How much do carpenters charge these days?

[lucysnowe2]

We got a quote back from a carpenter to fit bookshelves on either side of a fireplace - about six shelves each side, quite a big space, with a divider on the right hand side, all dark oak veneer. The quote was almost £3000! (half labour, half material.) It seems like loads to me, but is that about right at the moment? We do live in a fairly expensive area.

£38 an hour ... for a cabinet maker level carpenter. . . South east - expensive area. . (Lewes) Can't say whether yours is expensive or cheap - I'd guess it's more work involved than "put up a few shelves for that price.." ..

How many hours was he quoting? What's the source for the wood? Have you costed up for a cheaper wood and staining it for example?

My mate is a carpenter in the SW. He charges a minimum of £25/hr +VAT or a piece rate for his work. He overprices if he doesn't want the work and it's astounding how many people accept that rate, so it's possible your chap doesn't really want the work unless you're prepared to him an exorbitant sum of money.

Just re-read - you're quoting for an oak veneered MDF? So that's a very cheap material. Have you priced up supplying the materials to him rather than him sourcing them?

£25/hr

That is a lot of money. I would go on Next door and get some more quotes.

What's 'quite a big space'?

If it's meters of alcoves on either side then £3k doesn't sound that bad. If it's 30cm then that sounds high.

So many other things come into factor as well. Location? Try of fixing/bracket? Finish/painting/oiling? Is each shelf just one long run? Or are they divided?

Sounds about right to me.

The last house I had this type of bookshelf installed, in 2019, they charged £1,600 for similar, plus £200 for someone else to paint it.

Before buying my current house, I was quoted £6k in early 2022, to do the exact same job (although different house, with lower ceilings). Apparently the price of wood has gone up substantially.

The house I eventually bought and moved in to was previously owned by a carpenter, and he'd already done that work for me 🤣🤣🤣

We had 2 sets of shelves (x3) and cabinets put into alcove spaces either side of our fireplace and paid £1700. We chose a carpenter who came recommended and he did a brilliant job. Our walls were a bit problematic/wonky but he worked around it and the finish was great. Honestly it was more than we were initially expecting to pay but we received similar quotes from other trades and I don’t regret it as the front room is transformed.

We then paid another £200 to have them painted. Finding a reasonable quote for painting was the surprisingly tricky bit, one company quoted us £795?!

Thanks for all your replies! I know materials prices are pretty high at the moment... its about 140 cm x 12 in all, book deep, so a fair amount - but just shelves in one alcove, shelves with a divider on the other - no drawers/backboard etc, so I'm wondering about the labour cost.

Mine for £1,600 (£1,800 including paint) were similar to this picture, and I'd expect to pay around £3k for these nowadays. If yours are much simpler, I'd expect it to cost much less than £3k.

Trying to upload picture again!

Pay my chippies from £250 per day to £100 for the apprentice 7.30 -430 hour for breaks 5 miles from M25 if that is any help

I paid £4k for a whole wall of floor to ceiling bookcases 5 years ago. Not in London. So, sounds reasonable to me.

I paid £1500 for the same as @Starseeking picture

I would imagine oak veneer would be quite ££, even if it is on top of mdf.

You have to grease palms these days to get anything done

Our carpenter is £225 a day. Doesn’t charge if he doesn’t finish up in a day and needs to pop in for an hour or so to finish a tiny bit of trim. I would pay him twice as much tbh, he’s brilliant and considerate of being in our space. Was the one who’s quoted recommended to you? To me it’s less about the cost than about the work and having the person in your space.

Was the one who’s quoted recommended to you?

Not a direct rec, but mentioned on nextdoor a few times. I do wonder if he is overcharging as @RedCarsGoFaster said, because he was a bit slow in quoting and didn't seem super keen.

So I've lined up a quote from a similar local carpenter, but also arranged a visit from Sharps ... just wondering if that is a good idea! Apparently the visit will be 1 hour long... so they'll be doing the hard sell!