Counters templated after the boxes go in

How the template works

A counter is only as straight as the wall behind it. We set and level the cabinets, then template the tops with the sink and the faucet holes marked, then send that template to the fabricator. Doing it in that order lets the back edge get scribed to the wall, so you never end up with a wedge of caulk along the backsplash catching crumbs.

On install day the tops come in, get set and shimmed, and the seams get pulled tight and color matched. The sink drops in, the cooktop opening gets checked against the actual unit, and the plumber follows us to hook it up. We stay on site while that happens, so a fit problem gets solved with a tool instead of a phone call next week.

• Templated after the cabinets are set and level
• Back edge scribed to the wall, not caulked to hide a gap
• Sink and cooktop openings checked against your unit
• Seams pulled tight and color matched
• Old top pulled and taken away before the new one goes on

Picking the material

Quartz is where most San Antonio kitchens land. It never needs sealing and it takes a hot pan better than people expect. Granite still wins when somebody wants real movement in the stone and a slab they chose in person. We will go to the yard with you if you want a hand reading a slab, because two slabs off the same block can look nothing alike.

Butcher block is what we get asked about on islands. It is warm to look at and it takes a knife well, and it wants oil a few times a year. In our humidity a wide top moves a little across the grain, so it gets fastened with slotted brackets that let it do that quietly. If nobody in the house is going to oil it, we will point you at something else.