Kitchen refits are one of the most common home improvement projects in the UK — and one of the most common causes of surface damage to new worktops. Even a carefully managed installation can result in chips, scratches and marks on expensive new stone or quartz surfaces. Here’s how to manage and resolve worktop damage that occurs during or immediately after a kitchen refit.
Why New Worktops Get Damaged During a Refit
A kitchen refit involves multiple trades — kitchen fitters, plumbers, electricians, tilers — working in a confined space, often handling heavy materials close to new surfaces. Common causes of installation-phase damage include:
- Tool bags placed on worktops
- Drills or chisels slipping during fixing
- Pipe or cable runs laid across the worktop surface
- Undersink cabinet fitting causing edge chips
- Hob installation chips at the cutout edge
- Protective film removed too early
Whose Responsibility Is Installation Damage?
Damage caused during installation is the installer’s liability. Document any damage with photographs as soon as it’s discovered. If the damage is identified during the installation itself (not after the fitter has left), show it to them immediately and request it be added to a defects list before sign-off.
Kitchen fitting companies routinely use surface repair specialists to resolve installation damage rather than replacing expensive worktops — this is quicker, cheaper and less disruptive. If your fitter offers to arrange a repair, check that it will be carried out by a professional surface repair specialist.
Hob Cutout Chips
Chips at the hob cutout are particularly common — the cutout edge is unsupported and relatively thin, making it vulnerable during the cutting process and during hob installation. Chips at the interior cutout edge can often be repaired and are largely concealed by the hob frame once fitted. Chips at the outer visible edge of the cutout need professional repair.
Scratch Marks From Tools and Appliances
Metal tools dragged across quartz or granite leave metallic scuff marks that look like scratches but are actually deposits of metal on the stone surface. These can often be removed by careful cleaning before they’re assumed to be permanent scratches. True scratches into the stone require abrasive polishing or specialist treatment.
Get New Worktop Damage Repaired
Send photographs of the damage for a free, no-obligation estimate. We work with homeowners directly and with kitchen fitting companies to resolve installation damage quickly and professionally.
