Bespoke joinery is a great choice for your project because it gives you amazing flexibility and versatility to have produced bespoke pieces, whether that’s windows or cabinets. But how do you go about commissioning a joiner?
When you commission a skilled artisan to create something on your behalf, you are committing to a process that takes time and your input. With their skills and your vision, no matter what you set out to create, it will be unique and stunning. This checklist will help you to commission bespoke joinery, helping to smooth the process.
Step 1 – Is your brief detailed and clear?
The clearer you are about style, colours, materials, size and position, the better. Some people do have clear ideas about what they do and don’t want but for others, they start this process with a ‘general idea’ of what they want! Neither are wrong but you need to be confident when your joiner starts the project that you are clear on what is being produced.
Step 2 – Commissioning the right bespoke joinery studio
A common pitfall is commissioning the wrong joinery company. You need to be confident that the person you talk to about your project understands what it is you want to achieve.
Renovation projects, for example, need sympathetic restoration but with the modern touches and flourishes that make it a delight to live in in the 21st Century. Can the joiner create the solutions needed that celebrate the age of the property but are accessible and appropriate in the modern day?
TIP – as well as practical issues such as experience, qualifications and so on, listen to your gut feeling when selecting a bespoke joinery specialist.
Step 3 – Approving the design
Before a joiner starts work, they will produce detailed designs and plans which you need to pore over, think about and make objective decisions on. You’ll want to discuss other options and ideas, consider variations, work out solutions to problems and so on, and you’ll want to do this with a joiner that has the vision and the patience to do so.
They will attend site to measure and measure again, and when your final design decisions are made, they will start the painstaking and skilled process of creating exactly what is needed.
Step 4 – The budget
Every renovation, new build or upgrade, domestic and commercial, will have a budget. You will have allocated a portion of this to the joinery aspects that need fulfilling. The cost of a bespoke joinery project will vary depending on the materials used, time involved and the level of skill too.
Always ensure that the joinery company gives you a realistic estimate or quote for the work involved. Check what is and isn’t included in the prices – for example, does it include fitting as well as design and production.
Step 5 – The final fit
With designs approved, the build can begin and depending on the project, you could be enjoying the fruits of your joiners labour in weeks. For larger projects, the time taken to create bespoke joinery solutions can take some time but, when finished and installed, the results are truly stunning.
