Template day: the decisions to make before we bring the laser
Template day is about an hour and it is the most consequential hour of the whole project. Everything we measure that morning becomes a cutting file that afternoon. After that, changing your mind means changing stone.
Nothing on this list is hard. All of it is cheaper to settle now.
The sink has to be in the house
Not ordered. Not "arriving Thursday." Physically present, out of the box, on your kitchen floor.
An undermount sink is cut to the specific model — its exact outline, its exact rim, its exact corner radius. Manufacturers publish templates, and the templates are not always what shows up in the box. We measure the sink in front of us because the alternative is a cutout that fits a drawing.
The same is true of a farmhouse or apron sink, only more so: the cabinet has to be modified to carry it and the stone has to land on it. Trade benchmarks put the fabrication premium for a farmhouse cutout around $150 to $400 on top of the ordinary sink work, and a farmhouse conversion done properly at $700 to $2,200 installed. That is a decision, not a detail.
The faucet, and everything else that punches a hole
Every hole in the stone is drilled at the shop, not in your kitchen. So we need the final count before we template: faucet, sprayer, soap dispenser, filtered water tap, air gap, instant hot. Drilled accessory holes benchmark around $65 to $120 each, and a hole you did not order is a hole that does not exist.
If you are undecided on a soap dispenser, the cheap insurance is to drill it and cap it. A blank cap costs a few dollars. Coring a finished, installed counter costs a service call and holds its breath.
Cabinets have to be final, level, and fastened
We template the cabinets, so the cabinets have to be the ones you are keeping — installed, secured to the wall, and shimmed level. A cabinet that moves after templating moves your countertop with it.
If cabinets are being painted or refaced, that work should be done or at least dimensionally final. Paint does not change geometry; new doors and a new toe kick can.
The edge, the overhang and the thickness
Three choices that change the cut file:
- Edge profile. A standard eased edge is included; anything else is priced per linear foot and has to be known before fabrication. See the edge profile guide if you are undecided.
- Overhang. A 1.5 inch overhang is typical on a perimeter run. Anything past about 10 inches of unsupported stone wants brackets or a support panel, and that is a cabinet decision, not a stone one.
- Thickness and build-up. Whether you want the edge to read thicker than the slab. A mitered built-up edge benchmarks $30 to $80 per linear foot because it is a second piece of stone and a hand-finished joint.
The appliances that touch stone
A slide-in range, a downdraft cooktop, an undermount or farmhouse sink, an integrated dishwasher panel and any beverage fridge that sits under the counter all constrain the cut. If they are on site, we measure them. If they are not, we need model numbers and spec sheets in advance.
Backsplash, before rather than after
Tell us whether you are doing tile, a 4-inch stone backsplash off the same slab, or a full-height slab. It changes how the counter meets the wall and, on a full-height slab, it changes how much stone you buy. It also changes the sequence — the order of cabinets, counters and backsplash is a real thing and we wrote a guide about it.
What changing your mind costs, and when
This is the part nobody enjoys explaining, so here it is plainly. There are three windows, and they close in order.
- Before template. Free. Change anything — material, edge, sink, layout. This is the whole reason we walk the decision list with you at the quote.
- After template, before cutting. Usually a re-template, sometimes at no charge if it is quick and the cut file has not gone to the saw. Tell us the same day and it is almost always painless.
- After cutting. The stone is now a specific shape with specific holes in it, and neither un-cuts. A changed sink model at this point means new stone, and new stone means the full material cost again.
None of that is a policy we enjoy. It is just what a saw does. The good news is that the entire exposure is avoidable by settling six things before an hour on a Tuesday morning.
What we do about the walls
Your walls are not straight. Nobody's are. A digital template captures the actual wall profile so the stone is scribed to it, which is why a templated counter sits tight against a wavy wall and a counter cut from a drawing does not.
It also means we will find out on template day if a wall is out badly enough that you will see a gap. Better then than later.
The short version
- Sink in the house, out of the box.
- Faucet and every accessory decided and counted.
- Cabinets installed, level, fastened, final.
- Edge, overhang and thickness chosen.
- Appliances present or spec sheets in hand.
- Backsplash plan decided.
Get those six done and template day is an uneventful hour, which is exactly what you want from it. We will walk the list with you when we come out to quote — free, in your kitchen, tape measure included. Call or text (630) 403-6095.
Where template day sits in the whole job
So you can see what it holds up if it slips.
Design, measure, and finalize the layout
Layout resolved, every appliance model confirmed (cabinet openings are built around them), storage decisions made, field measurement done. Runs 1-3 weeks when decisions come fast; published design-phase schedules run up to 60 days with bidding.
Tip: Nothing orders until this is done, and everything after depends on it. Decide appliances first — cabinet boxes are literally sized around their spec sheets.
Choose material and get quotes
Shortlist materials, visit a showroom or slab yard, and get an itemized quote: material, fabrication, edge profile, cutouts, tear-out, template fee. Selection pace is the homeowner's to control — a few days to two weeks is typical.
Tip: Rough tape-measure dimensions within an inch are fine for quoting; the fabricator laser-measures before anything is cut. Take samples home and look at them in your own morning and evening light before committing.
research and ballpark budgeting
Measure the existing runs (length x depth in inches), shortlist materials against how the household actually cooks, and gather ballpark ranges. Most homeowners cycle through this phase for months before acting - the active version takes a week or two.
Tip: Accuracy within an inch is fine - the fabricator laser-measures before cutting, so your numbers only need to support a ballpark quote. Photograph the kitchen and note fixed constraints: window sills, appliance widths, outlet positions.
Cabinet manufacturing lead time (order to delivery)
The dominant calendar phase. Stock lines: ~2-4 weeks. Semi-custom: 4-8 weeks. Custom: 8-12+ weeks (published ranges run to 16). No quality cabinetry arrives in under about 3 weeks.
Tip: Do not let anyone start demolition based on an optimistic delivery estimate. Rush fees (10-20 percent) mostly buy substitutions, not speed.
Lock in sink, faucet, and cooktop before template day
Every cutout and faucet hole is cut at the shop from exact specifications, so the sink, faucet (including soap dispenser or filter taps), and cooktop models must be final before templating. An undermount sink usually needs to be physically on site at the template appointment.
Tip: This is the deadline that ambushes people. Changing the sink or cooktop after templating typically adds 1-3 weeks of re-fabrication. Buy the sink early and keep the spec sheets handy.
material selection and slab viewing
Narrow to a material family (quartz, granite, quartzite, laminate, butcher block), then to specific colors. For natural stone or heavily veined quartz, view full slabs at a yard or showroom rather than sample chips.
Tip: A 4-inch chip cannot show how veining moves across nine feet of island - ask to see the full slab. Take samples home and look at them in your own morning and evening light before deciding.
Demolition and site prep
Old cabinets and tops out, walls repaired, flooring corrected or installed, site protected. Starts only when cabinet delivery is confirmed near.
Tip: Set up the temporary kitchen (microwave, coffee, dish bin near a utility or bathroom sink) before demo day, not after. This is day one of the no-kitchen stretch.
Template and install day questions
Is there a slow season when countertop work is cheaper or faster to schedule?
In the upper Midwest, yes — countertop installation is indoor work, so winter does not stop it, but demand is intensely seasonal. Shops get slammed from early fall through the holidays (everyone wants counters before Thanksgiving) and again in spring as sellers prep listings. January and February typically bring the shortest fabrication queues of the year, and some shops run promotions to keep crews busy. The material could not care less about the cold; the only weather concern is careful slab transport on icy days. If your project is flexible, deep winter is the contrarian sweet spot.
Once we decide to do it, how long does a countertop project realistically take start to finish?
For most homeowners the whole arc commonly runs three to six weeks: a week or two of shopping and quotes, a template (precise measurement) visit after you sign, roughly one to two weeks of fabrication, then a single install day. Special-order slabs, porcelain (fewer qualified fabricators), and the pre-holiday rush in October and November can stretch fabrication queues; late winter is typically the easiest time to get on a Midwest fabrication schedule. The kitchen itself is only out of commission from tear-out to install — usually a day or two — plus about a day before the sink is fully usable again.
Can I install a tile backsplash myself?
Of the three projects, this is the most DIY-friendly: small area, no structural stakes, forgiving timeline. The skills that separate good from regrettable are layout planning around outlets and edges, straight cuts (rent a wet saw), consistent spacing, and clean grout work - and buy 10 to 15 percent extra tile for cuts and breakage. Professional labor runs roughly $5 to $20 per square foot if you decide midway that a flawless finish matters more than the savings.
Do I need a permit just to replace my kitchen countertops?
Usually no - a like-for-like countertop swap with the sink staying in the same place is treated as cosmetic work in most Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana municipalities, and Chicago explicitly exempts countertop and cabinet installation that does not touch wiring or plumbing. But rules are local and some suburbs are stricter - Buffalo Grove, Illinois treats kitchen modification, including cabinet replacement, as permit work - and in Illinois the sink disconnect and reconnect must be handled by a state-licensed plumber even when no permit is required. A five-minute call to your building department settles it for your address.
Do I really need to buy my sink before the countertop is ordered?
Yes — the physical sink (or at minimum its exact spec sheet) must be on site at template day, because the cutout is traced from it and an undermount rim cannot be guessed. This is the single most common last-minute ambush in homeowner project timelines: the templater arrives, there is no sink, and the whole schedule slips 3-7 days. Buy the sink and faucet when you order the counters, and confirm the mounting style — undermount, drop-in, or farmhouse each changes the cutout, the price, and in the farmhouse case the cabinet itself.
But seriously though
Keep reading: Pulls, Light, and Low-Glare Finishes: The Small Choices That Decide Whether a Kitchen Ages With You · Undertones First: How to Build a Kitchen Color Combination That Lasts · In-Home Templating
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