Ask whether they are licensed and insured, how long they have worked in San Carlos, if they cut and polish slabs in their own shop or hand the job to someone else, how they measure your cabinets, what the quote actually covers, where the seams will land, what the warranty protects, and how many days your kitchen will be out of service. Those eight questions separate a solid shop from one that will cost you time and money. A company such as marblus custom countertops should answer each one plainly, in writing, before you pay a deposit.
The reason these questions matter so much is that countertop work is one of the few home projects with almost no room for error. Cabinets can be shimmed. Paint can be redone. A stone slab cut a quarter inch short is scrap, and the next slab may not match the first one. Add San Carlos permit rules, older homes with walls that are not square, and slab prices that swing by thousands of dollars depending on the quarry, and you can see why a short interview at the start saves a lot of grief later. Most people call three shops, compare the bottom-line price, and pick the cheapest. That is the wrong method. Two quotes for kitchen countertops San Carlos homeowners receive can look similar on paper while covering wildly different work.
Are You Licensed and Insured?
Ask for the license number and look it up on the California contractors board site yourself. It takes two minutes. Also ask for proof of general liability and workers’ compensation coverage. If an installer hurts his back carrying a 400-pound slab through your side yard and the shop carries no comp policy, you can end up holding that bill. Any real business hands over a certificate without arguing about it.
Do You Cut the Stone Yourself?
This one tells you more than almost anything else. Some shops own a saw, a CNC machine, and a polishing line. Others are sales offices that broker your job to a third-party fabricator. Neither is automatically bad, but you should know which you are hiring. In-house shops usually give you faster fixes when something goes wrong, since the person who cut the piece is standing right there. Brokered jobs add a layer between you and the people doing the work, which usually means slower answers.
Which Materials Do You Carry, and Can I See the Actual Slab?
Photos lie. Quartz is fairly consistent from sheet to sheet, but natural stone is not. Two slabs of the same marble can look like different rocks. Ask if you can walk the slab yard and put your hands on the exact pieces reserved for your kitchen. Ask them to mark your name on those slabs. Also ask what they recommend for your habits. If you cook with red wine and lemon three nights a week, a soft porous stone will show it within a year, and a good salesperson will say so instead of nodding along.
How Do You Template and Measure?
The best shops send someone out with a laser templating tool after your cabinets are set and level. Anyone who wants to measure off a drawing, or measure before the cabinets go in, is guessing. Ask what happens if the template is wrong. The honest answer is that the shop eats the cost of the new material. Get that in the contract.
What Is Included in the Price?
Break the number apart line by line. Does it include tear-out and hauling away the old counter? Sink cutout? Faucet holes? Cooktop cutout? Edge polishing? Backsplash? Plumbing disconnect and reconnect? Sealing? Delivery? Stair charges? Many low quotes are low because half of that list is missing and shows up later as a change order. Ask for the price per square foot and the total square footage they measured, then check their math.
Where Will the Seams Go?
Every kitchen longer than about ten feet needs at least one seam. A skilled fabricator hides it near a sink or in a spot your eye skips over, and matches the veining across the joint. Ask them to draw the seam layout on your kitchen plan before they cut. If they shrug and say they will figure it out on install day, keep calling other shops.
What Does the Warranty Actually Cover?
There are two warranties, and people mix them up. The material warranty comes from the manufacturer and usually covers defects in the slab itself. The labor warranty comes from your contractor and covers the install: cracked seams, bad support under an overhang, poor caulking, a wobbly piece. Ask how long the labor warranty runs and what voids it. One year is common. Longer is better. Verbal warranties are worth nothing.
How Long Will My Kitchen Be Down?
A typical schedule runs about one to three weeks from template to install, then a day of work in your house, then a day or two before you can use the sink again. Ask for those dates in writing and ask what happens if they slip. Also ask whether they handle the plumbing themselves or expect you to hire a plumber. Surprises here are the most common complaint homeowners have.
One Last Question
Ask for three recent local references and call them. Ask those people one thing: would you hire this shop again? The answer usually comes fast, and it tells you everything the brochure will not.