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Essex · East
Shopfront Pilasters in Essex
The framing columns either side of the window, with plinth, shaft and capital.
- Free measured survey
- Fixed written quote
- Workshop-made, site-fitted
- 10-year workmanship guarantee
- Fully insured
Essex is a county of timber-framed cottages inland and interwar and modern estates along the Thames corridor. That is exactly the kind of building stock a pair of shopfront pilasters 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
Every pair of shopfront pilasters we make starts with a site survey and a set of setting-out drawings, not a catalogue page. We measure the opening in Essex, check the walls for wind and the floor for fall, then cut a carcass that fits the room you actually have.
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
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 £890 per linear metre, fitted |
|---|---|
| Lead time | 6-8 weeks from signed drawings |
| Construction | Iroko, moulded and primed |
| Survey area | All of Essex, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Southend-on-Sea, Basildon |
Want a number now? The indicative price tool gives a range in about a minute. A free survey in Essex turns it into a fixed written quote.
Towns we cover
Other joinery for Essex
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
Shopfront Pilasters in Essex — common questions
What stops a pilaster rotting at the base?
A hardwood plinth, an end-grain seal, and a gap so it is not standing in water. Most failures are end grain wicking moisture off wet pavement, which is a detailing problem, not a timber problem.
Are console brackets part of the pilaster?
They sit at the head of it and are usually quoted separately because the carving is a different operation. Fitted together they read as one element.
What is a pilaster?
The vertical framing column at each end of a shopfront. It carries the console bracket at the top and sits on a plinth at pavement level, and its proportions set how the whole frontage reads.
What size should a pilaster be?
It depends on the bay width and storey height rather than a standard. As a rule the pilaster reads too thin below about 200mm on a normal high-street bay. We set it off the elevation drawing so it looks deliberate.
Do you work with architects and builders?
Regularly. We can work to your drawings and specification, price from a schedule, and co-ordinate with the main contractor's programme. We are equally happy dealing directly with a homeowner from a rough sketch.
Start with a measurement
Tell us the space in Essex — 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.