Carpentry · Cambridge & the Fens
Carpentry in Cambridge,Measured Twice.Built to Last.
From first fix studwork to bespoke fitted furniture, every carpentry job we take on is quoted at one fixed price, carried out by an NVQ Level 2 qualified carpenter, and backed by a workmanship guarantee, so you know exactly what you're getting before a single cut is made.
Rated 5.0 on Google from 8 verified reviews · Free site visits across Cambridgeshire
NVQ Level 2 Qualified Carpentry & joinery certified
£5m Public Liability Insured on every job
Workmanship Guarantee On every job we complete
5.0 on Google 8 verified five-star reviews
Fixed-Price Quotes No extras, no surprises
01The Service
What Our Carpentry Service Covers
Carpentry is the trade this firm was built on. CV Carpentry & Construction covers the full spread of first and second fix work, stud walls, roof timbers, floor joists and staircases on the structural side; doors, skirting, architrave, flooring and ironmongery on the finishing side. Beyond that, we design and build bespoke joinery: fitted wardrobes, alcove units, shelving, window seats and made-to-measure storage that off-the-shelf furniture simply can't match.
Most of our carpentry clients are homeowners. Around Cambridge that often means period properties with out-of-square walls, awkward alcoves and not one truly level floor, the kind of rooms where flat-pack furniture wastes space and a made-to-measure piece transforms the room. We also work with landlords, and alongside our own extension and renovation projects where the carpentry is part of a bigger job.
You need a carpenter when you're renovating, extending or converting; when a door won't close, a floor creaks or a frame has swollen; or when you've decided the alcoves either side of the chimney breast should be earning their keep. If the job involves timber, it's ours.
Good carpentry is invisible: doors that latch first time, skirting that meets in tight mitres, storage that looks like it grew with the house. Bad carpentry announces itself every single day. Charlie is NVQ Level 2 qualified in carpentry and joinery, came into the trade through an apprenticeship, and works to one rule: measure twice, cut once, finish properly.
02Why It Matters
What Poor Carpentry Costs You
Carpentry problems rarely stay small. A badly hung door doesn't just irritate you: it wears its hinges, drags across new carpet and eventually needs planing or replacing. Skirting fitted without scribing leaves gaps that collect dust and crack the caulk within months. Timbers installed out of square store up trouble that only surfaces when the plasterboard cracks or the floor starts to bounce.
The expensive version of cheap carpentry is paying for the job twice. We are regularly called in to put right work that was done quickly rather than properly, and rectification almost always costs more than doing it right the first time, because someone else's mistakes have to be unpicked before the real work can start.
There's also the quiet cost of living around the problem: the wardrobe that doesn't fit the alcove, the door you lift to close, the shelf you don't quite trust. A free site visit costs you nothing and answers all of it with one fixed price.
Common Mistakes Homeowners Make
-
01
Choosing the cheapest quote without asking what it includes:'supply and fit' can mean very different things from one carpenter to the next.
-
02
Letting someone hang doors without checking the frames are square first, the new door gets blamed for the old frame's faults.
-
03
Buying off-the-shelf furniture for alcoves and period rooms, then living with wasted space and dust-trap gaps either side.
-
04
Starting work with no written scope, so there is no fixed finish line.
-
05
Not asking who actually turns up. With some firms, the person who quotes is never seen again.
03How It Works
How Your Carpentry Job Runs
01
Free Site Visit
Charlie visits, listens to what you want, measures up properly and talks you through the options, including the ones that save you money. It costs nothing and obliges you to nothing.
02
Fixed-Price Quote
You receive one clear, fixed price for the whole job, with labour and materials accounted for. No vague allowances, no extras that appear at the end.
03
Scheduled & Prepared
We agree a start date and stick to it. Timber, sheet materials and ironmongery are sourced in advance, so the job doesn't stall waiting on deliveries.
04
The Build
First fix, second fix or bespoke joinery, the work is carried out by an NVQ Level 2 qualified carpenter, measured twice and cut once, with the site kept clean and tidy as we go.
05
Final Check & Guarantee
We walk the finished job with you, check every door swings true and every joint is tight, and leave the site clean. Your work is covered by our workmanship guarantee, terms vary by job type, so ask when we quote.
04Why CV Carpentry
What You Get With CV Carpentry
No vague promises: the specific things that make a carpentry job go well, and the reasons our reviews read the way they do.
One Fixed Price
The price we quote is the price you pay. You can compare it, think about it and budget around it, with no creeping extras.
A Finish That Lasts
Correct clearances, properly scribed skirting, joints cut tight and fixed properly, work that still looks right years after we've left.
One Point of Contact
You deal with Charlie from the first site visit to the final walkthrough. Nothing gets lost between a salesman and a subbie you've never met.
Respect for Your Home
Punctual, tidy and respectful of your property, those words come straight from our Google reviews, not from us.
Honest Advice
If an off-the-shelf unit will do the job perfectly well, we'll say so. Bespoke is quoted because it earns its keep, not because it pads the bill.
Public Liability Insured
Public liability cover up to £5 million on every job, large or small, so your home is protected while we work in it.
05In Detail
Our Carpentry Services in Detail
Carpentry covers a lot of ground. Here's exactly what we do, where each type of work applies, and how it's carried out.
First Fix Carpentry
First fix is the structural timberwork that everything else hangs on: stud walls, floor joists, roof timbers, staircase installation, door linings and window frames. It happens before plastering, and it has to be square, level and true, because every trade that follows inherits whatever the carpenter leaves behind.
On extensions and renovations we carry out the first fix ourselves, which means the structural shell and the finishing work are done by the same firm, to the same standard, with nobody pointing fingers in between.
Second Fix Carpentry
Second fix is the finish you see and touch every day: doors hung with the correct clearances, skirting and architrave scribed to uneven floors and walls, window boards, flooring, ironmongery and boxing-in. In Cambridge's period housing stock, where few walls run true, second fix is where experience shows.
It's a big enough part of our work to have its own page, see our second fix carpentry service for doors, skirting, architrave, flooring and finishing detail.
Bespoke Joinery & Fitted Furniture
Alcove units, fitted wardrobes, shelving, window seats, under-stairs storage and home office fit-outs, designed around the room rather than forced into it. For painted finishes we typically work in moisture-resistant MDF; for natural timber looks, hardwood or veneered boards. The options, finishes and costs are all talked through at the site visit before anything is made.
Fitted furniture is where a carpenter earns the name: scribing to walls that aren't straight, matching existing mouldings, and building storage that uses every centimetre an off-the-shelf unit would waste.
Repairs & Alterations
Not every carpentry job is a project. Doors planed to clear new carpets, doors re-hung, windows eased, rotten sills and frames replaced, pipework boxed in, shelves put up properly. Small jobs are welcome: several of our five-star reviews come from exactly this kind of visit.
For a list of smaller jobs, our handyman service exists precisely for the awkward odds and ends other firms turn away.
Questions
Carpentry Questions, Answered Straight
Get Started
Get a Carpenter Who Measures Twice
Free site visit, one fixed price, and a workmanship guarantee on the finished job. Call Charlie directly, or send the details and we'll come to you.
Free site visit & fixed-price quote
£5m public liability cover
Workmanship guarantee