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Dorset · South West
Hardwood Porches in Dorset
Open and enclosed porches framed in structural hardwood.
- Free measured survey
- Fixed written quote
- Workshop-made, site-fitted
- 10-year workmanship guarantee
- Fully insured
Dorset is a county of purbeck stone cottages, Victorian resort housing and a large retirement-build stock. That is exactly the kind of building stock a hardwood porch 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
We build hardwood porches as cabinetmakers rather than fitters: machined joints, real carcass construction, and a finish applied under workshop conditions before anything reaches your Dorset address.
How we build it
Timber is chosen for the room it is going into. Painted work is built in tulipwood and moisture-resistant MDF because they hold a crisp arris and take a sprayed finish without grain rise. Where the grain is meant to be seen we use European oak, walnut or ash, with veneers laid so the figure runs continuously across a set of doors.
Finish and materials
Finishing happens in the workshop wherever possible. Sprayed paint gives an even film that brushwork cannot match, and the only work left on site is the final touch-in around scribes and fixings.
| Guide price | from £1,900 per linear metre, fitted |
|---|---|
| Lead time | 7-10 weeks from signed drawings |
| Construction | Green oak or accoya frame |
| Survey area | All of Dorset, including Bournemouth, Poole, Weymouth, Dorchester |
Want a number now? The indicative price tool gives a range in about a minute. A free survey in Dorset turns it into a fixed written quote.
Towns we cover
Other joinery for Dorset
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
Hardwood Porches in Dorset — common questions
What holds it up?
Posts on padstones or a proper base, with the frame jointed and pegged rather than screwed. The posts should never sit directly on the ground or in wet concrete.
Can you match the roof to my house?
We frame it to take your tile or slate and set the pitch to sit properly against the elevation. A porch roof at the wrong pitch reads as an add-on however good the joinery is.
Do I need planning permission for a porch?
Often not, under permitted development, if it is under three square metres, under three metres high and more than two metres from a highway boundary. Listed buildings and conservation areas are different. Worth confirming before we cut anything.
Will green oak crack?
It will check along the grain as it dries, and that is normal rather than a defect. The joints are cut and pegged to accommodate it. If visible checking would bother you, dried timber is the better choice.
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 Dorset — 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.