Preparing for templating you will need to have everything that will be in your  new kitchen on hand, including your new sink, faucets, stove, cooktop, appliance garages, and anything else which will have an effect on the countertops. If your contractor is installing a countertop-to-cabinet backsplash, your upper cabinets will need to be installed.

Make sure that your existing countertops are completely clean and cleared of all appliances. Your contractor or fabricator will arrive to make templates, either of wooden strips glued together, or rigid plastic cut to fit, or photo templates. They will likely want to see the sink which you will be using and the faucets, to know what size holes to cut for them, as well as for cooktops. A disition maker must be present for this stage. A normal template should take around two hours.

all the plumbing and electrical work in your kitchen must be completed. If a backsplash is being installed, any under-cabinet lighting requiring direct-wiring behind the walls will need to be finished. The plumbing for your new sink(s), and any extras like one-touch boiling water, should be ready to go. You should have all the mounting hardware for your sink(s).

Make sure that the kitchen is clean, that the floor is clear of obstacles all the way from the door to the kitchen, and that the area is well-lighted. If the installer is doing demolition of the old countertops, bear in mind that this can be a dusty affair. You may wish to seal off other rooms in the house with painters' plastic. Designate an area for garbage and debris.

Though, the possibilities are limitless, and completely unique, custom edges can even be created. “Premium” edges were originally more expensive because they took much longer to fabricate. But with CNC ultimately making an ogee edge as easy to carve as a straight edge, we should see the price of premium edges decrease.

The Thickness of the countertop makes a difference in which edge profiles are available, and which look best. The standard kitchen countertop is 1 ¼” (30 millimeters) thick. Luxury countertops are cut 2 ¼” (40 millimeters) thick. Some economy countertops are ¾” (20 millimeters) thick, supported underneath by a layer of medium density fiberboard. Bathroom vanities are typically ¾” thick.

Profiles don't look good on ¾” (20mm) countertops, and aren't as strong. For ¾” bath vanities, it's best to choose a basic edge profile. If you've chosen an economical ¾” kitchen countertop, and still desire a complex profile, you may be able to choose a 20+20 edge option, which is a strip of stone molding glued to the underside of the countertop edge, therefore providing the illusion of a 2 ¼” (40mm) slab. However, this often costs enough extra that a 1 ¼” (30mm) countertop with a premium edge could be purchased for the same amount.