Cost of Bookcases in Alcoves

[FigandHoney]

Hello. Can I just check how much other people paid to have bookcases fitted into their alcoves in recent times.
Our alcoves are about 1m wide and the shelves would be2.4m high.
We got one quote for 2400£ (Without lighting) and one quote for 5500£ (with lighting). These quotes are so drastically different that I am not sure what the average cost should be.
We are based in Yorkshire
Thank you

We're London and had alcove shelving and cupboards built for £1500 earlier this year - this was by a friend who had experience in carpentry, but not doing alcove shelving so it was a bit of a favour both ways (he did a great job!).

The other quote we got was more like £2,500 for the same thing. No lighting involved, but we did have those desk grommets put in for power (the sockets were already in place behind the cupboards).

@hettiethehare Thank you for sharing. Was that in total or per alcove?

I had some done a couple of years ago. 2mx2m for £250

Totally understand if you don't have the time, but I built ours and they were so easy. I just used MDF, filled any gaps with caulk and painted them.

If you want cupboards etc, then you will likely have to pay someone...but if not a general handyman could make them.

Bookshelves in an alcove I would be confident we could do between us. Doors of any kind I wouldn't.

We paid about £1,800 two years ago before the cost of materials went up for cabinets and with shelving above in two downstairs alcoves and two wardrobes in a bedroom. No lighting in either.

We put floating shelves in the alcove. It was a cheap solution that looked good.

We bought Ikea Hauga units instead (after the heart attack of the carpenter quote) but we’re lucky they fit exactly (or thereabouts) in our space. Just putting it out there in case it’s an option.

Not a recommendation as I haven't used them yet but I've been looking at this company that supplies build-it-yourself kits made to your measurements: https://diyalcovecabinets.co.uk/

You can plug in your measurements and customise the layout to see what the price would be. Depends how confident you'd be to put it together yourself.

In total - so 2 alcoves.

@hettiethehare would you share their info?

I just looked around until I found a nice bookcase that would fit in the space.

There are so many out there you can nearly always find something that will fit where you want.

It was about £300 IIRC.

Just had a 4m bookcase wall built with an alcove in the middle. Each side had double cupboard and drawers too as well as shelves. Carpenter charged £2400. We paid extra for lighting and still getting quotes for it to be painted. I'm in Hertfordshire.

We were quoted a similarly high amount 2 companies prepandemic (I'm in the NE). We bought Vitsœ shelving system instead which was very easy to put up and there are premade cupboard and drawer options as well. Glad the bespoke quotes were so high because I got far more storage for my money this way and I much prefer how open it looks and that the skirting boards and picture rails remain intact and visible.

I had two done = £1400 including spray painting to a colour of your choice. This was just after the start of the pandemic where a freelance shop fitter near me whose work had dried up had branched out.

I paid £2200 for two alcoves - cupboards with shelves above that are bookcased in. This was in London last year. Materials are expensive

Whereabouts in Yorkshire are you? We've just ordered fitted wardrobes from a company in Pocklington and planning an entire study from the same company that would cost about the same as your alcove?!

@Nightmanagerfan can i ask who you used pls?

I'm shocked that anyone would pay someone to do this when it's literally putting up a few shelves. Can't imagine spending so much on that when it can be done by yourself or a friend easily.
And before everyone claims they would pay their pal £2k to do it, I am that friend that does it for my pals and I wouldn't dream of asking them for money! As long as they cover cost of materials and provide cuppas and chat along the way it's all good.

That’s like saying you don’t know why any pays someone to cut their hair for them.

Yeah, you could do it yourself in theory, but there’s a good chance it’ll look a bit shit and you’re willing to pay a premium for a professional finish.

@YorkHouse would you mind sharing the name of the company please? Or DM me if you would prefer? 😊

Hi @YorkHouse. We are very close to York actually. Would you mind sharing the company?

@windowof We are not just wanting some shelves. We want a cupboard with victorian skirting with a bookcase above. So not Shelves but the sides, back and cornice. This is not something I could do myself. Especially not at a level of quality that I would be happy with. Also some sockets need to be moved for this. Again not something I can easily do myself.

Everyone else. Thank you so much for sharing

Well a) zero skills or equipment in the DIY dept. and no interest in learning. b) little free time so no interest in using up the time I have doing that. c) I can't think of anyone I'd ask who actually has those skills/equipment AND the free time to do it for me for free?!
I'd rather pay a professional who does this all the time and get a great result.

Sure, it's called Moonlight Bedrooms. They have a showroom in Pocklington. They had about a four month lead time when we ordered fitted wardrobes. They've designed the study for us but haven't ordered that yet. It will have cupboards all along the bottom with shelves above up to the ceiling.

We'd looked at quite a few fitted wardrobe suppliers already and thought they were ridiculously expensive for a not very high quality product whereas these seemed much better.

www.moonlightbedrooms.co.uk

I’ve just paid £1400 for two alcoves of floating shelves. South if England. I absolutely couldn’t have done it myself!