SCOPE
This decides the feeling of quality more than anything
This group does more than any other to set how the house feels, and it is also the item that causes the most delay. The gap around a cupboard door, the drawer runners and the internal fittings catch the eye more than anything else in the house — and if its turn slips, the paint and the flooring get done a second time.
Measurements are taken once the shell work is finished. If that order slips, the paint and the flooring get redone.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
What we do under this heading
All of the following sit inside the same contract. You can take an item out if you want to — but taking it out is your decision, not a limit on what we can do.
Cupboards and storage
- Fitted wardrobe
- Walk-in closet
- Lit shelf
- Drawer runners
- Hallway storage
- Pantry
- Laundry room
Sitting and working
- Media unit
- Bookcases
- Desks
- Window seats
Bedroom
- Bed bases and headboards
- Bedroom wall panelling
Structural timber
- Stairs and balustrades
- Door linings
- Architraves
- Skirting
- Concealed curtain recesses
Outdoors
- Exterior timber
- Decking
- Pergolas
- Shade structures
WORTH NOTING
Where the work gets difficult on this item
We say these things at the quotation stage, not afterwards. We don’t like surprises.
- The order is not open to negotiation. The joinery contractor is locked in at the design stage, measurements are taken once the shell work is done, production runs 3–6 weeks, and installation happens before painting. If that order breaks, the paint and flooring have to be redone.
- Measurements come from the wall, not the drawing. A measurement taken before the shell work is finished shows up at installation as an open gap, out by one or two centimetres. That is why an on-site measurement before production is essential.
- Internal fittings can’t be added later. Drawer runners, lit shelves and internal divisions are set while the carcase is being made. Fittings requested later mean a new carcase.
- Exterior timber needs maintenance. Deckinging and pergolas need annual maintenance depending on the material. We tell you in writing, before you choose, how much maintenance each material needs.
THE DECISION CALENDAR
Which decision you make, and when
Every line becomes an annex to the contract. If a date slips, the work behind it slips too.
- Design stageChoosing the joiner and the fittingsThe decisions on doors, mechanisms and internal divisions are locked here.
- End of shell workOn-site measurementThe firm measurements are taken once the walls and floor are finished.
- 3–6 weeks after measuringProductionThe production time directly affects the handover date.
- Before paintingInstallationTouch-up painting after installation happens within the same programme.
We have worked with the joiners in our pool for years. On this item we don’t chase the lowest price and hand the work to a workshop we don’t know — the door gap and the quality of the mechanisms can’t be made good afterwards.
Let’s talk about the Carpentry and Fitted Furniture item.
The survey commits you to nothing. We come to the property, take measurements, and talk about what can be done under this heading.