Replacement starts with the old tops coming off and ends with a slab you picked in Austin, set by the same crew. We handle Killeen kitchens along the I-35 corridor in Bell County, including rental and owner occupied houses from the 1990s and 2000s.
Killeen sits in Bell County on the I-35 corridor, and a lot of the kitchens we walk into still have the original laminate, builder tile, or thin stone that went in during the 1990s and 2000s. Replacement means we remove that surface, protect the cabinets, check the boxes, and put a real slab on top. You pick the actual slab off a real Austin slab floor with 299 lots, then our crew templates, fabricates, and installs it. One crew does the job start to finish.
Because Killeen has a large military connected rental market, not every job needs a showpiece. We work with a slab selection and fabrication partner for rental grade and flip grade stone, so a rental does not have to pay for a high end lot. Owner occupied houses can still pick granite, quartzite, engineered quartz, marble, dolomite, soapstone, porcelain slabs, or semi precious on the Austin floor. Sink cutout and sink set are included in the fabrication work.
We do not guess at a number on this page. If you want a straight quote, call (512) 297-7493 or email info@atxgraniteking.com. We are reachable seven days a week. Dates come in writing with the quote, not as a promise of a calendar window. The rest of this page covers tear out, backsplash, cabinets, sequencing, material tradeoffs, and how the crew actually runs the job in Killeen.
We pull laminate, tile, or dated stone without treating the cabinets as disposable. In most Killeen houses from the 1990s and 2000s the boxes are still serviceable even when the tops are not. Glue, clips, and leftover thinset come off. The deck gets cleaned so the new slab has a flat seat. If a box is soft or out of level, we tell you before fabrication.
The same people who template also fabricate and install. You are not handed off between a sales office, a shop you never see, and a subcontracted setter. Templating happens after tear out so the measurements match the real cabinets, not the old laminate overhang. Fabrication includes the sink cutout and sink set. Install is the same crew setting seams, supporting overhangs, and cleaning up.
Stone comes from a direct importer slab floor in Austin with 299 lots on the floor. You walk it and pick the actual piece, not a sample chip. Granite, quartzite, engineered quartz, marble, dolomite, soapstone, porcelain slabs, and semi precious are on that floor. For rentals and flips we use partner lots so you are not forced into a showpiece. Call for a straight quote.
Kitchen countertop replacement is a tear out plus a new slab, not a cosmetic overlay. In Killeen the existing surface is usually laminate glued to particle board, ceramic tile on thinset, or older stone from a prior remodel. We remove that surface down to the cabinet boxes. Particle board decks made for laminate often stay if they are sound. Tile jobs usually leave thinset that has to be scraped so the new slab sits flat. Dated stone comes off in pieces. The new work is a fabricated slab you picked in Austin, cut to the run, with sink cutout and sink set included.
What happens to the backsplash is a separate decision, not an automatic match. A short laminate splash glued to the wall usually comes off with the tops. Tile splash that runs high can stay if you want it, but the new slab has a different thickness and edge, so the joint at the wall will look like a joint. Full height stone splash is extra fabrication and extra weight on the boxes. Drywall behind a short splash will show once the old splash is gone. Plan the splash before we template so the wall edge is cut once.
Cabinets stay in place in most replacement jobs. We do not rebuild kitchens. The boxes have to be fastened, reasonably level, and strong enough to carry stone. Overhangs need support, especially at seating. Soft particle board, missing screws, and racks that were never meant for stone are problems we flag on site. If a run is twisted, the seam will telegraph that twist. Replacement does not magically straighten a cheap box. Appliances usually stay until the new tops are ready, then the dishwasher, range, and sink come out for the swap. Plumbing disconnect and reconnect is your plumber unless we agree otherwise in writing with the quote.
Sequence matters because stone is cut from a physical slab, not from a guess. First you pick the lot on the Austin floor, or we point you to the rental grade partner if the house is a flip or a rental in the Killeen military connected market. Then we schedule tear out and template together so we measure the real cabinets after the old tops are gone. Measuring over laminate overhangs is how shops cut stone that does not fit. After template, the shop fabricates. Seams, sink location, cooktop cutout, and edge profile are locked at that point. Changes after the saw has run mean a new piece.
Fabrication is cutting, polishing edges, cutting the sink, and drilling faucet holes to the template. Sink cutout and sink set are included. Undermount sinks need a polished cutout and a dry fit. Drop in sinks are simpler but they show a rim. Cooktop cutouts are done to the manufacturer opening, not to a generic hole. We do not cut cooktops or sinks on the job if they can be done in the shop. Porcelain slabs and some quartzites are harder on tools and slower to edge. Marble edges chip more easily. Those are shop realities, not sales lines. The crew gives dates in writing with the quote. We do not rush the saw.
Install day is the set. Stone comes in on A-frames. Seams get dry fitted, then epoxied and clamped. Overhangs get brackets if the boxes cannot carry the load. The sink gets set as part of the included work. We level, we fill small gaps at the wall, and we wipe the job. Old material leaves the house. You still need a plumber to hook the faucet and drain, and you still need to seal granite, marble, dolomite, and most quartzite after the dust settles. Engineered quartz is generally non porous and usually needs no sealing. We are not your painter or tile setter. Field tile splash comes after our set.
Granite is a natural igneous stone that is generally hard and heat tolerant, but porous enough to want sealing. Spots and pits are part of the rock. 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 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. Ask to see the actual lot, not the name on the tag.
Tear out is dusty and loud. Laminate usually comes off clean. Tile does not. Thinset on plywood or particle board can take real time to grind, and it can damage a weak deck. If we find rotten substrate, the job pauses until someone rebuilds the run. That is a downside, not a surprise we hide. Old stone is heavy and can crack cabinets on the way out if the boxes were never blocked. Seam placement is a compromise between slab size, vein direction, and your sink. You will see a seam on a long Killeen galley that is typical of 1990s and 2000s plans. We do not promise an invisible joint.
Soapstone is softer and will scratch and darken with oil. Some people like that. If you want a frozen shine, skip it. Porcelain slabs are thin, hard, and can snap if the cabinets are hollow or the overhang is greedy. Semi precious slabs are show pieces with resin fill and they do not belong on a rental. Dolomite sits between marble and quartzite in how it behaves, and it can still etch. Heat from a slow cooker left on engineered quartz can scorch the resin. Trivets are not optional on quartz. Pick the stone for how the kitchen is used, not for a photo of a slab.
Start with the house, not the slab photo. A 1990s or 2000s Killeen kitchen in Bell County often has a short run, a peninsula, and cabinets that were built for laminate. If the boxes are square and fastened, stone is a reasonable next step. If doors are falling off and the toe kicks are wet, spend the money on cabinets first. Replacement stone on failing boxes is wasted work. For a military connected rental, the honest path is usually partner lots for rental grade stone, a simple edge, and keeping tile splash if it still looks intact. Owner occupied kitchens can pick a better lot from the 299 on the Austin floor.
Match material to abuse. If the kitchen sees hot pans off the burner, granite or quartzite is generally the safer indoor choice, with sealing as ongoing work. If you want low upkeep and you will use trivets, engineered quartz is usually the cleaner top. If you want marble, accept etch as normal, not as a defect. Do not pick marble for a rental turnover. Do not pick quartz for a west facing outdoor bar. Porcelain can work when you need a thin look, but the support has to be right. Soapstone fits a hard use top that you are willing to sand and oil. Semi precious is decoration.
Decide splash and sink before template. A new undermount sink changes the cabinet, the plumbing, and the cutout. Keeping a drop in sink is simpler and uglier. Keeping a tile splash saves a trade but leaves a thickness mismatch at the deck. A short stone splash is cleaner at the joint and still leaves paint or tile above. Full height stone hides the wall and adds weight and seams. In small Killeen galleys, full height splash can make the room feel tighter. None of these choices are made on install day. They are made when you pick the slab and we write the quote. Call (512) 297-7493 for a straight quote.
Call or email. Phone is (512) 297-7493. Email is info@atxgraniteking.com. We are reachable seven days a week. Tell us the city is Killeen, what is on the cabinets now, whether the house is a rental or owner occupied, and whether the sink and splash stay. Photos of the runs, the seams in the old top, and the inside of a base cabinet help. We do not quote from a square foot guess on a website. You come to the Austin slab floor and pick a real lot, or we send you to the rental grade partner when that is the right fit. Then we talk tear out, template, and set as one crew job.
The quote is the place where dates appear. The crew gives dates in writing with the quote. That is the only schedule language we use. Access in Killeen is usually a driveway and a standard door, but tight garages and upstairs laundry rooms that share a wall with the kitchen can change how we stage A-frames. We will say if a piece cannot make a turn. You handle plumbing disconnect unless the quote says otherwise. You or your cabinet person handle any box repairs we flagged. We handle tear out of the tops, haul off, template, fabrication including sink cutout and sink set, and install. Other trades stay in their lanes.
After the set, granite, marble, dolomite, soapstone, and most quartzite still want sealer in most cases. Engineered quartz generally does not. We are not on a maintenance contract. You wipe stone with mild soap, not with bleach on marble, not with oil soap on quartz. If a seam prints after a season of sun on a window run, that is the resin, not a hidden defect we can wish away. If you chip an edge with a cast iron pan, that is use. Call us if a piece actually fails at a seam or a cutout. For the number on the job, there is one path. Call for a straight quote.
$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.
No. Cabinets stay. We remove the old tops and set new slabs on the existing boxes if those boxes are fastened and strong enough. Soft particle board, missing stretchers, or a peninsula with no support will need work before stone goes on. That work is not automatic. If the boxes were built for laminate in a 1990s or 2000s Killeen house, they often take stone after we add support at overhangs. If they are rotting, replacement of the tops will not save them. We tell you on template day, before the slab is cut.
A short laminate splash usually comes off with the tops and leaves a strip of unfinished wall. Tile splash can stay, but the new slab thickness will not match the old laminate or tile deck, so you will see a ledge or a caulk joint. Stone splash is extra material and extra fabrication, not a free continuation of the deck. If the drywall tears, that is a paint or board repair on your side. Plan the splash before we template. We will not invent a finished wall that is not there.
We do not give a day count. The crew gives dates in writing with the quote. Tear out and template wait until you have picked a slab on the Austin floor or through the rental grade partner. Fabrication waits on the saw and on the actual template. Install waits on fabrication. Same day and next day work is not something we offer. If you need a kitchen back before a move in, say that when you call and we will tell you honestly whether the calendar works. Call (512) 297-7493 for a straight quote.
You still choose a real lot, but it does not have to be a showpiece. We work with a slab selection and fabrication partner for rental grade and flip grade stone. That is the point of the partner. A military connected rental in Bell County does not need bookmatched quartzite. You should still see what you are buying, because even rental lots vary in pit, resin, and color. Engineered quartz is generally the lower upkeep choice for turnovers because it is non porous. Granite will need sealing. Thin remnants will not span a weak peninsula.
Sink cutout and sink set are included in the fabrication work. Bring the actual sink to template or have it on site so the hole matches. Undermount sinks need a solid cabinet and a polished opening. Drop in sinks are easier and they show a rim. Faucet holes are drilled to your faucet, not to a guess. We do not supply the sink unless the quote says we do. Plumbing hookup is still your plumber. If the sink arrives late, fabrication waits. That delay is on the sink, not on the crew.
Tell us the rooms, the rough square footage and what you have in mind for kitchen countertop replacement in killeen. You get a number for the whole job, in writing, before anyone cuts anything.