Stone Worktop Terms & Conditions

1. Who we are and who these terms cover

These terms apply to the supply, templating, manufacture, delivery and installation of stone worktops by Rock and Co Granite Ltd, trading as Rock & Co (“we”, “us”), for customers buying mainly for personal or household use. Our contact address is Pin Green Yard, Unit 5 Senate Place, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 4QS. Call 01438 878 013 or use our contact form. Business and trade projects require separately agreed trade terms.

2. Your quotation and contract

We will provide a written quotation describing the material, thickness, finish, edge profile, measurements or estimated dimensions, cut-outs, upstands, splashbacks, delivery, installation and any other included work. Consumer prices will include VAT where applicable and identify any delivery or other charges. Quotation validity and estimated timing will be stated in the quotation.

A contract is formed when you accept our quotation and we confirm acceptance of your order in writing. We will supply these terms and your order details in a format you can keep. Any particular requirements, promises or variations agreed with you form part of the contract. These terms do not remove rights arising from information or statements on which you reasonably relied. Later website changes do not alter an existing order.

3. Measurements, specifications and changes

Prices based on customer plans or approximate dimensions are provisional where expressly stated. After our site survey or template, we will explain any change to the specification or price and obtain your agreement before proceeding. You may decline a proposed change; we will then discuss whether the original order can be fulfilled or a fair cancellation is required.

Check the agreed material, finish, edge details, overhangs, sink and hob models, tap holes and other cut-outs before fabrication. We remain responsible for measurements we take and for exercising reasonable care and skill. Your approval does not transfer responsibility for our errors or matters you could not reasonably identify. Changes requested after approval may affect cost and timing; we will obtain your agreement to any additional charge before carrying them out.

4. Stone appearance and material characteristics

Natural granite, marble and quartzite can vary in colour, veining, mineral distribution, texture, fissures and inclusions. Engineered quartz and porcelain may also vary between slabs or batches. Small samples and screen images cannot show every feature of a full slab. We will discuss material characteristics relevant to your selection and arrange slab or layout approval where included in your order.

Veins may not align across joints, corners, edges or separate pieces. Bookmatching or a particular vein arrangement is included only if expressly agreed. Necessary joints, their proposed positions and any significant limitations will be explained before manufacture. Normal characteristics consistent with the agreed material and quality are distinguishable from damage, poor manufacture or faulty installation; describing a feature as natural does not excuse a defect or a failure to match the agreed description.

5. Preparing for templating and installation

Before our visit, base units must be securely fixed, level and adequately supported, with the agreed layout complete. Sinks, hobs, taps and other relevant appliances or their approved technical details must be available as agreed. Tell us about restricted access, stairs, parking controls, lifting requirements, fragile finishes, underfloor services and other relevant site conditions.

Provide safe access and keep children, pets and other trades away from the work area. Do not alter units, walls or appliance positions after templating without discussing the effect with us. We will identify any required extra supports. We may postpone work that cannot be carried out safely and explain the reason. Reasonable additional visit, lifting or storage charges caused by a customer-related issue will be explained and agreed in advance where practicable; no charge applies for a repeat visit needed to correct our own error.

6. What installation includes

The quotation will identify whether removal and disposal of existing worktops, plumbing, gas work, electrical work, appliance connection, wall repairs, decorating and additional supports are included. Unless expressly included, these tasks must be arranged separately with suitably qualified contractors. We will explain relevant exclusions before the order is agreed.

Worktops may require joints and suitable clearance or sealant gaps. Their position and finish must be appropriate to the material, agreed design and site. Any special dimensional tolerances will be agreed for the project; these terms do not impose an automatic acceptable gap or damage allowance. We will take reasonable care to protect your property and remain responsible for damage we cause through a breach of contract or lack of reasonable care and skill.

7. Delivery, installation dates and delays

We will confirm the expected programme and tell you whether a date is an estimate or an agreed essential deadline. Let us know before ordering if timing is essential. We will notify you promptly of a delay, explain its effect and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption.

Events outside our reasonable control may affect the programme, but do not remove your legal rights. If we miss an essential agreed deadline, or fail to deliver within an appropriate further period where the law requires one, you may have a right to end the contract and receive a refund. Where no delivery date is agreed, the statutory delivery rules apply. We will discuss a fair solution if a delay becomes substantial.

8. Deposits, payments and ownership

Your quotation or order confirmation will set out the deposit, payment stages, due dates and accepted payment methods before you commit. No fixed deposit percentage or automatic non-refundable deposit is imposed by these terms. We will not add work or charges without your agreement.

If a payment is late, we will contact you and give reasonable notice and an opportunity to resolve the matter before suspending uncompleted work. Any suspension must be proportionate and respect a genuine dispute and your legal rights. Tell us promptly about a disputed amount so we can investigate.

Goods become your responsibility on delivery into your physical possession, or that of someone you nominate, subject to our responsibility while carrying out installation. Ownership passes when payment for the goods is received in full. This does not permit us to enter your property without consent or remove installed worktops in breach of your rights.

9. Cancellation and bespoke worktops

Contact us as soon as possible if you wish to cancel. Worktops made to your dimensions or clearly personalised will generally fall within the statutory exception to the change-of-mind cancellation right for distance or off-premises sales. Where that exception applies, it can apply from the contract date, before cutting begins. We will tell you before you order whether it applies to your goods. It does not remove rights where goods are faulty, misdescribed or not supplied as agreed.

Where a statutory cooling-off right applies to standard goods or a separate service, we will supply the relevant cancellation information and model cancellation form before you are bound. For eligible distance or off-premises sales, the normal period is 14 days from the day after possession of goods, or from the day after a service contract is made. You can cancel by any clear statement. We will explain return arrangements, any return cost you must bear, and the applicable refund times before the contract is made.

We will only start a service during an applicable cancellation period following your express request and any legally required acknowledgement. A proportionate charge for work supplied before cancellation is payable only where the legal conditions are met. A service cancellation right is lost on full performance only where the required consent and acknowledgement have been obtained.

If you cancel when no statutory change-of-mind right applies, any cancellation charge will be limited to reasonable, demonstrable net losses directly arising from cancellation, taking account of costs saved, reuse or resale and our duty to reduce loss. We will provide an explanation, credit payments already made and refund any balance due. Deposits are not automatically forfeited. No cancellation charge applies where you lawfully end the contract because of our breach.

10. Completion, defects and your rights

We will invite you to inspect the work and record any outstanding items. Tell us promptly about a problem, with photographs if helpful, and give us a reasonable opportunity to assess it. A completion signature confirms the inspection and any recorded items; it does not waive rights or prevent a later report of a hidden defect. There is no short reporting deadline under these terms that removes your statutory rights.

Goods must meet the legal standards for quality, fitness for an agreed purpose and description. Installation and services must meet the standards required by law. Depending on the circumstances, remedies can include rejection, repair, replacement, repeat performance, a price reduction or refund. The applicable remedy and time limits are governed by law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015. These rights also apply to bespoke and sale goods.

11. Care and guarantees

Follow the care instructions supplied for your chosen material. Use trivets for hot cookware and chopping boards for cutting; avoid impact at edges and cut-outs, standing on worktops, harsh chemicals and unapproved alterations. Natural materials may need sealing and suitable ongoing care. Outdoor use must be expressly agreed for the material supplied.

A manufacturer’s guarantee or any additional guarantee we expressly provide has its own written terms, registration requirements and exclusions, which will be made available where relevant. We do not promise a particular guarantee period through these terms. An additional guarantee does not replace or limit your legal rights. We remain responsible for defects for which we are legally liable; customer damage or misuse does not make us responsible for unrelated damage.

12. Our responsibility

We are responsible for reasonably foreseeable loss or damage caused by our breach of contract or failure to use reasonable care and skill. We do not exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. No blanket limit to the order price applies under these consumer terms. We are not responsible for loss caused solely by an unrelated third party or customer alteration, but remain responsible to the extent our own actions contributed.

13. Complaints, privacy and applicable law

Contact us using the details above with your order reference and a description of the issue. We will acknowledge the complaint and explain the proposed next steps and expected response time. If we cannot resolve it, we will provide any legally required information about an appropriate alternative dispute resolution provider and whether we are obliged or willing to use it. You retain the right to take legal action.

We use personal information as explained in our Privacy Policy. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, without depriving a consumer elsewhere in the UK of mandatory protections applicable where they live. Consumers may bring proceedings in the courts available to them under applicable law, including their home jurisdiction where permitted. If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining terms continue so far as legally possible.