Templates Provide Temporary Guidance
Seamstresses will recall the paper patterns from which they cut dress fabric. These were really templates for the dress. Computer users know a template is a guide for a document or a design. Newsletters, flyers and brochures have templates, or patterns, available for creating the final product. When doing a kitchen or bathroom remodeling project, the custom builder follows a blueprint, or a plan that has templates within it.
Especially important in a new kitchen or bath is the countertop. It’s among the last items to go into the remodeled room, but if it doesn’t fit properly, it throws off the entire job. Thus, a template. The template provides the final measurement for the counter top and the location and size of all cut-outs – sink, stove, faucet and any other device or fixture that would be within the countertop. By the time the kitchen or bathroom remodeling project gets to the template stage, the homeowner will have chosen the appliances and the faucets. It’s smart to have the actual fixtures and appliances available on site for the template measurement. The builder should be able to tell whether a single hole is needed for the faucet, or three holes of varying sizes if the faucet has two handles. The template should also indicate any soap dispensers, water dispensers or built-in holders.
Making sure your counter template is exact will insure you get the right size counter. It will avoid any cutting on premises when the counter top is delivered, and you won’t have to fill the tiny gaps that result from mis-measurement once the countertop is installed.
Templates will also be used for frameless glass cupboards in kitchen and bathroom designs, and again, must be accurately measured. It creates the pattern from which the materials will be cut, and it should be exact.