Rising prices, carpenter wants to switch from birch to pine

[anotherscroller]

Hi!
We just ordered a bookshelf to be fitted around our living room door. Paid the deposit and everything. Whole thing is costing about £7000.
Carpenter emailed yesterday saying he’s really sorry but the birch plywood they normally order to make shelves has doubled in price because of the war in Ukraine as it was produced in Russia. So they are asking if it’s ok to use pine plywood instead.
He says it’s just as durable, it’s just that you can see the wood grain through the paint and it’s not a completely smooth surface, unlike with birch.
I’m a little disappointed because I’m not a fan of pine, but it’s painted so maybe it doesn’t matter.
My husband thinks they should pay for the birch seeing as it was what was agreed.
I don’t want to kick up a fuss because the type of wood wasn’t actually specified in the purchase document (not actually signed though).
AIBU? (Or rather, am I being a pushover?)

Material prices especially timber and steel have gone through the roof. I think really the options are take the cheaper option or pay more.

(… although £7k does seem dear already)

Material prices have risen, you can either use pine or pay more.

Did you really mean £7000 (seven thousand) for a bookshelf?

Is completely unreasonable to expect the joiner to cover the changed materials cost IMO.

Wood prices are going up daily so not surprised.

As you haven't signed anything surely you're free to walk away if you're unhappy?

But the carpenter is right in that the cost of supplies has soared recently and it's likely he'll make a considerable loss if he charges you the original price but still uses birch.

The way I see it is you have three options:

1 - walk away and find another person to do the job with the materials you like at a price you're happy with (but this could take months)
2 - pay the extra and get the current carpenter to use the birch as you agreed
3 - pay the 7k and go with the pine as suggested.

But is it just me or is 7k for a bookshelf absolutely extortionate anyway? 😳

I think, if I had a spare 7 grand to spend on a book shelf, I'd suck up the extra cost to get what I wanted.

I think if you ask the carpenter to cover the costs you’ll find your money swiftly refunded and have to find someone else
Costs are insane at the moment not your carpenters fault or yours it’s just a bit crap all round

How big is this 'bookcase'? For £7000 I'd want a bloody library. Did you mean £700?

Either way, he was a bit daft not to check the current price before quoting you, but people make mistakes. Have you got an itemised quote with details of the cost of materials?

I'd be getting another quote if it was me.

im having various things done here & im fully expecting materials & labour to be much higher now (unfortunately)

When was your quote agreed?
Ply has gone up immensely, lots of hardwoods are cheaper than plywood at the minute which is obviously insane!
The reality is you aren’t going to find a carpenter who will eat the cost of the increase and lose money on the job.

Depends on their contract.

7k for a plywood bookcase ? Blimey Charlie it must be using a lot of wood !

If the price doesn't state the type of wood you either need to pay the extra or accept the change.

If it's not absolutely essential I'd shelve this project for a while (see what I did there?) Is it actually more than a shelf but a bespoke structure containing shelves and cupboards around the doorframe? It does seem a bit steep for putting some wood around a door, but I'm from a DIY family and we wouldn't have thought to get someone in to do something like that, unless it was
very ornate or complex....

Sorry yes, it’s bespoke bookshelves going around a door frame, that will become a permanent part of the room (attached to the walls).
We asked for four quotes and this one was the cheapest 😬

OP have you googled the difference between the 2? They are very different - pine is a soft wood, birch is harder and more durable. Also colour wise, isn't pine more yellow and more knotty?

When I think of pine I think cheap. I would walk away (and am also wondering how bookcase can be £7. Have you looked at odd the shelf ones? (Sorry couldn't revisit!)

Your carpenter won't cover the extra cost. He would decline the job rather than not make his expected level of earnings. Your husband is unreasonable to think otherwise. Trades are struggling at the moment with increased costs and tricky supply.

You could pay extra for the wood you want or perhaps there is another alternative? Your carpenter could set out some other options. Supply may be tricky though if you stick with birch. Your job might end up being delayed if they can't get the right wood in.

If you go with pine and it's sanded and primed before painting then I think it would be smooth.

I hope you find a solution and your bookcase looks fabulous. For £7,000 it should be something very special!

Wow, that is really expensive. We had quite a bit of bespoke fully fitted joinery last year - one project was creating fitted bookcases around a door and weird angled walls and we paid more the £3 I think. Prices really have soared.

How is he daft?

Prices increase daily. I sell timber. It's getting difficult to get hold of. And difficulty to transport....have you seen diesal costs?

Oh and is MDF a cheaper option? I would have thought that would be a good choice if the final finish will be paint (it's what our joiner used and it looks great. The larger panels were sprayed in his workshop and the smaller elements were then painted in situ)

Assuming you're having this create dbecause you have lots of books, rather than as a 'feature'...and if you're now going to have to paint it anyway, have you considered high quality MDF?

I appreciate how that sounds, but actually it's stronger than pine if you buy the good quality stuff, and my main concern would be the shelves holding my books without bowing if I wasn't expecting to see the wood finish anyway.

It would reduce the cost as well, which I appreciate isn't your primary concern.

Surely at that price the vast majority of the costs should be labour not materials. Unless your room is absolutely enormous.

I'd ask how much it would be to use birch instead. If it's, say, £7,500 then I'd go for that.

My msg shears have more than doubled in price

Even OSB has doubled. Nails are almost double now too

MDF sheets!!

£7,000 seems expensive! Have you had other quotes, were they similar??

Just to add... Our joiner was amazing and a 100% honest, straightforward guy. He said he was having to regularly requote work due to constantly rising costs because not doing so would mean working at an actual loss. If you want the work done and you've found a good joiner, I wouldn't try another round of quotes. You'll probably find costs rise even higher. There was a thread a week or so ago about someone who was experiencing this with a whole house renovation, and costs were spiralling. I really felt for them.