What should I check before buying a countertop fabrication business?

A countertop fabricator cuts, polishes and installs stone, quartz and similar slab for kitchens and baths. A buyer can examine a few places: heavy equipment, slab on the floor, a trained crew and the flow of jobs from dealers and builders. Each can look fine in a summary and turn out differently on the shop floor, so ask to see them in person.

Equipment and the shop floor

Ask for the list of saws, CNC machines, polishing and edge equipment, with age, service records and any repairs that are overdue. Watch a working day if the seller allows it. Ask how the shop manages dust and water, what protective practices the crew follows and whether any worker complaints or inspections have come up. Your lawyer and the relevant regulator can tell you what applies.

Slab inventory and suppliers

Slab is expensive to hold and easy to damage. Ask what is on hand, which jobs it is reserved for, who owns it and what the supplier terms are. A count at closing, done together with the seller, avoids disputes later. Ask whether supplier accounts and any credit arrangements stay in place after a sale.

From template to install

Follow a few recent jobs from measurement to finished install. Ask who templates, who programs the machines, who installs and how long customers wait. Ask how often work is remade, what caused it and how warranty callbacks are tracked and paid for. Ask whether the shop records these things.

Customers and the crew

Find out which kitchen dealers, builders and renovators bring the work, and whether any of them could leave if the owner does. Ask which fabricators and templaters hold the skills, and whether they plan to stay. For a wider checklist, see what to check about financial records.