Carpentry advice for Crawley homes
What does a carpenter charge in Crawley?
Before you ask for a quote, it is natural to wonder what is fair. Nobody wants to overpay, and nobody wants to insult a good tradesman with a silly offer.
No one publishes rates for Crawley alone. What we can do is show you what the published UK guides say, name each source, and explain how carpenters arrive at a price.
Three ways a carpenter prices work
By the hour. Used for small jobs and repairs where the time is hard to judge in advance.
By the day. Used when the job fills one or more full days. You pay for the days worked, plus materials.
A fixed price for the job. The carpenter works out the time and materials and gives you one figure. If it takes longer than planned, that is their risk and not yours.
For most home jobs a fixed price is the easiest to budget for. An hourly rate suits a list of odd jobs where nobody can be sure what will be found.
What the published guides say
These are the figures we have read ourselves, with where each came from.
Hourly. According to MyJobQuote's guide to carpenter rates, average hourly rates for a carpenter are between £16 and £30, and you will pay more in London and the south east. The same guide lists general carpentry at £20 to £30 an hour.
Daily. MyJobQuote gives the average day rate for a carpenter outside London as £184 to £240. Its kitchen fitting guide gives £200 to £300 a day for a kitchen fitter or carpenter.
By region. MyJobQuote's table lists Brighton at £24 to £30 an hour and £192 to £240 a day, and London at £35 to £42 an hour and £280 to £336 a day. Crawley is not in the table. It lies between the two, about thirty miles from central London.
Joiners. The Which? Trusted Traders carpenter cost guide says joiners generally charge around £25 an hour. Which? last checked its costs in 2018, so that figure is on the low side now.
You will notice the sources do not agree to the pound. That is normal. Each one collects prices in its own way. Use them to judge if a quote is in the right area, not to argue over a fiver.
Guide prices for whole jobs
Most people care less about the hourly figure than the total. These are published UK guide prices for some common jobs.
| Job | UK guide price |
|---|---|
| Replacing a door frameSource: MyJobQuote door frame replacement cost guide | £115 to £550typical about £430 |
| Floorboard repairSource: MyJobQuote floorboard cost guide | £200 to £800typical about £500 |
| New front door and frame, fully fittedSource: MyJobQuote new front door cost guide | £550 to £1,500typical about £1,000 |
| Loft boarding, 15 square metresSource: Checkatrade loft boarding cost guide | £750 to £1,350typical about £1,050 |
Typical UK guide prices from the guides named, not quotes. The loft figure is worked out from the guide's price of £50 to £90 for each square metre. See the carpentry cost calculator for all twelve jobs.
What the rate has to cover
A day rate can look high next to a wage. But a self-employed carpenter is running a small business out of that figure.
- A van, its fuel, tax and insurance
- Thousands of pounds of tools, and blades that wear out
- Public liability insurance
- Time spent visiting, measuring and pricing jobs they may not win
- Trips to the timber merchant
- Holidays, sick days and a pension, none of which are paid
So a carpenter who charges by the day does not take that sum home. Knowing this makes it easier to see why the cheapest quote is sometimes the one to be wary of.
Why two quotes for one job can differ
- One includes materials and the other does not
- One includes clearing away the waste
- One allows for making good, such as filling and priming
- One carpenter is VAT registered and the other is not
- One has seen a problem the other missed
Lay the quotes side by side and check they describe the same work. If one is far lower, ask what it leaves out. Our guide to choosing a carpenter in Crawley has a list of what a clear quote should say.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Group small jobs into one visit so no time is lost travelling
- Clear the room before the carpenter arrives
- Agree who buys the materials, and have them on site on day one
- Be flexible on dates, so your job can slot in beside another nearby
- Decide exactly what you want before work begins, as changes part way through cost the most
Common questions
How much should I pay a joiner per hour?
The Which? Trusted Traders guide says joiners generally charge around £25 an hour, a figure last checked in 2018. MyJobQuote's more recent range for carpenters is £16 to £30 an hour on average, and more in the south east. Workshop-made joinery is usually priced by the piece instead of by the hour.
How much should I pay a carpenter per day?
MyJobQuote gives an average day rate of £184 to £240 outside London, and £280 to £336 in London. Its kitchen fitting guide gives £200 to £300 a day. Crawley is in the south east, so a figure towards the top of the first range or above it would not be unusual.
How to price a carpentry job?
A carpenter adds up the time the work will take, the materials, travel and waste removal, and an allowance for anything awkward. As a customer, you can sense-check a quote by asking how many days it allows and what the materials come to. The rest is the labour.
The only figure that counts is your own quote
Guide prices tell you the range. They cannot see your house. Timber and labour costs tend to rise over time, so a price you get this month is likely to be better than one you get next year.
Describe the job and say where in Crawley you live. Asking is free and you are not tied in.