How to choose a joiner: questions to ask before you commit

A carpenter works on site: studwork, floors, roofs, hanging doors, fixing skirting. A joiner makes things - doors, windows, staircases, cabinetry - usually in a workshop, and then installs them. A kitchen company designs and supplies, often subcontracting both the making and the fitting.

Knowing the difference tells you what to ask. If a company designs but does not make, ask who makes and where. If a maker does not usually install, ask who fits, because installation is where the quality of a bespoke piece is won or lost.

Photographs are useful but selective. Ask to see completed work in a home, or at least detailed close-up photographs of the parts nobody stages: the inside of a corner cupboard, the underside of a shelf, a scribe against a wonky wall, a drawer pulled fully out.

Ask how long ago the job was done. Anyone can produce a good photograph on installation day. Work that still looks right after three years tells you about materials and finish, not just about styling.

A quote given without measuring the room is a guess. A proper survey records wall deviation, floor level, ceiling height, service positions and access, and it is the only basis on which a fixed price can be honest.

Access matters more than people expect: a third-floor mansion flat with a narrow stair and no lift genuinely changes how pieces are made, because a monolithic carcass simply will not get up there. Good joiners raise this at survey, not on delivery day.

Ask every supplier to price the same specification and to break out the elements separately. Then read for the details that carry cost, because that is where quotes silently differ.

You want a written contract or a detailed acceptance of quotation covering scope, price, payment stages, programme, variation process and what happens if the survey reveals something unforeseen. Drawings with elevations should be signed off by both sides before making starts.

Check public liability insurance, and confirm who is responsible for the work of any subcontractors. Ask what warranty is offered on workmanship, and be clear on how a defect after handover is reported and remedied.

A deposit is normal - materials have to be bought and workshop time booked. Staged payments tied to milestones are also normal: deposit on order, a payment when the pieces are made or before delivery, and a final balance on completion.

What is not normal is a demand for the full amount up front, or heavy pressure to pay in cash for a discount. Keep a meaningful final payment until the snag list is cleared; five to ten per cent is a fair retention on a domestic job.

Quotes that arrive within an hour of an enquiry with no measurements. Prices that fall dramatically if you sign today. Vague specifications. No fixed address or landline. Reluctance to show completed work. An unwillingness to put anything in writing.

Also be wary of a supplier who agrees to every request without comment. A good joiner will tell you when an idea is expensive for little benefit, when a detail will not survive daily use, and when something you have seen online will not work in your room.

The best projects have one named point of contact, a clear programme and someone who answers the phone. Agree at the outset how questions are handled, how often you will get an update, and how variations are priced and approved before work proceeds.

Finally, agree the snagging process before installation: a walk-round in daylight with the drawings, a written list, an agreed date to clear it. That single agreement prevents most of the disputes that sour otherwise good projects.