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Norfolk · East
Alcove Units & Shelving in Norfolk
Chimney-breast alcoves filled properly, scribed to walls that are never square.
- Free measured survey
- Fixed written quote
- Workshop-made, site-fitted
- 10-year workmanship guarantee
- Fully insured
Norfolk is a county of flint and pantile cottages, Georgian Norwich terraces and coastal second homes. That is exactly the kind of building stock a run of alcove units has to be drawn around, so we allow for it at survey stage rather than on fitting day — walls get checked for wind and plumb, floors for level, and the setting-out is taken from the worst reading, not the best.
How we approach it
Walls in Norfolk are rarely square and floors are rarely level. A run of alcove units that is built in a workshop to a nominal size will show every millimetre of that. We survey first, scribe on site, and finish so the joint line disappears.
How we build it
Carcass work is birch ply or MR MDF depending on span and load. Face frames and doors are solid hardwood. Everything is machined on the same setting so stiles, rails and reveals line through, and shadow gaps stay parallel from one end of the run to the other.
Finish and materials
You can have it primed for your own decorator, sprayed in any RAL or heritage colour, or left in oiled timber. Oiled finishes can be refreshed at home; sprayed finishes are harder wearing and are what we recommend for kitchens and anything at knee height.
| Guide price | from £550 per linear metre, fitted |
|---|---|
| Lead time | 4–5 weeks from signed drawings |
| Construction | MDF, hand-painted |
| Survey area | All of Norfolk, including Norwich, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn, Thetford |
Want a number now? The indicative price tool gives a range in about a minute. A free survey in Norfolk turns it into a fixed written quote.
Towns we cover
Other joinery for Norfolk
What happens next
Four steps, no surprises
Survey
A joiner visits, measures the opening, checks for level and plumb, and talks through how you want to use the space.
Drawings & quote
You get a setting-out drawing and a fixed written price. Nothing is ordered until you have approved both.
Workshop
Parts are machined, assembled and finished under cover while the site carries on with other trades.
Fit & handover
We fit, scribe, adjust and touch in, then walk you through care and adjustment before we leave.
Straight answers
Alcove Units & Shelving in Norfolk — common questions
Do you need to remove the old units first?
We can strip out existing units and take them away. Make-good to the plaster behind is usually needed and we will tell you at survey whether it is minor filling or a plasterer's job.
Can you build around existing skirting?
Two options. We scribe the unit over the skirting, which is quick and reversible, or we cut the skirting back and run it into the unit for a flush finish. The second looks much better and is what we would normally recommend.
How far can a shelf span before it sags?
In 18mm MDF, about 800mm loaded with books. Beyond that we either thicken to 25mm, add a front lipping, or put a division in. A bowed shelf is the most common fault in self-built alcove work.
Will they be painted to match the walls?
Usually painted to match either the wall colour, so they recede, or the woodwork colour, so they read as part of the architecture. We spray them in the workshop in any colour you supply a reference for.
Is bespoke joinery more expensive than a fitted furniture chain?
On a like-for-like specification it is usually comparable, and often less. Chains price a standard carcass and then charge for every deviation. A bespoke maker prices the actual room once. Where bespoke does cost more is in the materials — solid hardwood and sprayed finishes cost more than foil-wrapped board, and they last a great deal longer.
Start with a measurement
Tell us the space in Norfolk — we’ll tell you what it costs
Every quote starts with a free measured survey, so the price you get is the price you pay. No deposit is taken until you have drawings you are happy with.