Chicago metro, northern Illinois and northwest Indiana

Countertop-only replacement is one of the most routine jobs in remodeling, and sound cabinets survive it fine. The installer pries off the old tops, checks that the boxes are level and solid, shims where needed, and sets the new surface. The honest caveats: cabinets with swollen particleboard around the sink from years of small leaks may need repair first, old tile-over-mortar tops can be violent to remove, and you should expect some paint touch-up along the wall line where the old backsplash sat. A good fabricator flags all of this at the template visit, not on install day.

A straight running-bond or stacked ceramic backsplash is one of the most DIY-friendly tile jobs in a house - small format, no water exposure like a shower, and you save roughly $10-15 per square foot in labor. Hand it to a pro when the job involves glass tile (visible adhesive and cut edges), natural stone (sealing, blade chatter, breakage), herringbone or diagonal layouts (compounding alignment errors), large-format panels, or any slab product, which is fabricator work full stop. Whoever installs it, outlets are the tell: sloppy cuts around receptacles are the first thing a trained eye notices.

Usually not, and it is better to hear that early: granite and quartz tops rarely survive removal in reusable condition, because they are rigid, brittle, and adhered to the old boxes. Even when a slab comes off intact, new cabinets seldom match the old footprint within the tolerance stone requires. If the counters are the part you love, consider refacing or painting the existing cabinets instead of replacing the boxes.

Plan on no. Old tops - especially stone - rarely survive tear-out in reusable condition, and new boxes almost never match the old footprint exactly, so even a surviving top will not fit. Budget countertops with the cabinets and sequence the project cabinets first, then template, then tops; expect 1-3 weeks on temporary plywood tops while the new counters are fabricated.