Carpentry & Joinery — London
Carpentry & joinery across London
Door hanging, skirting boards, sash window repair, fitted wardrobes and period property joinery. Skilled carpenters covering all 33 London boroughs — with the experience to work in Victorian and Edwardian properties that require more than a standard approach.
Services
Carpentry services in London
From a single door that needs adjusting to a full period property refurbishment, we carry out all aspects of carpentry and joinery on site across London.
Door hanging and adjustment
New door hanging, rehang of existing doors, planing and adjustment of sticking doors, hinge replacement. Victorian frames are almost never square — we work to the actual opening, not a textbook rectangle.
Door lock and hardware fitting
Mortice lock installation, euro-cylinder fitting, door handle and furniture replacement, letter plate fitting, security bolt installation. We supply or fit customer-supplied hardware.
Skirting boards and architraves
Skirting board installation, replacement and repair across all profiles. Period properties require exact profile matching — Torus, Ogee, Victorian bullnose — which we source and mitre accurately.
Sash window repair and draught-proofing
Sash cord replacement, draught-proofing with brush and compression seals, fitting sash locks and restrictors, easing sashes that have been painted shut. We preserve the original windows rather than replacing them.
Window repair and draught-proofing
Casement window adjustment, putty replacement, draught-proofing, fitting window restrictors and locks, timber repair and consolidation for rotting sections.
Fitted wardrobes (bespoke)
Alcove wardrobes, built-in floor-to-ceiling units, sliding door wardrobes. Painted MDF or timber finish. From single alcoves at £600 to full bedroom installations.
Shelving
Alcove shelving, freestanding shelving units, floating shelves. Timber, MDF and plywood options. We anchor properly to the wall type — solid, stud or dot-and-dab plasterboard.
Loft hatches
Loft hatch installation and upgrade. Insulated hatch units, full loft access hatches with integral ladder. Fire-rated hatches for new-build and conversion compliance.
Boxing in pipework
Timber-framed boxing with MDF or plasterboard cover. Neat, flush finish with removable access panels where required for future maintenance.
Stud walls
Timber stud partition walls with plasterboard. Door openings formed with correct structural header. Included: insulation, noggings for fixings and preparation for plasterboard finishing.
Flooring — engineered wood and laminate
Floating floor installation, glue-down engineered wood, underlay preparation, threshold strips and door trimming. Subfloor levelling included where required.
Cornicing and period detail repair
Repairs to existing plaster cornicing, replacement cornice sections using matching profiles, installation of new period-style coving. We work alongside plasterers on larger projects.
Period property expertise
Victorian and Edwardian properties need a different approach
Most of London's housing stock was built before 1939. These properties have specific carpentry requirements that a generalist handyman — or a carpenter trained mainly on new-build work — can get badly wrong. Our carpenters work regularly in Victorian terraces, Edwardian semis, Georgian townhouses and converted period buildings across every London borough.
Matching Victorian skirting board profiles
Victorian skirting boards run tall — typically 150–200 mm — with complex moulded profiles that were machined to standard patterns: Torus, Ovolo, Ogee, and combinations of these. When a section is damaged by damp, impact or a previous renovation, a straight replacement with modern 95 mm MDF skirting creates an obvious and permanent mismatch.
We source matching timber mouldings for the most common Victorian profiles or have them custom-machined where the existing profile is unusual. Mitred external and internal corners are cut accurately, and the new skirting is scribed to the floor to account for the undulations in original floorboards. The result reads as continuous original timber.
Original period doors — adjusting for movement
Victorian four-panel doors are typically solid timber — pine in ordinary terraces, hardwood in better properties — and they are still serviceable after 130 years. The problem is the frames. Settlement, previous works and decades of replastering mean the opening is no longer square, sometimes by as much as 8–10 mm from top to bottom.
Fitting a door to this kind of opening requires scribing the stiles to the actual frame reveal, re-marking the hinge rebates to ensure the door hangs plumb, and sometimes re-morticing the lock keep. We also strip old paint from hinge rebates where build-up is preventing the door from closing — a job that takes twenty minutes but cures a sticking door that has defeated three previous attempts with a plane.
Listed buildings and conservation areas
Listed building consent is required for any works affecting the character of a listed building, and many London streets fall within Conservation Areas where alterations to windows and doors visible from the street require approval. We understand what is and is not permissible, and we use materials and techniques appropriate to the building's age and listing status.
For listed property work this means: lime putty rather than silicone for window glazing repairs, traditional oil-based paint where required, sourcing timber that matches the original species and grain direction, and using traditional joinery methods (mortice and tenon, bridle joints) where a modern butt joint with wood glue would not be appropriate. We can advise on what permissions are required before work starts.
Landlord and end-of-tenancy repairs
London rental properties require a steady stream of minor carpentry between tenancies: doors that have dropped and now drag on the floor, wardrobe rails that have pulled free from the fixing, skirting boards kicked loose, drawer runners that no longer engage, kitchen unit doors with bent hinges, and locks that do not align with their keeps.
We carry out snag-list carpentry for landlords and letting agents across London, typically working through a list of items in a single visit to minimise void time. This work is priced by the job rather than by the hour for landlord clients who book regularly. It is the unglamorous but commercially important work that keeps rental properties lettable at market rent.
Sash windows
London has more sash windows than any other city in the UK
The Georgian and Victorian terraces that define most of inner and middle London were built with sliding sash windows as standard. There are estimated to be over a million sash windows in London properties. Most of them were built to last, and most of them can be made to perform far better than they currently do with targeted repair rather than replacement.
Draught-proofing
Purpose-made brush-seal and compression-seal systems are fitted into routed channels around the sash meeting rails and into the pulley stile. The seals eliminate air infiltration through the sash gaps — the main source of heat loss in an old sash window — while preserving the ability to open the sash. Cost: £200–£400 per window depending on size and condition.
Sash cord replacement
When a sash cord breaks, one side of the sash loses its counterweight and the window either will not stay open or falls shut suddenly. We open the pulley stile, retrieve the weights, replace the wax-coated sash cord, re-hang the sash and make good the staff bead. A broken cord on both sashes is normally a three- to four-hour job per window.
Security and locks
Original sash windows have no meaningful security — they can be opened from outside with a penknife. We fit sash locks (Brighton fasteners on the meeting rail), sash stops that limit how far the window can be opened, and locking sash fasteners where the window faces a flat roof or fire escape. These upgrades keep the original window and satisfy most insurance requirements.
Repairing original sash windows costs a fraction of replacement
UPVC sash-look replacement windows in a standard London Victorian terrace cost £800–£1,500 per opening, installed. Timber double-glazed sash replacements — required in many Conservation Areas and for listed buildings — cost £1,200–£2,500 per opening. For a typical Victorian house with six sash windows, that is £5,000–£15,000.
Draught-proofing and repairing the same six windows costs £1,200–£2,400 in total. Secondary glazing — timber-framed panels fitted on the room side of the original sashes — can be added for additional thermal and acoustic performance at £300–£600 per opening. The total is still less than half the replacement cost, and the original windows — often in old-growth timber that will outlast any modern window — are preserved.
London pricing
Typical carpentry costs in London
Door hanging
£100–£200
per door, including trimming and hinge fitting
Skirting board — per room
£150–£350
standard room, supply of timber extra
Sash window draught-proofing
£200–£400
per window, brushes and compression seals
Fitted wardrobe
from £600
single alcove, painted MDF, including fitting
Prices reflect London labour rates and include standard materials unless noted. Period property work, matching original profiles, and working in occupied properties may affect the final price. We provide a fixed quote before starting any job.
Why Prestige Engineers
Carpenters who understand London's housing stock
Generic carpentry advice does not work well in London period properties. A door that sticks in a Victorian terrace is not just a door that needs planing — it is a door in a frame that has moved, in a wall that has settled, with hinges that have been over-packed with paint and a latch keep that has been repositioned twice by previous owners. The fix requires understanding all of these factors at once.
Our carpenters are experienced in first and second fix work, period property repairs, and bespoke joinery. They have worked in Georgian townhouses in Islington, Victorian terraces in Hackney and Wandsworth, Edwardian semis in Wimbledon and Ealing, and converted warehouse apartments in Bermondsey and Shoreditch. Each building type has its own characteristic carpentry problems, and we have seen them all.
We cover all 33 London boroughs. When you book, you get a confirmed appointment time rather than a window, and we provide a fixed quote for the job rather than an hourly estimate that can run on unpredictably.
Fixed quotes before work starts — no surprises
Experience with Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian properties
Period profile matching for skirting and architraves
Listed building and Conservation Area awareness
Sash window repair and draught-proofing specialists
All 33 London boroughs covered
60 Checkatrade reviews, 120 MyBuilder reviews
Landlord accounts for regular rental property maintenance
Common questions
Carpentry and joinery in London: frequently asked
Can a carpenter fix a door that keeps sticking in a Victorian house?
Yes — and in Victorian properties this is one of the most common carpentry jobs we carry out. Victorian houses move constantly. Timber frames expand and contract with humidity and temperature, foundations settle, and after 130-plus years of paint build-up a door can be several millimetres out of alignment. An experienced carpenter will plane the door edge to the actual shape of the opening (which is rarely square), rehang the door on new hinges if required, and adjust the latch keep so it closes cleanly. Unlike a straight plane-and-go approach, we measure the gap around the whole door before removing material, so the door still works through seasonal changes. Most sticking door jobs in London take two to four hours.
How much does it cost to hang a door in London?
Door hanging in London costs between £100 and £200 per door for a standard internal door, including fitting hinges, trimming the door to size, and adjusting the latch. Period property doors — Victorian four-panel doors, heavy solid hardwood doors — sit at the higher end due to the additional weight, the need to match existing hinge patterns, and the time required to fit them accurately into non-square frames. Supply of the door is priced separately. If you also need a lock or hardware fitted, budget an additional £40–£80 per door.
What is the difference between a carpenter and a joiner?
Traditionally, a joiner works in a workshop making timber components — doors, windows, staircases, fitted furniture — while a carpenter fixes those components on site. In practice, most skilled tradespeople in London do both. At Prestige Engineers our carpenters hang doors, fit skirting, install fitted wardrobes, repair sash windows, fit flooring, and carry out first and second fix carpentry on new builds and refurbishments. When a job genuinely requires workshop-machined bespoke joinery (a replacement Victorian cornice profile, for example) we have the contacts to match the timber and profile precisely.
Can original sash windows be made as draught-proof as double glazing?
Not quite as draught-proof as sealed double glazing, but significantly better than most people expect — and far more economical. A professionally draught-proofed sash window using brush-seal and compression-seal systems eliminates 90% of the air infiltration through the sashes, which is the main source of heat loss in sash windows. Secondary glazing fitted behind the original sash can also provide acoustic insulation comparable to double glazing. For a listed building or a period property where replacement would require planning consent, repairing and draught-proofing the originals is almost always the right decision. The cost is £200–£400 per window — a fraction of UPVC or timber double-glazed replacement at £800–£1,500 per opening.
How long does it take to fit a wardrobe?
A standard flat-pack sliding-door wardrobe (180–240 cm wide) takes three to five hours including preparation of the alcove and any minor levelling required. A bespoke fitted wardrobe built into an alcove — with a painted MDF frame, hanging rail, shelving, and doors — typically takes one full day for a single alcove or two days for a large built-in unit spanning a whole bedroom wall. Prices for bespoke fitted wardrobes start from around £600 for a single alcove unit, rising to £1,500–£2,500 for larger, multi-section installations with internal drawer units.
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Tell us what you need — door hanging, skirting, sash windows, a fitted wardrobe, or a full snag list of period property repairs. We will confirm availability and provide a fixed quote.
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