Templating: The Visit That Decides Everything
Nothing is cut until somebody has been to the house and made a template. The process notes at countertop installers redding aedreams start with that visit, because a Redding kitchen that is not ready on template day sets back the whole countertop job by a week and sometimes changes the price.
What a Template Actually Is
A template is a full size record of the shape the material has to become. It used to be made in thin strips of wood or plastic hot glued together on the cabinet run. Most shops now use a digital template, a laser unit on a tripod that records points around the perimeter and produces a file the saw and the cnc read directly. Either way, it is measuring what exists, not what the plan says.
The Kitchen Has to Be Finished First
Cabinets must be installed, level and fixed. The old tops usually have to be off. The sink, the faucet and the cooktop should be on site so the cutout is made to the real fixture rather than a catalogue drawing. Templating over a temporary counter, or over cabinets that are still going to be shimmed, produces a perfect record of the wrong shape.
Decisions Made on the Day
The templater will confirm the overhang, the edge profile, where any seam falls, whether the backsplash is being carried up in the same material, and how the run meets an appliance or a wall that is out of square. These are permanent choices and they are being made quickly, in your kitchen, by somebody with a schedule. It is worth being there and asking.
Walls Are Never Straight
Every wall has a bow in it, and a good templater scribes the shape rather than assuming a right angle. That is the difference between a back edge that sits tight and a gap you fill with caulk and look at for ten years. Ask how they handle it; the answer tells you a lot about the fabricator behind the visit.
After the Template
Expect a lead time of one to two weeks between template and install while the slab is cut, the edges polished and the cutouts made. Nothing about the layout can change in that window without starting again. If you are still deciding on a farmhouse sink or an undermount sink, decide before the tripod comes out of the van.