A remodel and a new build can end with the same finished countertop, but getting there is a different job. New construction gives a fabricator walls and cabinets built to the plans, while a remodel brings whatever the original builder left behind, along with years of settling. And a remodel usually happens in a home someone is still living in. Cutting Edge Stoneworks plans its templating and fabrication for remodel work with those differences in mind, and we coordinate every step through the remodeler who hired us.
Existing Conditions Aren’t a Formality
Walls that are out of square, cabinet runs that are uneven and floors that have shifted are all common in remodels, and a template taken in an existing kitchen has to account for them. Our laser templating teams measure the room as it stands on the day of the appointment, so what we cut is built to the actual space and not the original drawings. Where a wall bows or a cabinet run steps out of level, the template records it, and the layout in our shop is built from that record.
Templating Before or After Demolition
When to template on a remodel is one of the first things we settle with the remodeler, because it depends on what demolition and any cabinet work will change. A template captures the cabinets and walls as they are on the day it is taken, and our templating teams don’t need the slab on hand to take it. If the cabinets are coming out, the template waits until the new ones are set. Where the existing cabinets are staying and the footprint isn’t changing, we work out the timing with the remodeler for that specific job.
An Occupied Home During Install
A remodel is usually a home someone is living in, with a kitchen or bathroom still in daily use between work days. Before a piece comes through the door, our install crew puts down surface protection over the floors and the existing cabinetry, and the crew works around the household’s schedule as the remodeler sets it. The new flooring and paint are often finished by the time we arrive, so part of the job is setting the countertop without marking work another trade has already completed. Any question about access or timing goes to the remodeler, who runs the job and knows the household.
Install Dates a Remodeler Can Actually Promise
A remodeler’s client usually plans around the countertop install date, so the remodeler needs a date that holds. Everything after the template is cut and finished at 161 McKenzie Rd, our shop in Mooresville, and the finished pieces are set by our dedicated install crews, who take no work from other fabricators. Those crews collect their jobs from our shop, and the install date is set by the one person who schedules our jobs, around the remodeler’s timeline. We give the remodeler the date to pass along, and any change to that date goes straight to the remodeler.
Matching an Existing Surface
Not every remodel replaces a countertop entirely. Some projects extend an island, add a vanity top or connect a new section to stone that has been in place for years. We don’t recommend trying to match new stone to old, because no two slabs are identical. We help the remodeler’s client look for a stone that reads as an intentional difference, so the new piece looks like a design decision and not a near match.
Materials for Renovation Projects
We fabricate natural stone including quartzite, marble, granite, limestone, soapstone, onyx, semi-precious stone, and dolomite, as well as two manufactured surfaces, porcelain and quartz. When a remodel replaces every top in a kitchen, quartz gives a consistent color from end to end and is usually chosen from samples. A remodel going for a distinct look can draw on the full range of natural stone, and each slab is chosen individually with the client, in person, at the yard in Mooresville or at a partner’s stone yard. Porcelain and quartz never need resealing, and natural stone is sealed periodically, on an interval set by the stone itself.
Remodeler Trade Pricing and Ongoing Account Setup
Every remodel project gets its own estimate, whether it is a single vanity swap or a full kitchen renovation, written up after the scope and material are decided. Both jobs come through the same shop and are installed to the same standard. Setting up the account itself starts with an account setup form, which we require for every trade account.
Support After Installation
A remodeler’s work with the client often runs past the install date, through a final walkthrough, a punch list or a warranty question. Cutting Edge Stoneworks stands behind its installed work after the crew leaves, so the remodeler has a direct answer to give the client. Each material we work with has its own care guide, and the remodeler can hand it to the client at the walkthrough.
Setting Up a Remodeler Trade Account
Remodeling contractors who need a fabricator to template and install around existing conditions can open a trade account with us. We’re based in Mooresville and take remodel work across Lake Norman and the Charlotte metro, as well as in communities around the Carolinas within a two-hour radius of our shop.
If you’re scheduling countertop work for a remodel, contact Cutting Edge Stoneworks to talk through templating and install timing before you commit to a date with your client.