Worktop replacement on an existing kitchen

Laminate is the most affordable and is cut on site from standard lengths, with joints made using joining strips or a machined mason's mitre. Solid timber is also cut on site; it needs oiling before and after fitting, and it moves with humidity, so it needs space to expand and careful sealing around the sink.

Compact laminate, solid surface, granite, quartz and sintered stone are made to measure. A specialist templates the run once the units are fixed and level, cuts the tops in a workshop, and fits them on a second visit. Undermounted sinks, drainer grooves and hob cut-outs are machined at the same time, so the sink and hob models must be decided before templating.

Material is the obvious factor. Which? puts the range per square metre from basic laminate to top-end stone at roughly a tenfold difference. The rest of the price comes from the length and number of pieces, joints and corners, cut-outs for sinks and hobs, edge profiles, upstands and splashbacks in the same material, and access: a stone top has to be carried in, sometimes up stairs.

Hidden costs come from what is underneath. Old units may be out of level, too weak for stone, or damaged by a leak under the sink. Ask how these will be dealt with and priced.

• material, thickness and edge profile
• number of pieces, joints and their positions
• sink and hob cut-outs, drainer grooves, tap holes
• upstands or splashback in the same material
• removal and disposal of the old worktop
• disconnection and reconnection of sink, taps and hob
• any tiling repairs after the old worktop comes off

The sink and taps have to be disconnected and reconnected, and with a new undermounted sink the plumbing often changes too. A gas hob must be disconnected and reconnected by a Gas Safe registered engineer who is competent for cooking appliances; the worktop fitter may hold that registration or may bring someone in. If you are changing to an induction hob that needs a new circuit, that circuit is notifiable electrical work in England.

Removing old worktops often damages the bottom row of splashback tiles. Decide in advance whether to retile, fit an upstand, or use a matching splashback.

Laminate and timber replacements are often done in a day or two. Made-to-measure tops take longer: templating, a manufacturing gap, then fitting. Some companies fit temporary worktops so the sink can be used in between. Ask how the sink will work during the gap and whether temporary tops are included.

Describe the length of the worktop run, the material you are considering, and what sits on it, and confirm your phone number and email. Worktop and kitchen businesses near you see the job without your contact details. One business can buy it, and then it is removed from the list. We email you who has bought it, with address and phone number, before your details are passed on. There is no charge to you, no guarantee that a business takes it, and it is withdrawn after 21 days if unsold. Offrano checks only that buyers are registered businesses.