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We deliver the furniture we make. The large pieces travel in our own van, with our own people, and that is deliberate: a nine-foot refectory table with a two-inch planked top is not a parcel. Beds and wardrobes are always brought and built by us, whatever the distance.
Before delivery there is making. Standard designs are normally twelve weeks from order to delivery, and when the workshop is busy that can run to fifteen or sixteen. A genuine one-off usually adds around four weeks. Your date is confirmed when you order. What follows describes what happens at the end of that period. See how commissioning works for the stages before it.
On this page
One man, or two
Our van goes out with one person in it. That is fine for a chest of drawers or a pair of chairs. It is not fine for a nine-foot refectory table, so for anything large or heavy please have one able-bodied adult on hand to help our driver carry it in.
The larger pieces are different. Refectory tables, settles, dressers and racks, tall cupboards, pedestal desks and anything over 180cm go out with two of our own people as standard, at no extra charge — it is already in the price you see. Nothing to book and nothing to add.
On anything else, two of our people can be booked with your order at £400. That is included as a matter of course on orders over £20,000.
Delivery is to a ground-floor room of your choosing. We are glad to carry a piece upstairs, but it must be agreed before you place the order rather than on the doorstep, and it almost always calls for two of our people. We do not deliver above the first floor without prior arrangement.
Where a piece needs positioning precisely, against a particular wall or into a particular alcove, we position it while we are there rather than leaving you to shift it afterwards. Tell the team on the day exactly where it goes, and have the route clear before we arrive: hall, stairs, landing and the room itself.
Assembly on site
Beds and large pieces are assembled in the room. Four poster beds, half testers, panelled beds, breakfront wardrobes, dressers with racks and large bookcases are all made so they can be brought in as components and put together in place.
That is a design decision rather than an afterthought. A four poster that could only travel assembled would never get up a Suffolk staircase.
Draw-leaf mechanisms are checked and run before we leave. Doors and drawers are checked for fit in situ, because a piece can settle slightly in transit and the adjustment takes a moment while we are standing there.
Beds and wardrobes are made to knock down for exactly this reason, and they cannot travel with a carrier. We bring them ourselves and build them where they are going to stand. Delivery and fitting for them are quoted separately, because every house is different: a third-floor bedroom up a narrow stair is a different job from a ground-floor room with easy access. We confirm the cost before you order.
Access surveys
If there is any doubt about getting a piece in, we survey first. This costs nothing and saves a great deal.
The usual pinch points are narrow or winding staircases, half-landings with a tight turn, doorways under 762mm, low door heads in older houses, external steps, and internal doors that cannot be taken off their hinges. Basement flats and top-floor rooms in listed buildings deserve particular attention.
A survey means we measure the route, and where necessary we alter the construction so the piece comes apart into sections that will make the turn. It is far better to know at drawing stage than on delivery day, so raise access early. Send photographs and a couple of measurements with your enquiry if you already suspect a problem.
Where a piece genuinely cannot go up a staircase in any form, we will tell you before you order.
Packaging
We take the packaging away with us. Nothing is left for you to break down, store or dispose of.
Timing and notice
The making time is the long part: normally twelve weeks, and up to sixteen when the workshop is busy for a standard design from order to delivery, and around four weeks longer for a genuine one-off. The delivery arrangements below sit at the end of that.
We contact you to agree a delivery date once the piece is through the finishing shop, and confirm a time window beforehand.
- Notice given before delivery: around eight weeks, so the date can be planned properly rather than sprung on you
- Delivery days: any day of the week, agreed with you
- Access requirements on the day: someone over 18 present, the room clear, parking available for a van
If your date needs to move, tell us as early as you can. We can store a finished piece: the first week is free, and thereafter storage is charged at £50 per week.
If nobody is present on an agreed date, or a piece cannot be delivered because of access we were not told about, a failed delivery or re-delivery charge of £450 applies.
Where we deliver
Delivery is included on orders over £2,500 to any mainland UK address within 200 miles of Mickfield, and on any order over £10,000 wherever on the mainland it goes.
Under £2,500, delivery is charged and quoted at the time of order. Between £2,500 and £10,000 and beyond the 200-mile radius, delivery is included to 200 miles and a surcharge applies beyond it — quoted before you order rather than afterwards.
Surcharges apply for outlying areas, islands and addresses with restricted access. Your written quotation is the authority on what is included.
Outside mainland UK and international
We have shipped furniture beyond mainland Britain and we are happy to discuss it, but it is handled as an enquiry rather than a standard service.
Northern Ireland, the Scottish islands, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and destinations outside the United Kingdom all need to be quoted individually. The variables are the crating specification, the carrier, insurance, and who handles customs formalities and any duties or taxes at the destination.
Shipping is arranged on enquiry, and crating is quoted separately from the piece itself. Tell us the destination address with your enquiry and we will come back with a proper answer rather than an estimate.
For anything shipped rather than delivered by us, the two-person placement and on-site assembly described above will not usually apply, and the piece will arrive crated.
On the day
A few things make it go smoothly.
Clear the room and decide the position in advance. Move any rug the piece will stand on into place first.
Check the piece with the team before they leave. Look at it in daylight, open the doors and drawers, and say anything you want to say while we are still there.
Leave the piece to acclimatise before you load it heavily. A room several degrees warmer or drier than the workshop will change the timber slightly over the first fortnight, and doors and drawers can want a small adjustment afterwards. Ring us if they do.
Afterwards
Our care guide covers what to do in the first weeks and thereafter, including humidity, central heating and underfloor heating. Our guarantee sets out where you stand if something is not right.
Enquire about a piece · How commissioning works · Call 01449 710500
