Carpentry and joinery
We repair and fit the timber in period homes across Greater London and Essex, with most of our work in Maida Vale W9 and the Epping Forest area. Sash windows overhauled, doors hung and eased, skirting and architrave reinstated, fitted joinery made to the room by our specialist carpenter. The same CHAS Elite contractor then primes and paints it, so we plan the finish from the first cut.
What is included
- Sash windows overhauled by whichever of five routes the window needs: a repair spliced in where the sash stays in place, the sashes taken out of the box frame and repaired on the bench, the sashes replaced, new sashes made for us and installed by us, or the sash, the box frame and the cill all replaced
- Draught-proofing, with the seal carried in new staff beads and parting beads and a compression seal at the meeting rail, the head and the cill. We specify brands such as Mighton and Schlegel Q-LON
- Doors hung, eased and made good; period doors repaired rather than replaced where the timber allows
- Sliding doors and arched doors fitted to the opening. We fit made-to-measure doors, and our carpenter crafts custom painted doors on site in moisture-resistant MDF. We specialise in site-built, hand-painted joinery rather than off-site unpainted hardwoods.
- Skirting, architrave, dado and picture rail cut and scribed to the existing run. Where a moulded profile has to be matched, a specialist woodworker runs it to our sample and we fit it
- Wall panelling, dado rails and picture rails installed or made good, fully prepared, primed and painted
- Fitted joinery: alcove units, wardrobes, boxing-in and window seats, templated on site, made to the dimensions of the wall and scribed tight to wall, floor and ceiling
- Preparation, priming and painting of everything above, under the decorating specification and its two-year workmanship guarantee
What is not included
- Window replacement as a first resort. On a period building we recommend overhaul first and replace only where the timber has gone, in like-for-like timber. We never specify uPVC. We hold no standard replacement glazing and we decide it window by window, because a sash in a listed terrace and a sash in an unlisted one are different questions
- Structural timber, roof carpentry and floor joists. These sit outside the joinery service and are dealt with separately under a renovation contract
- Kitchen manufacture. We prepare and spray finish kitchens, and we fit units under a renovation contract
Projects
Completed work, one real example
- A mews house in Chelsea, where our specialist carpenter crafted a bespoke arched bathroom doorway on site, templated an under-stairs blocking piece to a splayed wall, cut the windowsills throughout and made the utility room shelves from worktop offcuts. We installed the client's own doors, skirting, architrave and coving, and we painted all of it
- A bedroom in Queens Park with a full-height fitted wardrobe run, 3.22 metres wall to wall, scribed to the sloped ceiling and the staircase bulkhead. Shaker style, built and fitted by our specialist carpenter, with every material and fixing supplied by us
The kind of work we also quote for, until further case studies exist
- Every sash window in a terraced house overhauled and draught-proofed while scaffolding is in place for exterior redecoration
- A period flat where original skirting and architrave were removed in previous alterations, matched to the architectural profile and reinstated throughout
Can you repair our sash windows rather than replace them?
Usually, yes. On a period building the sash is worth saving: it keeps the original glass, the original glazing bars and the proportions of the elevation, none of which a replacement returns. We overhaul first and put replacement forward only where the timber has actually gone, in like-for-like timber. Never uPVC.
Will new joinery match the original?
Doors are hung to the existing frames and eased to the floor. Skirting and architrave lengths are cut and scribed on site so a new run beside an old one reads as one room. Where a profile needs matching we take the original section to a specialist woodworker, who runs it to our sample. We fit it, and we price that before we start.
Do you paint what you fit?
Yes. Joinery that is fitted by one trade and painted by another is where the pin holes, the open mitres and the unprimed end grain show. We fill, caulk, prime and paint what we build or fit, under the same specification as the rest of the room. The painted finish carries the two-year workmanship guarantee.
Do you make fitted furniture?
Our own carpenter builds and fits it. We template alcove units, wardrobes, window seats and boxing-in on site first, then build them to the dimensions of your wall rather than to a standard carcass size. Our carpenter cuts the Shaker doors from MDF himself rather than buying a blank in. We fit, level and scribe each run tight to the wall, floor and ceiling, then hand paint it in the room.
Recent projects
In a bedroom in Queens Park we built a full-height fitted wardrobe run, 3.22 metres wall to wall, scribed to a sloped ceiling and a staircase bulkhead. Our carpenter measured it, built the carcasses and cut the Shaker doors from MDF on site, then fitted, levelled and scribed the run so it sits tight to the wall, the floor and the ceiling. We hand painted it in the room.
Indicative cost
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An alcove unit is usually £1,800 to £3,200.
A fitted wardrobe run is £2,900 to £5,000.
What moves it: whether the opening is square, the depth and the number of doors, the ironmongery and whether we paint the unit in place or finish it before it arrives.
If the page needs a figure before then, this one is SFS's own and it is defensible: window preparation and redecoration, from £1,100 a window.
Frequently asked questions
Do you draught-proof sash windows?
Yes. We fit new staff beads and parting beads that carry the seal, and a compression seal at the meeting rail, the head and the cill. We rout nothing into your sashes, so we cut away no original timber and the old beads can go back. We specify brands such as Mighton and Schlegel Q-LON.
Can you match a Victorian or Georgian profile?
Yes. We do not run mouldings ourselves. We take the original section to a specialist woodworker who reproduces the profile, then we fit it and paint it with the rest of the room. It is how we matched a heritage moulding on a job in Park Lane.
Is the joinery guaranteed?
Anything we make carries a ten-year guarantee. The painted finish on joinery we build or fit carries the two-year workmanship guarantee that covers our decorating and finishing work. Where we make something, making it is what counts, not where: a wardrobe built up on site is ours in the same way as one built anywhere else. What we install for you but did not make carries its own maker's guarantee rather than ours. None of this affects your statutory rights.
Do you work on listed buildings?
Yes, and on a listed building the answer is almost always repair rather than replace. We survey the timber, tell you what we can save and put forward replacement only where the timber has gone, in like-for-like materials.
Tell us about the project.
We reply within one working hour, 7:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Outside those hours, first thing the next working morning.
Enquiry form
Thank you. Someone from our office will call or email you within the hour if it is a working day, or first thing the next working morning.