You pick the slab on a real Austin floor, then one crew templates, fabricates, and installs it in your Harker Heights kitchen. Tear out of laminate, tile, or dated stone is part of the same job sequence, and you get dates in writing with the quote.
Harker Heights sits in Bell County next to Killeen along the US 190 corridor. A lot of the housing stock is newer subdivision homes that are owner occupied, with kitchens that still have the original laminate, builder tile, or a thin first round of stone. Those tops often fail at the seams, stain around the sink, or look dated next to cabinets the owners plan to keep. Replacement here is usually a countertop job, not a full kitchen rebuild. The cabinets stay, the appliances stay unless they have to come out for access, and the new slab sits on the same boxes.
ATX Granite King serves Austin and the I-35 corridor, including Harker Heights. You pick the actual slab off a real Austin slab floor with 299 lots on the floor. Materials handled are granite, quartzite, engineered quartz, marble, dolomite, soapstone, porcelain slabs, and semi precious. Stone comes from a direct importer slab floor in Austin. For rental grade and flip grade stone they work with a slab selection and fabrication partner so a rental does not have to pay for a showpiece slab. Sink cutout and sink set are included in the fabrication work.
This page is about tearing out what is there and putting new stone in its place. The backsplash and the cabinets are the two things that usually decide how clean the job looks when you are done. Sequence matters. Tear out first, then template the empty run, then fabricate, then install. The crew gives dates in writing with the quote. If you want a number, call for a straight quote at (512) 297-7493 or email info@atxgraniteking.com. They are reachable seven days a week.
Laminate, tile, and dated stone come off before the template. The crew pulls the old top, checks cabinet level, and notes boxes that need shimming for a heavier slab. Tile set as a full height splash often leaves thinset that has to be scraped. You see the real cabinet line before anyone cuts stone. That is the point of doing tear out first.
The same crew templates, fabricates, and installs. You are not handing the job from a salesperson to a shop you never meet. Sink cutout and sink set are part of the fabrication work. After you pick the slab on the Austin floor, they cut to the template and set the piece. One crew start to finish.
You pick the actual slab off a real Austin slab floor with 299 lots. Granite, quartzite, engineered quartz, marble, dolomite, soapstone, porcelain, and semi precious are there. For a rental or a flip they work with a partner on rental grade stone so you do not have to take a showpiece. Call for a straight quote when you are ready to pick.
Kitchen countertop replacement is removal of the existing top and installation of a new slab on cabinets that are already there. In most cases the old surface is laminate on particle board, ceramic tile on a mortar bed, or thinner granite from an earlier remodel. Laminate peels at the front edge and swells if water sits at the sink. Tile grout holds dirt and tiles crack where cabinets moved. Dated stone is often a remnant with a thick edge and a poor seam over a dishwasher. The new work is a slab run with fewer seams, a chosen edge, and a sink cutout for the sink you keep or buy.
In Harker Heights, along the US 190 corridor in Bell County, a lot of kitchens sit in newer subdivision houses that are owner occupied. Those houses often still have the first set of counters the builder put in. Laminate and tile were common on those original runs. Owners who stay in the house usually want stone without tearing out boxes that still work. The footprint is a straight run, an L, or a peninsula, with a dishwasher and a sink on the wet wall. Replacement means matching the existing cabinet layout, not redesigning the room. The stone has to clear the refrigerator and sit over the dishwasher correctly.
The backsplash is the open question on almost every replacement. If the old splash was a four inch laminate strip, it comes off with the top and you decide whether the new stone gets a four inch splash, a full height slab splash, or tile later. If the old splash was tile to the cabinets, tearing out the counter can break the bottom row of tile. Some of that tile can be saved. Some cannot. Cabinets that were scribed to an uneven old top may show a gap once a flat slab goes on. Face frames that were nicked by the old tile saw stay nicked. Honest work means saying that before the saw starts, not after.
Sequence is tear out, then template, then fabricate, then install. Templating over the old top is a shortcut that hides high spots, out of square corners, and the real sink center. After the old material is gone, the crew checks that the cabinets are in plane, shims where a box has dropped, and builds a template that matches the walls and the appliances as they sit. Walls in a house are rarely square. The template captures that. Fabrication follows the template, not a drawing made from a tape measure on a finished laminate top. Sink cutout and sink set are included in that fabrication work.
You pick the slab on the Austin floor before or around the template, depending on how you want to work. The lot you choose is the lot that gets cut. Granite is a natural igneous stone that is hard and heat tolerant but porous enough to want sealing. Quartz is engineered from ground stone and resin, is non porous, needs no sealing, and can be damaged by direct heat and by long UV exposure outdoors. Marble is calcium based and etches from acids like lemon and vinegar regardless of sealing. Quartzite is metamorphosed sandstone and is very hard, though some slabs sold as quartzite are softer and behave more like marble.
Install day is when the fabricated pieces come back to the kitchen. The crew dry fits, seaming where a run is longer than a slab or where an L needs a joint, then sets, supports, and sews the seams. The sink goes in the cutout and gets set as part of that work. Old laminate glue, leftover thinset, and any loose build up strips have to be gone or the new stone will rock. Heavy slabs need cabinets that can take the weight. Particle board boxes that were fine under laminate can sag under granite or quartzite. If a box is that far gone, it needs repair before stone goes on, not after a crack shows.
Tear out is messy and it is not reversible. Laminate usually comes up in sheets and leaves glue. Tile often takes the drywall paper with it if the splash was tiled to the counter. Dated stone is heavy and can chip a face frame on the way out if the overhang was tight to a door. Dust gets in drawers if they are not emptied and taped. You should empty the cabinets along the run and pull small appliances. There is a stretch with no working counter. Food prep moves to a table. That is the honest downside of doing the job in a kitchen you still cook in every day.
Harker Heights kitchens in those newer Bell County subdivisions often have builder cabinets never meant to carry a thick granite or quartzite slab on a long peninsula. The boxes can pull out of square if they are not tied together and shimmed. A tile counter built up on backer board changes the finished height. When that sandwich comes off, the new stone sits lower unless you add build up. That lower line can leave a paint scar on the wall. Owners along the US 190 corridor who keep the original boxes need to hear that before they pick slab thickness. Height and weight are not the same problem.
Stone has limits. Granite generally wants sealer because it is porous enough to take oil and wine. Quartz usually needs no sealer but can scorch under a hot pan and can fade in long sun on an outdoor kitchen. Marble will etch. Lemon, vinegar, and tomato leave dull marks even when the slab is sealed. Some quartzite on the market is mislabeled and will etch like marble. Porcelain is hard and thin and needs a well supported cabinet run. Soapstone is softer and will take knife marks. None of that is a reason to skip stone. It is a reason to pick the stone that matches how you cook.
Start with how you use the kitchen. If you cut citrus on the counter and leave wine glasses overnight, marble is a poor fit no matter how it looks on the floor. If you set hot pans down without a trivet, engineered quartz is the wrong bet. Granite is generally the everyday choice for heat and abuse, with the sealing step as the maintenance. Quartzite is usually harder still, with the caveat that some slabs sold under that name are softer. For a rental, skip the showpiece. ATX Granite King works with a slab selection and fabrication partner for rental grade and flip grade stone so a rental does not have to pay for a showpiece slab.
Decide the splash and the edge while you still have the old top in place so you can see the wall. A four inch stone splash is simple and covers the caulk line. Full height slab splash looks continuous and costs more stone and more handling, which is a fabrication fact, not a sales pitch. Tile splash after stone is set is a separate trade. Edge profile changes how thick the top reads and how much of the cabinet face you see. A tight ease edge is quieter. A bigger profile shows more stone and can snag a hip in a narrow Harker Heights galley. Keep the edge honest to the room.
Look at the actual slab, not a photo. Movement, pits, fissures, and resin fill are normal in natural stone. Engineered quartz is more uniform. Porcelain can look like marble without the etch, with the handling care of a large thin panel. Semi precious is a different product. Walk the Austin floor with 299 lots and reject what you do not want. The crew cuts the lot you signed for. If a seam is required, ask where it will fall relative to the sink and the dishwasher. A seam over a dishwasher is a weak idea. A seam in a low movement area of the pattern is usually the better call.
Call (512) 297-7493 or email info@atxgraniteking.com. ATX Granite King is reachable seven days a week. The service area includes Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, Hutto, Jarrell, Salado, Belton, Temple, Killeen, Harker Heights, and the corridor. Harker Heights is on that list. Tell them you are replacing an existing kitchen top, what is on there now, and whether the cabinets stay. Photos of the run, the splash, and the inside of a base cabinet help. They will talk through tear out, template, fabrication, and install as one sequence with one crew. You pick the actual slab off the Austin floor rather than ordering a color name from a sample chip.
The crew gives dates in writing with the quote. There is no same day or next day work on this job because fabrication follows a template taken from your cabinets after tear out. Stone has to be cut, edged, and finished in the shop. If you need a number, the answer is to call for a straight quote. The square foot rate is on this page, and the quote for your job comes from the crew. Do not ask for a range in an email and expect a firm figure without a look at the run, the splash, and the slab. A peninsula, a farm sink, a full height splash, and a simple rectangle are different jobs even in the same house.
Bring the sink decision to the first conversation. Undermount, drop in, or farm changes the cutout and the cabinet support. Sink cutout and sink set are included in the fabrication work, but the sink itself is yours unless you already have one on site. Disconnect of plumbing is usually on you or your plumber. The crew is a countertop crew, not a plumber and not a cabinet shop. If a box needs a new stretcher, say so early. After the stone is on, you recaulk the splash, reset the dishwasher, and start using the kitchen. That is the end of the sequence. Call for a straight quote when you are ready to tear the old top out.
$38 per square foot, cut, measure, and install included. Jobs over 1,000 square feet: $30 per square foot.
Sink cutout and sink set are included in the fabrication work. Non standard work is still quoted before work begins. Send the rough square footage and the rooms involved, or call (512) 297-7493 for a straight quote.
You can, but it is a weaker way to work. The old top hides high corners, a dishwasher that sits proud, and the real wall line. After tear out the crew sees the boxes, shims what has dropped, and templates the empty run. That template is what the shop cuts. Templating over laminate or tile is faster on paper and sloppier on the wall. If you want the stone to fit the kitchen you actually have, tear out comes first. Call for a straight quote and they will set that sequence in writing with the dates.
A four inch laminate splash comes off with the counter. Tile that sits on the old top often loses the bottom row. Thinset and grout stay on the wall and have to be scraped if you want a clean line for stone or new tile. Drywall paper can tear. That is the honest downside. You then choose a short stone splash, a full height slab splash, or tile after the new top is in. None of those choices is made well until the old material is gone and you can see the scar.
Often yes if the boxes are screwed together, sitting on a level floor, and not water damaged at the sink. Particle board that has swollen at the dishwasher or the sink base is a real problem. Granite and quartzite are heavy. A long peninsula without a support panel can sag. The crew checks this after tear out. If a box needs a stretcher or a new deck, that work should happen before stone goes on. This crew fabricates and installs counters. They are not a cabinet shop. Weak boxes are a limitation you fix first.
The crew gives dates in writing with the quote. Fabrication starts after the template, and the template is taken after tear out so the shop is cutting the kitchen you have, not the kitchen the old laminate pretended to be. There is shop time for cutting, edging, and the sink cutout. Install follows when the pieces are done. Anyone quoting a day count before they have seen the run is guessing. Call (512) 297-7493 for a straight quote and the dates that go with it. Email is info@atxgraniteking.com. Reachable seven days a week.
Only if you accept etching. Marble is calcium based and etches from acids like lemon and vinegar regardless of sealing. Sealer does not stop that. It can slow stains. A household that cooks with citrus, tomatoes, and wine will mark a marble top. That is not a defect in the install. It is the stone. Granite is generally harder and more heat tolerant, though porous enough to want sealing. Quartz needs no sealing, but direct heat is a weak point. Pick the material for how you cook, then call for a straight quote.
Tell us the rooms, the rough square footage and what you have in mind for kitchen countertop replacement in harker heights. You get a number for the whole job, in writing, before anyone cuts anything.