“counter installation based soley in measurements and not a template?”

What counter material are you talking about?

Just making sure you didn’t misunderstand - did he really mean no template at all, or did he mean his template was made from hand measuring, not laser measuring?

There are many fabricators who still do counter templates with hand measuring; they don’t use a laser. Counter fabrication templating was done without a laser for many decades before lasers came along. Some fabricators still like to do it that way, and there is nothing wrong with that. If your fabricator indeed meant no templating at all, I don’t understand how that woukd be possible.

If your counters are to be stone, are you aware you need to go to the fabricator's to decide on the layout from the slab?

My understanding is a drawing with precise measurements would be sent to him and the template would be based off of that.

What counter material are you goingbto have?

Cambria quartz

Perhaps a pro here can weigh in, but it could just be a confusion of terminology. I had thought there are two ways to template for a countertop. One way is digital, which would be as you’ve described, except digital templating uses a laser to measure, which you’ve said your contractor is not using. The second method is hand measuring - not using a laser - and creating from that a physical template like in the pic I posted above. So your contractor not using a laser and yet also not using a stick template is confusing to me, so perhaps one of the pros here will clarify.

The dealer of the stone has asked for a diagram with measurements that my contractor has done (as pictured below). The fabricator will work with these measurements to cut the stone Instead of the fabricator physically coming to take measurements ( either by hand or laser)

I would much rather see the fabricator come to my home before he hacks up my stone. However if he is well vetted, has a stellar reputation, AND he is willing to guarantee your satisfaction, let him have at it. If any one of those 3 is not solid, the answer in my opinion would be, next!

I would NOT want anything manufactured off of drawings since things change once a kitchen is installed. Only get quotes from drawings. If they are not going to template they are not going to guarantee they fit either. FAST PASS from me.

I can "template" your tops perfectly with a tape measure.

Joseph—are you saying that as long as the measurments given to the fabricator are precise there is no reason they cant cut the stone from measurements alone?

We prpvided detailed drawings and measurements to our fabricator. They came out to look, and did a little chacking of our measurements, and cut to those without doing their own. Our stuff is square and level - so it was not an issue. They were installed easily and have no larger gap than 1/16"

And prior to lasers, fabricators installed perfectly fine counters. ;-)

But..... they have to have that skill.

The shop foreman came to our site, and has been in the industry for 37 years....

Ok - so the contractor measured for the fabricator. When those measurements are slightly off and can't be fixed in the field, who is taking the responsibility! ?

In looking at your dimensions, my first question is - do you have inset doors on your cabinets? If not , then the depth of the counters should be 25 1/2" . Second - why would there be 2 seams where the sink is? Third - the dimensions are too perfect - they don't account for out of square situations.

Here is an example of what I get back from the fabricator who templated for the top :

Here you can really see how different the depths are due to out of square walls and uneven floors , etc.

I could see not doing a template for a straight run of counter, but not for an l-shape.

It really needs to be measured off of installed cabinets. And Joseph is right, not fancy laser measure. An experienced count person can measure with a tape measure.

Good luck

Ii have had two different counters done without a laser template--marble and soapstone. But, the fabricators (a different one in each place) did come out to my house to personally measure.

So, the fabricator will put his money where his mouth is?

Thank you all for your input, I will likely be going with a dealer/fabricator who will come personally to template!

Is your Cambria Quartz strongly patterned? If so, note that when you turn that corner the pattern won’t flow. Just wanting to make sure you aren’t surprised. If the pattern is more subtle you won’t notice.

It is subtle, thanks for your input

"Joseph—are you saying that as long as the measurments given to the fabricator are precise there is no reason they cant cut the stone from measurements alone?"

No. I'm saying that after the cabinets are installed, I can arrive with a tape measure and come back with tops that fit. It's math; cruel but certain. Especially with such a simple layout.

And no miter as your drawing shows please.

There are always things. Walls that aren't completely true; a fridge enclosure that the stone could bend around. I don't see any reason not to template, but I learned the hard way when I thought I could buy a counter top for a simple 24" vanity which turned out to be sitting parallel to only one of the two walls . . .

I had my Silestone quartz kitchen countertop laser measured by the installer, and it came out perfect. For my 3-bathroom vanity countertops, I chose quartz remnants from a local stone yard; the fabricator hand measured them, and they all came out perfect too!

The fabricator for my kitchen counter hand measured -- he came out to the house to measure himself. Counters came out perfectly and if you walked into my kitchen you will never find the seam unless I point it out to you -- his workmanship was that good. With not a laser in sight.