From measuring up to installation
Between your first call and the day your kitchen is standing, there are roughly ten to fourteen weeks. This page explains what happens in that time, how long each step takes and when you’ll hear from us next.
The ten steps with time frames
These times apply to a normal job. A small single piece of furniture goes a lot faster, and a kitchen with special fittings takes longer. If anything shifts, we’ll tell you before you have to ask.
First contact and reply
You call, send an email or fill in the form. We get back to you within two working days, usually the same evening. In the first conversation, which takes ten to fifteen minutes, we talk about which room it is, when you want it finished and what budget you have in mind. If the budget doesn’t match what you’re picturing, we say so right away and not after we’ve measured up.
Measuring up at your place
You’ll usually get an appointment within one or two weeks. In spring it can be three. We measure the room, check the floor, walls, corners, sockets and connections, and take photos for the workshop. You show us what you have in mind, and we tell you what will work well. Within 30 kilometers, the visit is free.
Design and drawing
We draw the floor plan and elevations, choose the materials and work out the fittings. You get the drawing after one or two weeks. If there’s something you don’t like, we change it. A round of changes takes two or three working days and costs nothing at this stage, because no wood has been cut yet.
Quote and fixed price
The quote comes in writing together with the drawing, never verbally over the phone. Every item is listed on its own. Carcass, fronts, worktop, fittings, finish, delivery, installation. The price is fixed and valid for eight weeks from the date on it. Nothing gets added later unless you order it.
Choosing the wood and fittings
You come to us, we lay out the boards, and you decide which grain goes on the front. You also try out handles, drawer runners and hinges, so you know how everything will feel later. Fridays from 13:00 to 17:00 work best, since the workshop is open then anyway. You take a sample board home with you.
Order confirmation, deposit and materials
Once you approve the design, we send the order confirmation within two working days, and it includes the planned installation date. With the deposit we order the materials. Solid wood from our own stock is there right away, panels take about a week, standard fittings two to four weeks. Special fittings and appliances can take six to eight weeks, which is why we order them first.
Building it in the workshop
Cutting and edging take two or three days. Building and gluing the carcasses takes three to five days, and every glue-up stays in the press for eight to twelve hours, usually overnight. The finish takes longest. We oil in three coats with twelve hours of drying in between, so that’s four to six days.
Actual build time is about two weeks for a built-in wardrobe, two to three weeks for a staircase and three to four weeks for a kitchen. You’re welcome to drop by any time. Just give us a call first.
Coordinating with the electrician and plumber
About two weeks before installation, we send your electrician and plumber the connection plan with the exact heights for sockets, water and drain. If needed, we meet on site for 30 minutes. You don’t have to play go-between on the phone. We sort it out with them directly.
Delivery and installation
We arrive around 7:00 and cover the floor and door frames. A built-in wardrobe goes in in one day, a staircase takes one or two days, a kitchen two or three. Connecting the appliances by the electrician and plumber adds half a day to a full day, usually on the last installation day. We take the packaging away with us.
Walkthrough, invoice and after
On the last installation day we go through everything together, which takes 30 to 45 minutes. Anything that catches your eye goes into a short report and gets fixed within two weeks. The final invoice comes within a week and is due in 14 days.
We give five years on our work. After about twelve months we get in touch on our own and readjust the doors and drawers, because wood moves the most in its first year. It takes an hour and costs nothing.
How long it takes overall
Counted from the day you approve the design. Add the weeks before that for measuring, drawing and the quote, which is another two to four.
6 to 8 weeks
8 to 10 weeks
10 to 14 weeks
What pushes the date back
In most cases we keep the installation date we promised. When it does wobble, it’s almost always down to one of these three things.
Materials arrive late
With fittings and appliances we depend on the supplier. A drawer system that normally takes three weeks can suddenly take seven. That’s why we order everything critical right after the order confirmation, and we let you know as soon as a date looks shaky, not just a week before.
The building isn’t ready yet
We only install once the screed and plaster are dry and the floor is down. If that isn’t the case, installing early doesn’t help us and it hurts you, because moisture in the room gets into the wood. We’d rather push it back two weeks than put a kitchen into a damp building site.
Special fittings and special requests
A hand-forged handle, a custom color or a fitting from Italy takes time. That’s perfectly fine, it just needs to be decided early. If the request comes when the fronts are already being cut, the installation date moves back by two to four weeks.
When each payment is due
We work in three installments. You never pay the full amount up front, and the last part isn’t due until after the walkthrough.
The deposit covers the materials we buy for you, which we can’t use for any other job. The second installment is due once your wood is being cut. We only talk about the rest after you’ve seen and touched the piece.
For small jobs under €2,000 we skip all that and send one invoice after delivery. Same for repairs and refurbishing. Payment by bank transfer, or in cash at the workshop if you prefer.
About tax benefits: You can claim the labor share of the work we do in your home as a tradesman’s service on your tax return. For that, we list labor and materials separately on the invoice. If in doubt, ask your tax advisor. We’re joiners.
How to make it go fastest
Get in touch early
Twelve weeks before your preferred date is good, six weeks gets tight. The call costs nothing.
Send photos
Two phone photos of the room save us both a phone call and make the first estimate more accurate.
Approve promptly
Sometimes weeks go by between the drawing and the approval. That time is then missing at the end, when it comes to the installation date.
Sort out the connections
If you already have an electrician, give us the number. We’ll coordinate directly.
- You get dates in writing. We confirm measuring, delivery and installation by email, so nothing depends on a phone call.
- You don’t need to be home on installation day, as long as we can get into the room. But you should have time for the walkthrough.
- We’ll take away old furniture, if you tell us beforehand. For an old kitchen we list that as a separate item in the quote.
- If something isn’t right, get in touch with us directly and don’t wait months. While it’s fresh, almost anything is an hour’s work.
We start with measuring up
Send us a quick note about what you need, and we’ll get back to you within two working days with a suggested date. If you’d rather talk than write, give us a call.