reschedule your templating....you would want to be present.

reschedule your templating....you would want to be present.

I agree. We've heard too many bad stories here on this site.

I do not understand this you've got to be there for tempting thing. I've templated hundreds of countertops and if I have any questions, I'll ask you.

1. Vet your fabricator thoroughly.

2. Sit on money untill satisfied.

3. Worry about nothing. (You get #3 if you do 1 &2.)

As MrsPete said, we have seen too many problems on this forum when people don't go to the templating.

For Joe Corlett's #1, even if you vet your fabricator thoroughly and he has a sterling reputation, it doesn't mean he is going to know the parts of the counter you love and want to keep and the parts you want to cut out. Just cause he's a great fabricator doesn't mean he's a mind reader.

For Joe Corlett's #2, the fabricator will ask for a significant amount of money upfront, usually 50%. So even if you "sit" on the remainder of the money, you are still out the first 50% if the job doesn't go as you wanted because you were not at the templating to provide input. And even more, there is no price to put on the aggravation and stress of having your counter delivered and finding it not what you wanted. Then there's the subsequent back-and-forth with the fabricator, the looking for a substitute slab, and the delays of your kitchen project.

For Joe Corlett's #3, the way not to worry is simply to be present at the templating layout. It's actually fun and interesting, and I can see no reason you wouldn't want to be there. If your fabricator discourages you from being there, that is a reason for alarm bells to go off, and find another fabricator. For the kitchens I have done, my fabricators wanted me to be there. It lets them off the hook for having to make decisions about cut-outs and placements of various parts of the slab.

The parts of the counter you want to keep and the parts you want to cut out won't be in the home at templating. No reputable fabricator is going to not want to collect the last half of his money, so he'll do what it takes to make you happy. In 30 years, I don't think I've ever not been paid for a top. I'm going to make decisions about cut-outs.

Joseph, I have no doubt that you are a 1%er in the world of countertops ... but if everyone were as reliable as you, we wouldn't see so many threads with titles like "I'm disappointed in my expensive counter tops!"

Similarly, you want to be present when tiling is taking place. The guy who did my showers did a FANTASTIC JOB; however, he and I didn't see eye-to-eye on the tile in the niche, and if I hadn't been home /hadn't gone in at that moment, I'd be disappointed right now. (Specifically, he cut the large-scale tile and matched it up nicely for the niche ... I wanted the small tile from the shower floor to be placed in the niche.)

The parts of the counter you want to keep and the parts you want to cut out won't be in the home at templating.

Sorry, I didn't understand this sentence. Can you please clarify?

Can you please explain, as a countertop Pro, why you want to discourage the idea of being present at the templating?

The fabricators I have worked with wanted me to be at the templating. It was a collaborative effort, and was fun and interesting. We discussed what to cut out and what to keep, and they provided their expertise regarding where the seam should go, and how the direction of the pattern would look best. You said "I am going to make the decisions about the cutouts". Why don't you want your customer to have a say in that?

If you are using a granite with an allover even looking pattern or a solid color surface then no you don't need to be there for templating. However, if your counters have a pattern that is discernible, has any movement, or any interesting areas you want to be featured or cut out, then you must be there for templating.

I'm in a rental now, and the granite countertops are awful because in one section the pattern runs one way, and then it runs a different way and they don't match.

As others have mentioned, not everyone takes as much pride in their work as Joseph.

If you picked the slabs the correct way you've got the layout you want in mind already. If you can't be there photograph the slab. Take your SD card to Walmarts and have them print out an 11x14 black and white print of each. Measure out and line draw where you want the cuts. Take that to your fabricator and work out any details to your mutual liking. Then he can proceed at his own schedule and so can you.

"The parts of the counter you want to keep and the parts you want to cut out won't be in the home at templating.

Sorry, I didn't understand this sentence. Can you please clarify?"

Templating is a fabricator's way of taking your cabinets and walls with him back to the shop. If he has SlabSmith, he can take pictures of his slab inventory and if he has digital templating, he can flip the slabs with a mouse click as he superimposes your countertop upon them. You can approve the slabs, particulates, veining, seams, and movement before a blade ever kisses a stone. All this can be done manually, but it's much more physical work. Your being at the house while he copies your cabinets and walls is like your standing next to your mechanic while he changes your flat tire. It may make you feel better, buy you're not helping.

If there's a choice as to seam placement, I'll give it to you, but you'll be given no choices that I don't approve of.

We are mostly DIY, so this may not apply to you. Our counter guy was here yesterday to template. He ended not doing it, because there were a couple of things we can try to get a little better for a better install. With us being here, we was able to clearly explain what he thought we needed to do. Now, these changes are not required for the template or install, but will make for a better cabinet and counter pairing if we can do them. We are going to give it a shot.

Joseph Corlett - I think the posters on this thread advocating being present at the templating are not talking about the homeowner being at the house while the fabricator copies cabinets and walls. We are talking about the subsequent process of choosing which parts of the slab go where. This occurs at the fabricator's shop. So for example if there is a colorful chunky part of the stone that the homeowner wants showcased on the kitchen island, the homeowner and the fabricator will outline that during the templating process at the fabricator's. Conversely if there is a part the homeowner does not want, such as a resin pool on a slab of quartz, that part can be cut out for the sink or simply not used.

Here is a pic of what I mean, though it's not mine, just a photo on the Internet. I've done this sort of layout several times for different kitchens. It's taken place at the fabricator's shop. In this photo it appears the homeowner wanted a long expanse of counter without the chunky colorful part, and the layout was done accordingly. That slab could have been cut completely differently; if the homeowner is present during this layout, his/her preferences are made clear and it's a collaborative effort.

We have seen many times on this forum that when a homeowner doesn't take part in this part of the templating, there are often problems. Even if the fabricator has a lot of integrity and wants to correct any issues, it may require locating another slab and starting over.

That's not templating. That's the layout of the template on the slab. Totally different thing.

Sophie, thanks for the correction. I think people, me included, say "templating" for short instead of "layout of the template". It's not correct, but it's common usage. I did use the word "layout" in my prior post, but still, I should have used the proper entire term. This topic of the layout of the template comes up quite a lot on this forum, so it is helpful to use the correct words. I won't make the same mistake in the future. When you read the posts on this thread, it's clear that people are talking about the importance of a homeowner being present at the fabricator's to determine which parts of the slab go where.

Joseph Corlett, LLC

yes!

"Templating is a fabricator's way of taking your cabinets and walls with him back to the shop. If he has SlabSmith, he can take pictures of his slab inventory and if he has digital templating, he can flip the slabs with a mouse click as he superimposes your countertop upon them. You can approve the slabs, particulates, veining, seams, and movement before a blade ever kisses a stone. All this can be done manually, but it's much more physical work. Your being at the house while he copies your cabinets and walls is like your standing next to your mechanic while he changes your flat tire. It may make you feel better, buy you're not helping."

This is what our fabricator does. It's all digital templating. I think we'll ask for them to hold off on this step until we can be there the next week.

Our perimeter granite is black with crystals so there isn't a lot of movement/pattern. Our islands are much busier and we may want to emphasis certain parts and avoid others, so I'd like to be there if possible.

Our cabinet installers today told me that the 1.5" overhang is measured from the cabinet and not the door/drawer. Is this correct?

Yes that's correct about the 1.5" from cabinet face (not door or drawer).