I'm not a fan of quartz either. :) Your appliances should be installed for your counters to be templated.

Yes, be sure all appliances are there and it's best to have them in place for templating (prior to install!). Some countertop installers will pull the slide in range out and wish it to stay out for a while before you push it back in after the countertop is installed (depends on the range, as well as the installers). You should also have all your faucets and anything else on site that will need holes drilled when the templaters and later, when the installers come. Your fridge is fine as is, if it has cabinetry around it. They need that in place for measuring to make sure all cuts are precise before they bring it to you.

I've seen several problems when the appliances were installed before the countertop with the main issue being that the appliances are not removable for repair because the countertop locked them in. Usually this is because the flooring used in the kitchen did not go fully under the appliance niche allowing something like a dishwasher to drop down lower than the flooring.

I would recommend installing the countertop and then installing the appliances.

IMO all appliances should be where they belong before templating for counters and as mentioned all the templates for the faucets and sinks to go to the fabricator for sure.I also want to always be on hand for my clients when the templating is done.

In my previous home, we removed existing counters and left all appliances in, and then templating was done. It makes sense that you would want the appliances already installed for templating. Replacing/removing appliances should not be an issue.

If the fridge is surrounded by cabinets as you say, it is not part of templating. So go ahead and install it. If the range is a slide-in, have it there along with the installation instructions so that the guys can see and measure it. Don't bother to install it, especially if it is gas, since you have to pull it out in order to put the counter top down.

I guess what Joseph Corlett said above makes the most sense. I think maybe I misspoke or mistyped--- I meant that yes the appliances should be on site and those that will affect the template should be in place. I guess installation could certainly wait.

Thanks, all! I have a quirky city apartment so I decided to put the appliances in place. The fridge is the only appliance I'll have plugged since it will be surrounded by cabinets and I'll need it while I figure out my countertop situation. I can make do with a toaster oven and microwave in the meantime.

The thread is a couple years old, but relevant to my current question: appliances should be "on site" meaning in the garage waiting, or unpacked, in the kitchen basically in place just not hooked up? What does "on site" mean? It sounds like they should be placed in position so that counters can be templated around the appliances, but then you pull them away for countertop installation, then final appliance installation? THANK YOU!