand changed to White Mirror Quartz and at present it is the Marble effect Quartz stone colours.

We can either raise an invoice based on your quote and we will require 50% deposit if you place your order before we template and order your stone or once we have templated we will check the templates to let you know if there are any changes compared to the original quote, we will then raise the invoice, and then once we have received the deposit we will order your stone straight away and pay for it in full. If once we have templated there have been changes compared to the original quote we will let you know of the changes and price difference and adjust the balance accordingly if you have already paid the deposit before we have templated. The balance will be required on the date of installation, once our staff return from the installation of your worktops we will call you to see if you are happy with everything we have supplied and installed for you and then email you the final invoice which shows the deposit has been paid and the Care and Maintenance Instructions in writing, you then pay us the remaining 50% balance.

We will accept payment in Cash which will be subject to VAT, Credit Card and Debit Card Payment, most of our clients use Bank Transfer. Unfortunately, we do not offer finance.