The kitchen is the heart of many homes in Australia, and the benchtop is an undersung hero in the house. 

Replacing an old countertop is a difficult task so hiring a professional to install your next kitchen benchtop has plenty of benefits. 

• What do kitchen benchtop installers do?
• The most common benchtop materials
• How much does it cost to hire a kitchen benchtop installer?
• How to hire a reputable local kitchen benchtop installer
• Getting quotes from kitchen benchtop installers

What do kitchen benchtop installers do?

Put simply, they’ll put a new benchtop into your home. You might hire someone just to do this (for example in a new build) but often they’ll be involved in other tasks like removing the old benchtop, too. 

Benchtop installers can be brought in at the design stage to give their advice – letting you know how you can get the most out of your space in ways you might not have considered. They’ll take measurements, recommend benchtop materials and can also be consulted on colours. 

One of the key factors of installing a kitchen benchtop is doing so with as few joins as possible. This helps protect the counter, leading to a longer lifespan for your renovation. 

The most common benchtop materials

There are lots of different materials that you can choose for your kitchen. Each has a different look, feel and price tag. 

At the lower end of the cost scale, you have choices like laminate and tile, while the higher end has timber and natural stones like granite and marble. If you’re opting for the latter, speaking to a stonemason is an option, too. 

Other common benchtop materials include engineered stone and stainless steel.

How much does it cost to hire a kitchen benchtop installer?

When it comes time to install a new kitchen benchtop, you can pay hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on the look you want. 

The cost of a kitchen benchtop depends greatly on the material you use. A laminate benchtop starts from $120 per sq/m, whereas a hardwood benchtop comes in at $1200 per sq/m and a natural stone option can be $2200 or more per sq/m. 

How to hire a reputable local kitchen benchtop installer

The difference between a well-installed and hastily done benchtop is huge. From the strength of the joins to the precision when working with corners, a professional job will look much better and last much longer. 

When you look for a kitchen benchtop installer near you, make sure you do you research to find out:

• What their experience is like with the material you’ve bought
• What their previous work looks like 
• What level of insurance they have
• If they have any references you can check

You can do a lot of this research online, in store or over the phone, but hipages has made it a lot easier. Simply post your job details and we’ll connect you with three qualified installers. You’ll be able to speak to each and look at their profiles to read reviews and see photos of previous jobs. 

Getting quotes from kitchen benchtop installers

After you’ve chosen who you’re going to work with, it’s important to finalise a quote. 

Make sure you get this in writing so there’s no confusion over what to expect to be done. From a simple installation job to one that requires measurements and disposal of your old countertop, there’s a lot of range in what can be included. You don’t want to wait until after the job is completed to find out you’re not getting what you expected.