Temecula Custom Countertops is a trusted specialist in kitchen countertop replacement in Temecula, CA and across Riverside County, specializing in granite, quartz and porcelain slab tops. We offer full countertop tear-out and replacement on sound cabinets and new backsplash work to match.
Get a free measure or a bid
Or call (951) 466-2371. Calls only, we do not receive text messages.
Our team provides sink, faucet and cooktop reconnection, delivering finished kitchens for both residential and commercial projects. Our own crew handles the template, and we lay out the seam layout on your chosen slab before any cut is made in the shop.
From lifting a tile top off a 1990s kitchen to setting the cooktop back in its opening, our team handles every detail. Serving Temecula, French Valley and Canyon Lake, we book a free measure first and plan the rest around what we find under the old top.
How we work
Homeowners get a free measure. Wineries, restaurants, offices and builders get a bid from their drawings.
Most kitchens that call us for a replacement were built in the 1990s or 2000s, when Temecula grew quickly and a whole generation of tract homes went up with the same builder-grade finishes. The boxes from that era are often in better shape than the tops sitting on them. The question that decides the job is whether the cabinets underneath can carry stone.
At the measure we look for three things. The cabinet run should be level from end to end, because stone does not flex the way laminate does and a low corner becomes a stress point. The boxes should be sound, with no swollen particleboard under the sink and no sagging rails. And the base should be fixed to the wall, not floating on a toe kick that has shifted.
Cabinets that pass stay exactly where they are, and that is the saving in this kind of job. Cabinets that fail are better replaced first, because new stone on a weak box is a crack waiting to happen.
Old tops come off in different ways depending on what they are. A glued laminate top pries away from the cabinet in sections. A tiled top is chiselled up, and the grout lines and mortar bed come with it. An older stone slab is lifted whole, which takes more hands and more care around the walls.
The backsplash is where homeowners are usually surprised. A tile or stone top is normally set with a matching tiled splash that runs up the wall, and removing the top tends to take part of that wall surface with it. Plan on the backsplash coming out with the top, and plan the new one as part of the same job rather than as an afterthought.
Old material is hauled away, and the wall is left ready for the new splash.
Where the wall behind an old splash has been damaged, we flag it at the measure, so a drywall patch and fresh paint are part of the plan and not a surprise on the day.
A replacement touches every fixture that sits in the top, so it helps to know the order of events before the crew arrives.
The faucet and drain are disconnected before the old top comes out, and the sink is either lifted away or released from its clips. An undermount sink is mounted to the underside of the new stone with its own support, so the new cutout is made to the exact size of the bowl you are keeping or the one you are buying.
Faucets, sprayers, soap dispensers and filtered water taps are set back once the stone is in. Older shutoff valves are worth replacing while the cabinet is empty, and we flag any that look tired.
A slide-in range needs no cutout, but a drop-in cooktop needs an opening cut to the manufacturer's template. We work from your appliance's specification sheet so the opening matches the unit, not a guess.
We disconnect and reconnect the water side of the sink. Gas and electrical hookups at the cooktop stay with a licensed trade of your choosing, and we coordinate the day. One more choice comes up at this stage: drop-in or undermount. A drop-in sink has a rim that sits on top of the stone, and that rim collects grime where it meets the counter. An undermount hangs below the cutout, so a wipe carries crumbs straight into the bowl. If your current sink is a drop-in and you would like the cleaner look, tell us at the measure, because the cutout is made to suit the choice.
Replacing a top is the moment to fix whatever annoyed you about the old one. Granite, quartz and porcelain slab each solve a different complaint.
Granite is a natural stone that takes a fine polish, tolerates heat and has long been a popular countertop choice in the United States. It needs sealing at intervals, and a quick water drop test on the surface shows when the sealer has worn. Quartz is engineered stone made of ground quartz and resin, so it is non-porous and needs no sealing, but its resin does not like a hot pan set down straight from the burner. Porcelain slab is thin, hard and stain resistant, which suits a modern kitchen with a clean edge.
Water matters here. The Rancho California Water District reports average hardness near 230 mg/L in its imported water, and mineral film builds up around a sink and faucet. That is a point in favour of quartz around the sink, or a well-sealed granite that you wipe dry, over an etch-prone stone such as marble.
The slab itself is chosen at the supplier's yard, where you see the whole piece rather than a sample square.
If the top coming out is first-generation granite from a 2000s kitchen, the stone itself is rarely the complaint. The usual complaints are a dull finish, a seam sitting where the old template put it, or a rimmed sink that traps dirt. A fresh slab with a better seam layout and an undermount sink answers all three at once.
Details decide whether a new top feels like an upgrade or a patch. The edge profile is the first. A straight eased edge looks current and cleans easily, a rounded edge softens a busy family kitchen, and a built-up edge reads as a thicker slab without the weight of one.
Overhangs come next. Seating at an island or peninsula needs support under any stone that extends well past the cabinet. We mark where brackets or corbels go so they are decided at the measure and not improvised on install day.
Finally, levelling. When a cabinet run has drifted over twenty or thirty years, we shim it so the new top sits flat and the seams close tight. A seam that opens a hairline later is almost always a levelling problem, not a stone problem, so we treat the cabinet run as part of the job.
The first visit is the free measure. We check the cabinets, note every cutout, photograph the existing walls and talk through the material you are leaning toward.
Next we template the finished cabinets and mark the sink, cooktop and any outlets in the splash. You choose your slab at the supplier's yard, and we lay out the seams on that exact piece so veining runs the way you want. Once you approve the layout, the stone is cut wet in the shop and prepared for the install.
On install day the old top and splash come out, the cabinets are checked and shimmed, and the new pieces are set, seamed and sealed where the material needs it. The sink and faucet are reconnected, the cooktop is set, and the crew cleans up before leaving. Your date is set at the measure and written on the quote.
As a guide from industry ranges, a typical kitchen countertop replacement is estimated at roughly $2,500 to $6,000, with larger kitchens and premium slabs sitting above that. Where your job lands inside the range depends on a handful of things you can see at the measure.
These are estimates and subject to change with slab prices and what the measure turns up. The written quote sets the final price, and the free measure is the way to get one.
The process
No stone is cut until you have seen the slab and signed off on where the seams go.
Tell us the room and the material you have in mind. Businesses and builders send drawings for a bid.
You choose the slab at the supplier, and we mark where each seam and cut will fall for your approval.
We measure on your installed cabinets, then cut, edge and polish the tops in the shop.
The same crew sets the tops, mounts the sink, closes the seams and cleans up before leaving.
Service area
Questions
Usually yes. If the run is level, the boxes are sound and the base is fixed to the wall, new stone sits on them. We check all three at the free measure.
Normally, yes. A tile or stone top is set with its own splash, and removing the top tends to damage that wall surface. We plan the new backsplash into the job.
Yes. We handle the water side of the sink and faucet. Gas and electrical hookups at a cooktop stay with the licensed trade you choose, and we coordinate around them.
Granite, quartz or porcelain slab all go over the same cabinets. The right one depends on how you cook, how much you want to maintain and how your water treats a surface.
It leaves a mineral film around the sink and faucet on any surface. Quartz and sealed granite wipe clean easily, while a soft natural stone such as marble can etch.
Yes. You pick it at the supplier's yard, and we lay out the seams on that exact piece before cutting.
Often, if it is in good shape. An undermount sink is remounted to the new stone, and we cut the opening to the bowl you are keeping.
Yes. We measure, check the cabinets and talk through materials, and the written quote follows.
Yes. Access is a pricing factor, so we ask about gates, drives and parking at the measure.
A free measure for homeowners, and a written bid from drawings for businesses and builders.
Licensed, bonded & insured · License #585047. Calls only, we do not receive text messages.
