Services · 04 of 10
Carpentry & Joinery
First fix you never see, second fix you can't stop looking at
First-fix carpentry is the skeleton — studwork, floor joists, noggins, roof timbers, the grounds and fixings every other trade then relies on. It's covered up within a fortnight, which is exactly why it's worth doing properly: everything from plasterboard to a heavy oak door hangs off it.
Second fix is the opposite — it's all anyone sees. Doors that shut with a click rather than a shove, skirtings with tight mitres, architraves that line through from room to room, a staircase that doesn't announce every step. The difference between the two is patience, not price.
First fix
Stud partitions, floor structures, joists and noggins, roof carpentry, door linings and the grounds and fixings the rest of the job hangs on. Set out square and level so the plasterers and the second-fix joiners aren't fighting it later.
Second fix
Internal and external doors hung and ironmongery fitted, skirtings, architraves, window boards, stairs and balustrades. Mitres tight, heads level, and everything lining through where it should.
Fitted and bespoke joinery
Alcove units, wardrobes, shelving, media walls and the awkward built-ins that make an old room work — scribed to walls that are never actually straight, which is the whole skill on a period property.
What's included
- Stud partitions and floor structures
- Joists, noggins and roof carpentry
- Door linings, hanging and ironmongery
- Skirtings, architraves and window boards
- Staircases and balustrades
- Alcove units, wardrobes and shelving
- Bespoke fitted joinery
- Timber repairs and making good
Part of a full or part renovation, or on its own · Cheshire Renovations Limited, company no. 08716476 · serving Chester and across Cheshire
Where this shows up
The stages of a job where this trade does its work.
The other nine services