A carpenter will typically charge somewhere between a few hundred pounds for a simple alcove wardrobe and several thousand for a full wall of fitted storage with painted doors and a detailed interior. Labour is usually the larger share of the cost, and it is generally quoted either as a day rate or as a fixed price for the job. Materials, door style and the complexity of the interior are what move the figure most.<\/p>\n
Because rates vary considerably by region and by the individual tradesperson, the useful thing is not a single number but an understanding of what drives the cost. That way you can read a quote properly and know which parts of the specification you can adjust.<\/p>\n
A fitted wardrobe is several jobs in one. There is setting out and measuring, which in an old house with bowed walls and sloping floors takes real skill. There is building the carcass, either on site or in a workshop. There is scribing the unit to the walls, floor and ceiling so there are no gaps. There is hanging and adjusting doors. Then there is the interior fit out, and finally filling, sanding and often painting.<\/p>\n
The scribing and finishing stages account for far more time than people expect. Making a straight sided box is quick. Making it look as though it grew out of an uneven Victorian wall is what takes the days.<\/p>\n
Labour is charged either by the day, which suits jobs where the scope may shift, or as a fixed price, which suits a clearly defined specification. Fixed price gives you certainty but relies on the brief being properly nailed down first.<\/p>\n
Size is the obvious one, but it is not linear. A wardrobe twice as wide does not cost twice as much, because setting out and finishing are largely fixed costs. Cost per metre falls as the run gets longer.<\/p>\n
Door style makes a substantial difference. Plain slab doors are the least expensive. Shaker style with a simple frame costs more. Panelled, beaded or curved doors cost considerably more again, and any door that needs spray finishing rather than brush painting adds another stage.<\/p>\n
Interior complexity is the factor most often underestimated. A single rail and a shelf is quick. Add drawers, and you have added joinery, runners and fronts that all need fitting and aligning. Add pull out trouser rails, shoe racks, internal lighting and jewellery trays, and the interior can cost more than the carcass.<\/p>\n
Materials matter too. Standard MDF, which is the usual choice for painted fitted furniture because it is stable and takes paint beautifully, sits at the lower end. Birch plywood costs more. Solid timber or veneered panels more again.<\/p>\n
Finally, the room itself. Sloping ceilings, chimney breasts, dado rails, awkward access up a narrow staircase, and floors that fall away all add hours. So does working around electrics or moving a radiator.<\/p>\n
Fitted wardrobes make the most of an awkward space, use the full height to the ceiling, and can turn a shallow alcove into real storage. They add a built in look that suits period rooms particularly well. They are also, in most cases, considerably more expensive than buying a unit, and they stay with the house when you move.<\/p>\n
Freestanding wardrobes cost less, arrive ready to assemble, can be repositioned and can move with you. The trade off is that they will not follow an irregular wall, and there is usually dead space above them.<\/p>\n
For a standard rectangular bedroom with a straight wall, a bought wardrobe often gives near identical function for a fraction of the outlay. Our modern wardrobes UK sale<\/a> range covers most standard widths, and a well chosen unit in the right finish reads as deliberate rather than as a compromise.<\/p>\n Where a carpenter genuinely earns the difference is in alcoves either side of a chimney breast, in loft rooms with sloping ceilings, in rooms with unusual heights, and in runs that need to look completely built in.<\/p>\n Ask three carpenters and you will often get three quotes that are not comparable, because each has assumed a different specification. To get like for like figures, write down the brief before you ask.<\/p>\n Specify the overall dimensions, the number and style of doors, the material for carcass and doors, the interior layout in detail, whether painting is included and to what standard, and who is supplying handles. State whether the quote should include removal of an existing wardrobe, making good the plaster and disposing of waste.<\/p>\n Ask what is not included. Decorating the surrounding wall, electrical work for internal lighting, and moving a radiator are the three that commonly fall outside a joinery quote.<\/p>\n Check the practical details too. How many days on site, whether a workshop stage is involved, what deposit is required, and whether the carpenter is insured. Ask to see photographs of finished work in similar rooms, and ideally speak to a previous customer.<\/p>\n Simplify the doors. This is the single biggest saving available, and a plain door with a good handle looks entirely appropriate in a modern room.<\/p>\n Simplify the interior. Rails and shelves are inexpensive; drawers are not. Keep folded clothes in a separate chest instead of building drawers into the wardrobe, and the price drops noticeably. A modern wooden chest of drawers UK sale<\/a> option costs a fraction of built in drawer boxes and can move with you.<\/p>\n Paint it yourself. Filling, sanding and painting fitted furniture properly takes time, and it is time you can supply if you are willing to be patient. Agree with the carpenter that the work will be left primed and ready.<\/p>\n Reduce the scope. A wardrobe in one alcove rather than two, or a run that stops at picture rail height rather than going to the ceiling, cuts both materials and labour.<\/p>\n Consider a hybrid. Buy a good freestanding wardrobe and have a carpenter build a simple painted surround and infill panels to make it look built in. This is often far cheaper than a fully bespoke unit and achieves much of the same effect.<\/p>\n A straightforward alcove wardrobe is often two to three days on site. A larger run with painted doors and a fitted interior can be a week or more, with a workshop stage beforehand. Painting adds drying time between coats.<\/p>\n Expect dust. MDF cutting produces a very fine dust that travels, so clear the room, take up rugs and protect the flooring. Sheet the doorway if you can. Plan to sleep elsewhere for at least a night if the wardrobe is in your own bedroom, since freshly painted furniture needs ventilation.<\/p>\n Work backwards from the room. If the wall is straight and a standard width unit fits with only a small gap either side, buying is almost certainly the better value, and the money saved goes further elsewhere in the room. Our modern 3 door wardrobes UK sale<\/a> range suits wider walls where a single unit can cover the run.<\/p>\n If the space is genuinely irregular, or if you want storage to the ceiling in a room with high ceilings, a carpenter will give you a result that no freestanding unit can match. Get three written quotes against a clear brief, and judge them on the detail of what is included rather than on the headline figure.<\/p>\nGetting a Quote That Compares Properly<\/h3>\n
Where You Can Reasonably Save<\/h3>\n
Timescales and Disruption<\/h3>\n
Deciding Which Route Suits You<\/h3>\n