I have reserved some slabs of soapstone from M Tex and am having them fabricate them, and having them templated and installed by a local person (the nearest M Tex is waaay to far away for them to do the templating and installation.

I have two questions:

My templater/installer is wanting me to submit measurements to M Tex, rather than a physical template, and intends to make any adjustments on site. Mtex said they would fabricate based on the measurements. I am nervous about that, as it is my understanding that templates are the way to go. Is that something I should accept, or demand physical templates be sent?

Second - the way my countertops are set up, I will require a seam somewhere in my sink cabinet run. From left to right, I have a 12" cabinet, a 27" cabinet, a 36" sink base, a dishwasher, and another 27" cabinet. In my view, the best place for the seam is somewhere in the middle of the sink. My templater/installer is telling me that putting the seam there would make it too weak, and wants to do two seams - one over each 27" cabinet. Further, he wants to cut the sink opening himself, so that it is in the exact right spot (I have very little wiggle room with where my sink is - it is pretty tight in that sink cabinet.)

My concerns with the second issue is that (a) I'd prefer one seam, rather than two, (b) if there is any kind of mishap with regard to cutting the sink hole, he can't replace that soapstone as he doesnt stock it, plus it is python soapstone and based on my conversations with Mtex (Denver) I've purchased the last slabs they have.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!