Countertop Replacement in Austin, TX
Free measure and written estimate, tear out and haul away included: call (512) 555-0100. Serving Austin and the surrounding Travis County cities.
How Many Days Your Kitchen Is Actually Out of Service
Here is the honest sequence, as stages rather than a promised date. First the measure and template visit, which costs you an hour and no counter space. Then shop time, during which your existing tops stay on and stay in use; nothing is demolished while your new tops are being cut, because the slabs are cut to fit the cabinets by measuring and templating before tear out is scheduled. Then the swap day, when the old tops come off and the new ones go on.
What is genuinely out of action is narrower than most homeowners fear. The sink and the run either side of it go quiet on swap day. The rest of the kitchen, the fridge, the pantry, and usually the cooktop, keeps working.
What You Lose the Use Of, and for How Long
The sink, the dishwasher, and the disposal go offline when the plumber disconnects them before tear out. The cooktop joins the list only if its cutout is changing. One thing to plan around: the plumbing reconnect is a separate step after the adhesive and silicone have set, so the sink is not back in service the second the stone is level. We put the reconnect timing in writing at the estimate so nobody is surprised on the day.
Taking the Old Tops Off Without Wrecking the Cabinets
Tear out is the half of the job nobody sells, and it is where a specialist earns the fee. The cabinets are staying, so the old tops are cut and lifted rather than pried, because a pry bar transfers its force into the cabinet rail and the face frames. Floors get protected before the first tool comes out, cabinet faces get covered, and we find out where the top is bonded to the cabinet box before we start lifting, not while we are mid-lift. Tops that were glued and screwed down by an enthusiastic builder in the 1990s take patience, and patience is cheaper than new cabinets.
Laminate, Tile, Solid Surface and Stone All Come Off Differently
Laminate tops and their particle board substrate lift as a unit and usually take screws up through the cabinet rail. Tile counters mean a mortar bed and backer board, the messiest tear out of the four by a distance. Solid surface is usually adhered continuously, so it comes off in controlled cuts. Stone comes out in pieces, and it is heavy enough that the carry path through your house matters as much as the lifting.
Haul Away and Disposal of the Old Material
We take it, all of it, the same day. That includes a heavy stone top, which leaves in manageable cut sections on our truck rather than sitting in your driveway waiting for a dumpster you had to rent. The old material is gone before the new tops are down.
Your Backsplash Is the Part Nobody Warns You About
This is the surprise that sours replacement jobs, so we settle it before demolition. A four inch stone splash is bonded to the wall and rarely survives removal. Tile that runs down behind the old top leaves an unfinished band at the bottom once a thicker or thinner top goes in. Drywall tears when a bonded splash comes off, and somebody has to own the patch.
There are three realistic outcomes. Keep the existing splash and work the new top to it. Remove the splash and patch the wall ready for new tile. Or move to a full height splash cut from the same slab as the new top, which removes the joint problem entirely. We agree which one you are getting before the tear out, not during it, and the choice is written into the estimate.
Plumbing, Disposal and the Faucet: Who Disconnects and Who Reconnects
The order runs like this. The sink, faucet, disposal and dishwasher line are disconnected before tear out begins. The garbage disposal comes off the old sink and, if it is staying, goes back on the new one, and an air switch gets a fresh bore drilled in the new top rather than a hole in your sink rim. Reconnect happens after the adhesive and silicone have set, not before.
The honest boundary: straightforward disconnect and reconnect of an existing, healthy setup is routine on a swap. Where the job uncovers corroded shutoff valves, a drain that needs re-working for a deeper bowl, or gas work at a cooktop, a licensed plumber is the right call, and we tell you that at the measure instead of improvising under your sink.
Whether Your Existing Cabinets Can Carry a Stone Top
Two kinds of Austin kitchens raise the question: older houses and budget builder boxes. Base cabinets are usually 24 inches (610 mm) deep and 34+1/2 inches (880 mm) high to accommodate a countertop surface normally 36 inches (910 mm) above the floor, and the finished top typically runs about 25 to 26 inches (640 to 660 millimetres) front to back with a slight overhang at the leading edge. That geometry only works if the boxes underneath are sound.
So we check. Cabinet rail condition, level across the run, sagging spans, whether the dishwasher opening needs a bridge across it, and whether a peninsula needs support added before stone goes on. When the answer is no, the fix is reinforcement, priced and agreed before the swap, not a shrug and a cracked top a year later.
Changes Worth Making While the Top Is Off
Swap day is the cheap moment, in effort terms, for changes that are disruptive at any other time. Drop in sink to undermount: the new top is machined for it in the shop, with the exposed cutout edge finished rather than rough. Adding a bar overhang: possible where the base run can take the support it needs. Extending a peninsula: a template change, not a construction project, if it is decided before cutting. Squaring a cabinet run that has always bothered you: the moment is now, while nothing sits on it. Moving a cooktop cutout: a shop operation on the new top, plus trades for the services below. Switching to a deeper single bowl: confirm the cabinet and drain height can take it, which we check at the measure. Decide these at the template visit and they cost effort; decide them after cutting and they cost a new piece of stone.
What Sits Inside a Replacement Estimate Besides the Stone
No prices on this page, and no per square foot figures, because two identical-looking kitchens can carry very different swaps. These are the factors that move a replacement estimate.
| Factor | Why it moves the estimate |
|---|---|
| Tear out complexity and old material | A mortar bed tile counter is a different day than a laminate lift-off |
| Disposal | Weight and volume of what leaves on our truck |
| Total square footage | More material cut, carried and set |
| Seam count | Each seam is built, joined and polished |
| Cutouts | Sink, cooktop and accessory openings are shop-machined |
| Edge profile | Detailed profiles carry more machining time |
| Backsplash treatment | Keep, patch for tile, or full height slab are three different scopes |
| Cabinet reinforcement | Bridging and bracing found at the measure |
| Plumbing coordination | Disconnect, reconnect and any licensed plumber work |
| Access and long carry | Distance and obstacles between truck and kitchen |
| Stairs or elevator on a condo job | Stone in pieces still weighs what it weighs |
Every cost question has one good answer: the free written estimate that follows the measure, with your kitchen's own numbers in it.
What Homeowners Replace Their Old Tops With
One replacement note per surface, framed for the swap; the full material stories live on their own pages. Quartz is the most popular swap-in, and tests have shown engineered quartz surfacing is the most resistant to discoloration from foods and household products among common household surfaces, with granite the second most stain resistant. Granite suits an undermount and takes a full height splash from the same material. Quartzite brings natural stone looks with hard wearing service, at slab weights your cabinets get checked for. Porcelain is thin and light for the strength it offers, which changes the reinforcement question. Butcher Block is the light swap, friendly to older cabinets and easy to refresh later. Industry standard stone thicknesses in the United States are 3/4 and 1+1/4 inches (19 and 32 mm), and 19 mm slabs are often laminated at the edge to create the appearance of a thicker edge profile, which matters where an old thin top meets existing tile.
Work That Often Happens in the Same Visit
The rest of the trade lives across Austin Custom Countertops. Install day craft in a new or gutted kitchen is Kitchen Countertop Installation. The shop side of your new tops is Countertop Fabrication. If your top turns out to be savable after all, Countertop Repair is the honest detour. Sealing after set is Countertop Sealing Polishing, and the lower disruption alternative to a full swap is Countertop Refinishing Resurfacing. We do Bathroom Vanity Tops on the same trip, build Outdoor Kitchen Countertops, and handle multi unit turnover under Commercial Countertops.
Replacement Jobs We Take Around Austin and the Hill Country Towns
Austin first: the 787xx ZIPs across Travis County, in the 512 and 737 area codes, from the condo towers downtown near our 78701 address, where elevator access and a long carry are part of the plan, out to the long driveways west of MoPac where the truck parks far from the kitchen. I-35 carries the crew south to Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, Mountain City, Niederwald and Uhland. SH 71 and US 183 reach Sunset Valley, San Leanna, Dripping Springs, Briarcliff, The Hills, Volente, Point Venture, Creedmoor, Mustang Ridge, Elgin, Webberville, Bastrop, Lockhart and Hays. Town pages: Buda, TX: Upgrading a Builder Grade Kitchen, San Marcos, TX: One Kitchen or a Whole Building and Dripping Springs, TX: Hill Country Acreage Kitchens, Outdoor Kitchens and Venues.
Why Homeowners Trust Us With a Kitchen They Still Have to Cook In
You live in the house while this happens, so the job is run like it. Floors and cabinet faces protected before the first cut, dust controlled at the source, and one crew from tear out to set rather than a chain of subcontractors pointing at each other. You get a written estimate before any demolition and a written workmanship warranty after it.
On licensing, honestly: Texas issues no statewide contractor licence for countertop replacement or installation, and we carry no licence number because none exists for this trade. We are Insured & Bonded, which matters most on this page of all pages, because tear out is the phase where damage happens; $2 million in general liability stands behind the crew, along with over 10 years of experience and over 3,000 completed projects.
Austin Custom Countertops, 1 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701. Call (512) 555-0100.
Replacement FAQs Homeowners Ask Before They Book
How long will my kitchen be out of action during a countertop replacement?
Less than most people fear. Your old tops stay on and in use through the measure and the shop stage. The disruption is the swap itself, when the sink run comes out of service, plus the set time before plumbing reconnects. You get the sequence in writing at the estimate.
Do you haul away and dispose of the old countertops?
Yes, same day, on our truck. Stone leaves in manageable cut sections, laminate and its substrate lift out as units, and tile tear out gets bagged and carried. You do not need to rent a dumpster, and nothing sits in your driveway after the crew leaves.
Will my tile backsplash survive the tear out?
Sometimes, and we tell you which case you are before demolition. Tile that stops at the old top usually survives; tile that runs down behind it leaves an unfinished band once the top changes. The three paths are keep and work to it, patch for new tile, or a full height slab splash.
Who disconnects the plumbing and reconnects the sink and disposal?
Disconnect happens before tear out and reconnect happens after the adhesive and silicone have set. Routine disconnect and reconnect of a healthy setup is handled within the job. Corroded valves, drain re-work for a deeper bowl, or gas work call for a licensed plumber, and we say so at the measure.
Can I keep my existing cabinets and just change the tops?
Yes, that is exactly what replacement is. We check that the boxes can carry the new material first: rail condition, level, sagging spans, and whether the dishwasher opening or a peninsula needs reinforcement. Where they need help, we reinforce before setting stone rather than hoping.
Can I switch from a drop in sink to an undermount while the top is off?
Yes, and the swap is the right moment. The new top is machined for the undermount in our shop, with the exposed cutout edge polished rather than rough. Decide at the template visit, because the cutout, the reveal and the faucet bores are all cut before delivery.
Do I need to empty the base cabinets before your crew arrives?
Empty the sink base and clear the counters, and give us a clear path from the door to the kitchen. The other base cabinets can usually stay loaded, though anything fragile on open shelving nearby is safer put away while tear out is running.
Can you replace the tops in stages so I keep a working sink?
On larger kitchens, often yes. Where the layout allows, the swap can be sequenced so the sink run changes last or reconnects first, keeping water in the kitchen for most of the job. Tell us at the measure and we plan the stages into the schedule.
What sits in a replacement estimate besides the stone itself?
Tear out and disposal, square footage and seams, cutouts and edge work, the backsplash decision, any cabinet reinforcement, plumbing coordination, and access, including stairs or an elevator. No figures are quoted sight unseen. The free measure produces a written estimate with your kitchen's exact numbers.
Book the Free Measure and Get Your Replacement Dates
One action: call (512) 555-0100 for the free measure and a written estimate. We replace countertops across Austin and the surrounding Travis County cities, from Buda and San Marcos up I-35 to Dripping Springs out west. Austin Custom Countertops, 1 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701. Hours: Mon-Sat 8am-5pm. Calls only.