What kind of carpentry do you take on?
Structural and site carpentry rather than workshop joinery. Frames, roofs, first and second fix, sheathing and boarding, formwork and temporary works, decks, platforms and eaves details. If it is site work in timber on a construction project, it is what we do. Bespoke furniture, staircases made from scratch and fitted wardrobes are a joinery shop's work, and we would point you at one rather than pretend otherwise.
Do you work for main contractors as a subcontractor?
Yes, a good share of our work is subcontract carpentry for developers and main contractors, on everything from a single plot to a multi-plot site. We are used to working to a programme, to site rules, to a contractor's method statements and to being one of several trades on site at once. We are equally happy dealing directly with a self-builder who needs the whole shell carpentry package.
Do you price by the day or by the job?
Both, and which one is better depends on how firm the scope is. Where there are drawings and a defined package, a fixed price off the drawings is fairer for everybody and it is what we would push for. Where the work is ongoing, the design is still moving or you need a gang on site for a run of weeks, a day rate is more honest than pricing a moving target. We will tell you which one your job suits.
How big a gang can you put on site?
It scales with the job. A single extension roof might be two of us. A multi-plot frame erection or a commercial roof needs a bigger gang and it gets resourced accordingly. What we will not do is take on more sites at once than we can properly staff, because the thing that ruins a programme is a subcontractor who starts and then disappears to somewhere more urgent.
Do you do formwork and temporary works?
Site formwork and temporary works in timber, yes: shuttering, edge protection framing, propping frames and access platforms as part of a wider carpentry package. Designed temporary works needing an engineer sign-off are done to that design rather than to a rule of thumb, and where the scheme needs designing we would want your temporary works coordinator or engineer involved.
Are you insured?
Yes, and the certificates go over with the quote or straight to your commercial team if you need them for a subcontractor pack. We are used to providing the usual paperwork for main contractor sites and would rather have it all with you up front than hold a start date up over an insurance certificate.
