Fitted double wardrobes - Sharps too expensive!

[ReeReeR]

We have moved into a house that had two fitter double wardrobes, one in each of the two back bedrooms. We have stripped the walls and pulled out the cupboards. In hindsight it might have been better to just get new doors or strip the doors but here we are with the cupboards completely pulled out with just an alcove(?) in each room that I know want to put wardrobes in.

Got quotes from Sharps today and they want £1300-1600 each!

Other than finding a local carpenter, can anyone suggest a cheaper alternative to Sharps?

I thought it might be £1000-1500 for two and thought that was a lot but nearly £3400?!

I am not ruling them out but it’s more than I was expecting to pay!

I wouldn't rule out the local carpenter route, I've done this twice, once with a local carpenter who was a one man band, and a second time with a bigger local company that did kitchens, bedrooms, home offices and that kind of thing. Both times the results we really fantastic, and much cheaper than Sharps. I'll see if I can dig out some pictures OP...

That would be really helpful @Wildwood6

I wouldn’t rule out a local carpenter but it’s more difficult to choose someone if you don’t have a brand to go to and no recommendations

We've got Ikea wardrobes and the carpenter just built around them for the fitted look. Whether that could work for you depends on the width of your alcoves.

@JoJoSM2 That’s interesting. Was it someone who worked for Ikea who did it?

I saw diy.com does bespoke wardrobes but it looks like they only have certain sizes

I second the IKEA option. We were going to get fitted wardrobes, but the cost of them seemed so high. Our builder fitted the Pax model for us. They look great and people don't realise that they're not made to measure wardrobes.

No, we just got a local carpenter as it's actually a pretty straightforward thing to do.

We liked Ikea as they have a good range of doors and a great selection of interior options. E.g. Lights that come on when you open the wardrobe, glass fronted drawers, all manner of shelves, shoe racks, accessory trays etc And if you ever change your mind and want to change the fit out, e.g. drawers instead of a hanging rail, you can do it yourself. The bits cost peanuts (£5-20 sort of cost) and you can install them yourself in 5 minutes.

Wr use hammonds who are uk wide i believe and much cheaper than sharps. Very impressed with the range and service

We went for Ikea Pax wardrobe insides (drawers/ shelves/ hanging) then the builder built around them and stick doors on.

Look good!

Carpenter said 50% if his work was doing just that! Pax come in 60, 75 and 100 cm options so for wardrobes that wouldn't quite work we had one half pax with drawers and the the remaining space fitted with hanging rails

Please find pics attached @ReeReeR, I've actually done the Ikea Pax route too (goodness, I have moved house a lot!) We went with the bespoke route in small bedrooms where we wanted to make the most of every inch of wall space, and the Ikea Pax route in a big room where the sizes of the wardrobes more or less neatly allowed us to have a long run of wardrobes without too much wasted space.
I know what you mean about local carpenters, it took us a while to find people we trusted. Local FB groups and Which recommended traders can be a good source to find good local tradesmen.

We have Pax too. Two double wardrobes fitted out with wooden drawers and hanging rails came in at about £1k. And they hold everything.

They look fab @Wildwood6

And sounds like Pax are worth a look!

Might get a quote from Hammonds too

Thanks everyone

Resurrecting this thread. If anyone has any recommendations for a carpenter in the SE1 area who builds in fitted units, probably Ikea, I would be grateful. Thank you.

Hardly “resurrecting” @Ikeahack - this thread isn’t even a week old! I hope you get sorted.

We got huge built in wardrobes made from scratch for £1700 by a local company/carpenters. Were in the south east if you are I can recommend a very reasonable company

We are in the SE so would be interested in a recommendation. I had quotes which were really high. Thank you

Lemonysherbet thank you, I’d appreciate it.

We used a company called sleeping lions, they are on Facebook, not sure if they have a website

We were quoted £6k by the local carpenter who did our kitchen so they are not always the cheapest alternative!

We've had sharps (but 10 years ago, much more reasonable price ) and PAX and a local joiner, and the joiner won hands down. The wardrobes are far more solid, and he got the doors spray painted to match my walls! They look amazing.

Thanks all, sounds promising!

@ReeReeR we had Sharps in to quote for ours, and it was horrendous! A run of 2 double plus one single wardrobe, plus some bookshelves on the opposite wall. Quote - probably 3-4 years ago now - was £15,500! I'd not even drawn breath to gasp when the guy immediately dropped it to half that if you sign up today. That really put me off.

But the worst thing about that, it didn't include the price for removing and disposing of the old wardrobes that were already in situ

We went with a local guy who did all the work, including disposing of all the old materials, for just over £5K.

Would happily recommend him if you happen to live in SW London.

I'm in the south east and paid £3000 for built in wardrobes. I couldn't work out how Ikea pax could be fitted with the size of my alcoves. Sharps charge is £6-7000 for what I have. I used a local small company specialising in fitted wardrobes.

Thanks @BIWI I got the impression from the guy that came here that a lot of people find them more expensive than expected. I live in Yorkshire.

@BIWI I’ve just come across this thread. I’m in SW London and would love to know who you recommend in that area. Thanks!

@Lynnelicious Here you go - Howard Malone