No matter if you are an interior designer, architect, or you’re redesigning your own kitchen, it’s completely understandable to be picky about where you get your stone benchtops from. Whether choosing a kitchen benchtop for a client or yourself, you don’t want to be disappointed when your stone benchtop is delivered to you, and the quality isn’t up to par.
The best way to avoid receiving a low-quality, damaged, or different aesthetic than you expected you must do your homework on the company’s history and capabilities before entrusting them with your kitchen benchtop. Therefore, consider the following seven crucial factors before you commit to purchasing stone benchtops from a stone fabricator.
1. Do You Require a Stone Fabricator or Stone Supplier?
First, you must know the industry terminology to determine which stone benchtop expert you require depending on your renovation stage. For example, while stone fabricators custom cut and install any type of stone application – from marble benchtops to quartz walls, Caesarstone bathroom vanities and more – to your specific requests, but they don’t usually source the stone slabs.
Instead, stone suppliers purchase the raw stone from overseas, complete the shopping procedure to get it into the local community, and then store hundreds of stone options in enormous warehouses until they are ready to be purchased.
Suppliers do not generally sell to the public because moving slabs necessitates heavy machinery and huge trucks; this must be done through a fabricator. But the public can typically visit the stone warehouses to view and select the slab they want their stone fabricator to use.
Whether you have a small, major design or construction project in mind, an expert stone fabricator will get the job done. Stone fabricators spend years honing their skills and can produce masterpieces from several materials, including quartz, marble benchtops, and granite.
2. Having Good Connections to Stone Suppliers to Offer you a Range of Products
A good stone benchtops fabricator would have multiple good connections with stone suppliers so they can cut and install any type of stone benchtop you desire. There is a large variety of stone materials on the market these days, and the possibilities are frequently overwhelming for most clients and homeowners.
Some alternatives may be ideal for a bathroom vanity but not for a kitchen island. For example, marble benchtops are soft stones that require extra care when placed in a harsh environment. So, ask questions and rely on the stone fabricator’s industry knowledge to advise which stone is most suitable for your application.
3. Showroom
Is there a showroom and a slab yard on the premises? If yes, these facilities prove that you are working with a stone fabricator that values convenience for their clients and denotes a financial investment in the organisation as well as having competent and reliable vendor relationships.
Also, if you stroll through their facilities and don’t find anything you want, will they refer you to a local wholesale stone supplier for more options? … GOOD! This indicates that they have a working relationship with the wholesaler; as if they couldn’t buy the product from you, they wouldn’t send you there.
After all, seeing the stone choices in person is preferred overlooking through samples or a computer screen, where colours are frequently distorted and not displayed in their real light.
4. Check the Client Reviews
Listen to what others have to say about their experiences with a particular stone benchtops fabricator if you really want to feel secure in your decision. Thankfully, many stone benchtops fabricators have an updated website displaying reviews from multiple sources and client testimonials. Check out the company’s Facebook page or Google reviews profile to see what previous customers say about their experience.
5. Quality Assurance
When choosing a stone benchtops fabricator, ensure they provide a high-quality product and adhere to the strictest quality control standards. Your customers will always want a product that will last the test of time and be appropriate for the application they had in mind. In addition, your natural stone fabricator should also have a quality inspection mechanism to bring out any poor quality or defects in the materials they sell.
6. Flexible Timeline
Another thing to remember is that stone fabricators will need to obtain several items before working on your project. A timeline should be established at first, but you must remain flexible.
After all, it’s impossible to keep on an exact schedule because complications that you may not have considered can readily develop. As a result, having a flexible schedule is preferable. Variations in the schedule are likely, which is why you should assume the project to take longer than expected. It takes a long time to make the perfect kitchen countertop or anything else out of stone. Allow adequate time for the stone fabricator to do the job as efficiently as feasible.
7. Check the Fabricator’s Insurance
A professional should be able to offer you with information regarding their insurance policy before hiring them. Don’t just take the policy’s word for it. Instead, check with the insurance carrier to see if the policy is still active. Otherwise, you won’t be able to file a claim if something goes wrong. It’s preferable to be safe than sorry.
How to Find a Reliable Stone Benchtops Fabricator?
A good stone fabricator can make or break a project’s success. Plus, since stone benchtops can last a lifetime, you must ensure that your provider will be available if you have any issues or require service. You’ll want to ensure you’re providing a high-quality product and service to your customers, so this isn’t a decision to take lightly.
Finally, choose the fabricator you believe you can trust to do the best job. Getting stonework done is a significant financial expenditure, so you want to make certain that everything is done correctly the first time.
Almost any reputable fabricator can bring in a stone that you spotted at a competitor’s location. What’s more significant is that they can install the kitchen benchtop correctly the first time, saving you the time and aggravation of having to do it again.