You have browsed through brochures, received worktop samples, and selected your worktop.
So, after all that hard work, you don't need your worktop to bow and delay installation.
Our guide below should ensure no hitches when your fitter arrives to complete installation.
Delivery day
Before you store your worktop, you must check it thoroughly for scuffs, damages, or flaws. This is especially important if the worktops are stored quickly until your fitter is available.
If the worktops are being fitted shortly after delivery, please ensure they are firstly acclimatised for approximately 24 hours.
You will not believe the amount of people who receive the worktops and have a fitter waiting to install them.
Fitting a worktop on the same day as delivery can cause problems if issues are found once cut.
You also need to consider what would happen if the worktop arrived damaged.
As the customer, you may need to pay the fitter for his time if a replacement is required. The fitter will also need to schedule another date for installation. Our guide should ensure you assess all possibilities before confirming delivery or fitting dates.
Storing your worktops
Try to schedule your worktop delivery for at least 3-5 days before your fitter is due to arrive. This allows sufficient time for the worktops to be checked thoroughly, replacement to be arranged if needed, and for acclimatisation.
Most manufacturers recommend that installation be completed as soon as possible (not stored for weeks in a garage, etc.). However, that may not be possible, especially if your fitter has a busy schedule. Believe us when we say this: good fitters are usually booked up in advance and busy. Timing and consideration of all the above is necessary.
If a longer period of storage is necessary, the worktops must be laid flat, fully supported, and returned in their original packaging.
Worktops must not be placed directly onto the floor. Battens or pallets must separate the floor from the worktop. See the image below.
For pallets, you could visit any trading estate or builders' yards to see if any are being thrown away. Most yards have them piled up, and don't mind if they are taken for firewood, for example.
The pallets/battens must also be used to separate multiple worktops stored together, as shown in the image below.
Make sure the storage area is indoors and has a stable humidity. The room must not be subject to extremes of temperature, either cold or hot.
DO NOT UNPACK WORKTOPS UNLESS:
- The room humidity is stable.
- All carcases and cabinets are built and fully fitted/complete.
- All building dust and debris have been cleaned and cleared off-site.
- All wet trades are finished, and a sufficient period is allowed for natural drying.
- Fresh plasterwork has been allowed to dry for at least six weeks or until the plaster is dry throughout.