Kitchen Benchtop And Splashback Replacement

Replacing a benchtop is the highest impact change you can make to a tired kitchen without a full renovation. It is also the one most often quoted as a single job and delivered as several.

What is actually involved

Removing the old top. Sinks and cooktops come out first, which means isolating the plumbing and the electrical or gas. On an older kitchen the existing top may be glued and screwed to the cabinets, and removing it can damage them.

Checking the cabinets. This is the step that decides the job. The new top sits on the existing carcasses, so they have to be sound, level and square. Older cabinetry that has swollen at the base from water, or that has moved, needs repair or replacement before anything new goes on.

Templating. The fabricator measures the actual cabinets after the old top is off, not before. That means a gap of several days between removal and installation, and the kitchen is unusable through it.

Installation. The new top goes on, the cutouts for the sink and cooktop are pre-cut from the template.

Reconnection. Plumbing and electrical or gas reconnected, with a compliance certificate where gas is involved.

The splashback. Tiled or glass, fitted after the top, because it sits on it.

That is carpentry, stone or joinery, plumbing, electrical and tiling, in a fixed sequence, with a waiting period in the middle.

Where it goes wrong

The most common failure is booking the trades separately. The plumber disconnects, the fabricator templates, then nobody has scheduled the reconnection and the kitchen sits without a sink for a week.

The second is discovering the cabinets are not sound after the old top is off, at which point the fabricator has already templated to a base that needs work.

The third is a new appliance. If the cooktop is being replaced at the same time, the cutout dimensions change, and the new appliance has to be on site before templating.

Materials, honestly

Laminate. The most economical, and modern laminates look far better than they used to. Not heat resistant, and a chip in the edge cannot be repaired.

Engineered stone. Popular for years. Note that manufactured stone products have been subject to significant regulatory change in Australia due to silica exposure risks in fabrication, so availability and product options have changed. Worth confirming what is currently available rather than assuming.

Natural stone. Granite and marble. Durable, and marble stains and etches, which owners are often not told before they choose it.

Porcelain and sintered stone. Very hard, heat and stain resistant, thinner profile. More expensive to fabricate.

Timber. Warm and requires maintenance. Not suited to a rental.

Stainless steel. Practical, marks visibly.

For a rental or a property being prepared for sale, durability and repairability matter more than the premium option.

The splashback decision

Tiles are cheaper, repairable in sections, and have grout lines that need cleaning behind a cooktop.

Glass is a single piece with no joints, easy to clean, and the whole panel goes if it is damaged. It also needs the wall behind it to be flat, which on an older kitchen may mean rendering first.

Either way, the wall behind the old splashback is usually damaged when the old one comes off, and patching is part of the job rather than a surprise.

Timing in an occupied property

The kitchen is out of use from removal to reconnection. In a tenanted apartment that has to be communicated and planned, and it is another argument for doing it between tenancies.

We take the whole sequence as one job across carpentry, plumbing, electrical and tiling, so the disconnection and the reconnection are the same team and the gap is as short as the templating allows. Tell us the kitchen and we will map the sequence before anything comes out.