Replacing your kitchen countertops is a delicate undertaking. It involves a few steps and many other decisions to get the job done. Every step involves deliberations regarding the requirements and budget. For starters, you require a quote from the fabricator for various types of materials to replace your countertops with. This quote is greatly dependent on the square footage of the countertop materials required for which proper measuring of your kitchen tops is needed. Fabricators generally provide agents to measure the countertops. But that’s when you have chosen the types and colors of your countertops and are about to put them in order. But to get an estimate for expense or to verify pricing from different fabricators, you may need to measure your countertops yourself.
Here is a complete guide on how to measure kitchen countertops for replacement.
Tools for Taking Kitchen Countertop Measurements
Following are the necessary tools for measuring your countertops correctly. These are common tools and are easily available in every house.
- A pen and a piece of paper (graphing paper preferred) to note down numbers
- A measuring tape to get readings
- A calculator to crunch the numbers and give proper square footage
Step by Step Guide for Measuring Kitchen Countertops
Step 1
Take the paper and drawn a to-scale diagram of the area for countertops including, Kitchen Island, backsplash, sink, bar sink, and cooktop areas. All surface areas should be included as the cutouts for the sink, cooktop, etc, are done during installation.
Step 2
Using the measuring tape take the wall to wall length of the countertop in inches. Make sure not to take the edge-to-edge measurements and note them all on paper according to the diagram and then re-measure to double-check for accuracy.
Step 3
Now, start measuring the depth starting from the wall to the front. A standard countertop’s depth measures 24 inches. If you are partial to granite countertops, add 1.5 inches to your depth measurement as they have some overhang. So with the standard depth, your countertop measurement would become 25.5 inches.
Step 4
Remember to decide and measure the height you want for the backsplash. You may choose affordable 4 inches or the more common 15 inches or up to the full height of your upper cabinets. Keep in mind the height will affect your estimate.
Step 5
It’s time to calculate the total square footage required for your countertop replacement. Here is the formula for it:
- Total square footage = Surface area/144
- Where surface area = length x depth
So, suppose your values for length and depth are 130 inches and 25.5 inches respectively;
Then surface area = 130 x 25.5 inches = 3315 inches
And, total square footage for countertop = 3315 / 144 = 23.020 sq. ft.
The same formula is used to measure the square footage for the backsplash but the depth is replaced for height;
So, let backsplash height = 15 inches
Surface area = Length x Height = 130 x 15 inches = 1950 inches
And, total square footage for backsplash = 1950 / 144 = 13.541 sq. ft.
With these simple steps, you can easily get accurate measurements for your countertop replacement and obtain a quick quote from your fabricator.
Kitchen Express
If you have not yet found a contractor to handle your kitchen remodel, allow us to help. Here at Kitchen Express, we have remodeled hundreds of kitchens over several decades. The most important part of a kitchen remodel is to make sure that you have all the right measurements for the room. If you are unsure of your ability to accurately take and record measurements for your new kitchen design, let us help you out! we offer full kitchen remodeling services, including everything from cabinets, to countertops, and backsplash. Contact us today for more information on having your kitchen remodeled!
