The Essential Tools I

The most-effective way for an installer to follow this mantra (in working with stone, not major chords) is to have the right tool kit. A properly equipped toolbox can keep the routine parts of an installation flowing smoothly, while at the same time making it possible to overcome the unexpected difficulty.
For someone just entering the stone-countertop-installation business, compiling a list of necessary tools could make the profession seem like a confusing and expensive task. And that’s before they actually do any work.
The reality of the situation is that gearing up to install stone countertops is a bargain when compared to the potential income a skilled installer can create for himself. In all probability, the first three mistakes an installer makes will set him back more in replacement costs than it took to purchase his entire tool kit. If that’s not motivation to be mistake-free from the start I don’t know what is.
Does that mean a new installer should buy every stone gadget that comes on the market in the odd chance he might use it someday? Absolutely not. The best installers I’ve ever worked with traveled relatively light and wore out the tried and trusted tools they found were effective.
How did they figure out what was necessary and what was fodder for the tool trash heap? By breaking down the art of installation into individual components and mastering the basic tools associated with each task, those installers were able to accurately judge when a new tool was a time-and labor-saving device, and when it was junk.
And thus we have the essentials of a great installation kit.

LIFT AND MOVE
First, consider material handling. There are a number of inventions to make moving stone easier and safer, but in my opinion only three stand out as being effective and affordable – lifting handles, transport carts, and sink saver support bars.
If you don’t have a set of lifting handles for each of your install crews, you’re just plain crazy. The handles allow a person to lift much more than they would be able to by simply grabbing the stone on the bottom and heaving ho. Lifting with handles is also much more back-friendly, as the weight is distributed from the shoulders down and allows the lifter to stand up straight and quit straining a bent back.
I once watched two relatively normal sized guys move a 700-lbs. island into place by using the handles, a feat they never could have done without them. I’m on the small side, and I helped one other guy install a 550 lbs. island with handles.
Granted, using lifting handles is not without risk, especially for the inexperienced. Because the lifting action of the handle is based on gravity, removing the downward pressure for even a split second can cause the countertop piece to slip through. Dust and water on the surface of the stone can accelerate this problem, so it’s imperative your pieces are clean and dry before you move them with handles.
Having a piece drop through your handle is shocking and expensive. At a minimum you’ve got a broken corner. If the piece is a sink or cooktop cutout you could end up with a broken top and a damaged floor.
One of the shops we work with had a piece slip and break the top of an installer’s foot, even with steel-toed boots. That ranks right up there as one of my worst nightmares.
A second point of caution with the lifting handles is the fact that it’s possible to apply a great deal of torque to a piece because of the firm grip each installer has on a particular end of the piece. Although I’ve never snapped a sink piece while using the handles, I’ve heard it can happen if the guys on each end aren’t working in unison. By carefully planning the route for each piece and taking a practice run when you need it, this can be avoided altogether.
The last note on lifting handles is that I don’t advise using them on stairs. There is a possibility the worker at the top of the stairs will not be able to keep his grip on the countertop, putting the install partner at the bottom in great risk.
Even with these precautions I consider lifting handles worth their weight in gold. I would not install without them anymore.
A good transport cart is the next must-have for any installer, in particular one who has to use an elevator while working in a multi-unit tower or walk any distance with countertop pieces.
If you’re planning on moving tall pieces, make sure your cart is weighted on the bottom and the frame is heavy duty. Make sure your route is relatively level to avoid tipping the cart on its back. Your cart should also have a decent width on the wheelbase and relatively soft tires.
The latter is especially important if you are planning on taking the cart inside a house or condo. I’ve seen hard wheels do damage to both laminated wood and vinyl flooring. To make matters worse, some business insurance will not cover this sort of damage, as it wasn’t caused directly by stone.
Sink-saver bars have been on the market long enough to prove their worth, especially as a learning tool for the inexperienced installer. By using sink savers, a handling mistake by a new person doesn’t necessarily mean remaking a piece. This will save you money and help the morale of your employees as they learn how to install.
Sink savers also allow you to take more stone out of each cooktop cutout, thus keeping the mess out of the house.
Sink savers work well, but they can’t act as a cure-all for improperly trained installers. Teaching proper stone-handling techniques is still the best way to avoid broken pieces.

ON THE LEVEL
The second component of installation is leveling and securing the pieces. As would be expected, it’s crucial to have good 2’ and 4’ levels for this process. Buy your crews the best levels you can afford.
A 6’ level is nice, but good ones are expensive. Using a long piece of backsplash or trusted straight edge in combination with your 4’ level is a good solution.
For adjusting the pieces into plane and level, nothing works better than a series of pry bars. I’ve got bars that range in size from 8″ up to your standard 3’ crow bar. The smaller ones get daily use; the larger ones occasional. Having a long-handled pry bar comes in very handy when you’re trying to shim a countertop at the back of an open-topped corner cabinet
In order to work well, the tip of the pry bar will need to taper to a sharp point. Customizing the standard store-bought pry bar may be a pain, but the effort will be well-rewarded when you can adjust large pieces effortlessly.
Prying from the bottom on a large piece creates a lot of single-point stress, so have a reasonable idea about the strength of your material before you start. Pry bars work well on engineered stone and most granite, but I try to avoid using this method on 2cm marble and 2cm granites that are “sugary” or otherwise appear questionable.
Leveling pieces inevitably means dealing with poor cabinetry work as well. The list of woodworking tools that I use on a regular basis includes a circular saw, jig saw, reciprocating saw, router, belt sander, electric planer, RotoZip® and a cordless drill.
Have the appropriate blades, belts and bits for this equipment as well. For your drill, have a full set of bits and different screw heads. You can easily frustrate yourself if you’ve got to remove a screw, but don’t have the right-shaped bit to do it.
Make sure you also carry a countersink just in case you have to add a screw to a potentially visible part of a cabinet. Nothing screams out hack job like a screw head exposed to the world.
You’ll also need a nice set of wood chisels and a set of core drill bits. These normally only see the light of day to drill through the wood at the bottom of a desk grommet hole. But, in a pinch, they can also be used to core out a hole in the underside of a composite sink if a faucet thread isn’t long enough.
Having a full array of shims with you is crucial when trying to level and plane the pieces. My main shim material is wood, but I will on occasion use composite shims as well.
The two most-important features about shims are that they taper to a fine point, and that they’re cut or formed on an even plane. A well-planed shim will make contact with the stone across its entire width, thus offering a nice support section. (For the record, I use Nelson wood shims on a daily basis. They are consistent and bone dry, and they’ve never let me down.)
A hard rubber mallet is a nice thing to have when working with shims on the front edge of the stone. If you need to tap in a shim that’s carrying a substantial load, the mallet is a much-safer alternative than a traditional metal hammer.
My other favorite shim material involves plastic For Sale signs. Readily available at any hardware store, they are cheap, easy to cut, come in a variety of widths, won’t compress, and have a lifespan of something like 14,000 years.
I think it’s also wise to bring along sheets of plywood in various widths. I’m not a fan of large-scale stone raising, but it does happen and it’s best to be prepared. Get into a countertop replacement on a house with a sagging floor and you’ll know what I mean.
Jason Nottestad, a 13-year stone-industry veteran, is co-owner of Wisconsin-based Midwest Template Service.