What Makes a Good Installation?
Peter J. Marcucci
Special Contributor
Typically fabrication shops attract business by knocking on doors, investing in signage or launching ad hoc media campaigns.
Some also opt to construct lavish showrooms of retina-dazzling collages of light, cutting-edge furniture, eclectic wall art, and elements of Pop Culture designs in stone, creating an environment rich in atmosphere, inspiration and motivation—all in pursuit of getting the contract inked.
Navigating our indelibly changed business climate can be daunting, yet everyday thousands of shops continue to compete for market share as well as strive to streamline production to realize a profit. Contracts won and lost over seemingly trivial numbers combined with barely legible margins in some regions, do make it tough but not impossible to grow and prosper. But mistakes cost money and can sometimes damage a reputation, and if they can be avoided, all the better. Truly knowledge is power.
So, Slippery Rock Gazette set out to interview three outstanding individuals representing three successful business models. All are longtime experts in production, all have raised the level of the art, and all were asked one question: What Makes a Good Installation?
- Linda Stelmaszyk, President, Stoneshop, Cherryhill, New Jersey
- Enrique Marchesani, Production Manager, First Coast Granite and Marble, Jacksonville, Florida
- Ron Brown, Owner, Artistic Granite and Marble, Nicholasville, Kentucky
Linda Stelmaszyk, Stoneshop: You cannot expect a good installation unless you have managed all the processes leading up to it. From the first contact with the customer until you hand them the care package and collect the check, the overall experience is what will be remembered.
We have miserably failed on installations, i.e. broken tops, yet ultimately our customer was understanding and satisfied when we fixed the problem efficiently and quickly.
What we find in order for our installations to be good ones is to manage expectations from the start. The realistic price of stone fabrication, the limitations of marble and limestone, and the cost of engineered stone should all be discussed with clients.
Most of our customers want to be part of the process, as countertops are the focal point of many kitchens. Our more adventurous clients are spending quite a bit of money to choose unique stone and are very concerned that they look and perform as they expect.
We make sure they know where seams will be, how they will look, how movement in the stone will be managed and where we can avoid undesirable sections of slabs. We make sure they know when we are dealing with resinated products that it may be difficult to edge finish.
We tell them if access to their job will make it impossible to get that giant island in the house. We tell them about how marble is marvelous but generally delicate. We tell them to expect some dirt and dust and maybe even damage to walls or cabinets. We give them a “What To Expect” list so there won’t be any surprises.
Of course, we hope that every installation goes as planned, that all pieces fit, that there is no collateral damage and that nothing breaks. But if any of those things happen and we have been upfront with clients through the whole process, they are understanding and accept that we did our best and we will ultimately make it a good installation.
If this question was answered from the perspective of our installation manager, a good installation would be accomplished with experienced installers using proper delivery and material handling equipment, sufficient tools and materials for onsite issues, and a finished product that is templated to perfection and manufactured to exactly the correct specifications. This is the hallmark of professionals; anything less is a recipe for disaster, economically for the fabricator and practically for the homeowner.
Enrique Marchesani, First Coast Granite and Marble: At the beginning, the job is sold and all information is confirmed. Material is then approved, payment is requested, templating is scheduled, and the production process begins.
Our template person then arrives at the customer’s home at the scheduled time to make hard templates or take measurements. When the layout is confirmed, the template man then assures that all tops will fit into elevators, go up stairs, or fit around corners of the home. We prefer to use templates because it allows our customers to approve overhangs, as well as allow the homeowner to come to our shop afterward to see the templates placed on their slabs.
Saw cutting then begins while CNC machines perform all sink cutouts as well as drilling holes to insure that everything is accurate from the beginning.
Once the tops are machined, hand fabrication begins. Edges, touchups and hand cutting is now performed and seams machined to insure that any chips are gone so the seam is as fine as it can be. During this time the installation date has also been scheduled for the convenience of the homeowner, usually 10 days prior to installation.
On the day of installation, the crew arrives, introduces themselves, and then evaluates the area to insure that all countertops can be brought into the home with no major issues. When this is confirmed, they will bring in all sinks, faucets, cabinets [if applicable] and counter tops as well as any additional items needed to complete the job.
Tools are also brought in at this point and neatly placed on cardboard to protect the floor. They then make sure that the cabinets are secure and level and, if needed, make any adjustments.
All countertops are then put in place, and the cook top cutout is marked out, with final cutting performed outdoors. Any undrilled fixture holes are also confirmed and drilled out at this time.
When all tops are secured, sinks are mounted with sink clips and additionally secured with liquid nail to insure that vibrations from the disposal never shake the sink loose. The installation crew then clean all the countertops and seals them. Upon completion, the installers clean up all areas they worked in and remove all trash they accumulated.
We have been in the granite countertop business for eleven years and continue to improve our techniques year after year. Our staff also works hard to insure that all homeowners and builders are satisfied with their choices.
Ron Brown, Artistic Granite and Marble: From the get-go, what makes a good installation is a really good job of templating, because if the pieces don’t fit well and the seams don’t match up, the best installer in the world isn’t going to make it turn out to be a good job.
So, it seems to me the most important thing is just getting it right from the beginning. We use a laser templater and are able to get countertop dimensions very accurate as compared to hard templates from sticks.
As far as our installation crew, those first ten minutes at the client’s home are crucial and the men take the time to shake the person’s hand and make sure that the client feels comfortable with them before they begin the installation.
There are some clients who can’t be happy with any installation, and what we try to do is identify those types of people early. You can usually tell who the difficult ones are when they are selecting material or when we are templating, so we just alert the installation crew to be even more courteous and friendly than normal.
My lead installer is a very good people person. He’s friendly and courteous and will take his time and not rush at all. He knows how to work with the type of client who wants to look over your shoulder for 3 or 4 hours and not leave your side and is able to deal with it and not get nervous.
He’s also really good at setting the client’s mind at ease, and once the client feels like they have quality people doing the work, they usually lighten up and just let the crew do their job. He’s been with me for over twenty years and has extensive knowledge with cabinets and woodworking and things like that, and that is a big advantage.
Also, many times, especially with remodels, we’ll find cabinets so badly out of level that there is no way to make our countertops look good because we’ll have to use a half inch shim, so we explain the situation to the client, disassemble the cabinets and level them. Sometimes we spend more time adjusting cabinets than we do installing our countertops.
You need to win the client over to your side. Some people are going to find a problem with your work regardless of how good you are, but if you just take your time, answer any question that might arise, and make them feel like they are getting their money’s worth and not cut corners, you lessen your chance of problems.
You also have to be conscious of the fact that you’re in someone’s home and not there to track in dirt or make a lot of dust. Most times hand cutting is done at the shop, but we do drill all holes on-site after placing the faucets and showing the homeowner where we recommend they should be placed.
It gives the homeowner the opportunity to agree before we start drilling. We are careful to keep the dust down and use spray bottles and a shop-vac whenever possible, so we rarely have a problem in that respect.
We also deal with a lot of large islands that are close to one thousand pounds, and if you’re rolling a cart across a hard wood floor, especially across a laminated hardwood floor, you can actually dent and scar it. So in these situations you need to make sure your cart is equipped with pneumatic tires.
It’s so important from the very beginning you get the client on your side before you begin, and if you don’t, if it goes bad, it can go horribly bad, even if the installers are doing a good job.
Peter J. Marcucci has over 25 years of fabrication experience in the stone industry. Send your comments to our Contacts page on SRG website.