Yes, your shed does need a base. This is to give it a solid, level foundation. Open soil will not help with the longevity of the shed itself or the contents within. The best materials to use to make your shed base are concrete, natural stone or wood.
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How much do Carpenter services cost?
Do you have a need for a carpenter in or around your house? If yes, then one of the first things you’d probably want to know is the exact amount it would cost to get the project over the line. Now, carpenters are skilled craftsmen that are able to make things with wood and fabricate all sorts of wood constructions. The price charged by carpenters are determined by a wide range of factors which makes it nearly impossible to provide a short and accurate estimate without having a look at your unique requirements. In this post, we’re going to give you an in-depth insight into general carpentry charges while also considering some of the influencing factors. Let’s take a look!
Some of the most common factors that determines the price charged by a carpenter includes the project type, the size as well as scope of the project, the location of project, ease of access, experience and qualification of the carpenter and lots more. For instance, if the job is a minor one such as building a shed, it’ll cost a lot less than something more complex which requires a bit more experience like constructing a staircase. In general, building a shed will have a labour cost within the range of £150 to about £250, while a staircase construction will require a labour cost in between £1,000 to £1,500. For general carpentry, you can expect to pay within the range of £20 to £30 hourly rate depending on a number of factors which are stated above. It’s also important to state that while some carpenters charge per hour, others by the day and several of their projects will be charged at fixed prices.
The table reveals the kinds of work that Carpenters normally do and also the regular cost range of these jobs. Some tasks take longer to finish than others so costs do differ by task.
View our Carpenter cost guide View our Carpenter adviceThe average price
of a Carpenter is:
£1,423
Carpenter job | Carpenter cost in 2025 |
---|---|
Kitchen Fitting | £1,135-£3,714 |
Carpenters and joiners | £365-£3,216 |
Plasterboard dry lining | £315-£863 |
Wood flooring | £750-£1,150 |
Wooden decking | £765-£4,718 |
Garden shed | £497-£1,632 |
Wooden window repair | £190-£577 |
Carpenter service qualifications and accreditations
Carpenters qualifications and also certification's: Having the appropriate training and learning exactly how to do your profession is essential for any trade including Carpenters. View the profile of each Carpenter you are looking at to see what accreditation they hold and also what trade associations they belong to. Some trade associations that Carpenters might possibly be a member of include: HomePro, Federation of Master Builders, Guild of Master Craftsmen. Equally Carpenters might also have the following accreditations: BM TRADA, Chartered Institute of Building, City and Guilds.
Unlike electrical or gas work, carpentry is a different profession where no particular certification is legally required for a carpenter to possess. Generally speaking, the only thing you’ll need so as to practice the trade as well as carry out on site work is to demonstrate your competence as a carpenter. To do this, there’s a number of ways you can consider but one which clearly stands out is to complete a portfolio of work and also earn the NVQ Level 2 Carpentry qualification.
In order to obtain your NVQ Level 2 certification, there’s a need for you to actually learn the trade. You can do this through apprenticeship, working alongside an established carpenter and gradually learning the trade from them. However, it should be noted that it’ll take a couple of years to climb up the ladder from an apprentice to a fully-fledged carpenter. Therefore, if you want to start your new carpentry career sooner rather than later, you might want to consider enrolling on an accredited carpentry training course.
Insurance for Carpenters: Any individual who works in your house, including Carpenters, really should have valid public liability insurance, which safeguards you the house owner and also the Carpenter should unfortunately anything go wrong while they are doing the work. Planning permission for Carpenters Most of the tasks that a Carpenter will do for you will not require planning permission unless its a listed property. Definitely discuss with the Carpenter if planning permission would be needed for the job you are doing, they can suggest the steps that require to be taken.
Services offered by Carpenter
Generally, carpenters are skilled craftsmen who are trained to work in construction as well as cabinet making industry. When it comes to making things with wood, they’re able to fabricate all sorts of wood constructions; from minor projects like custom kitchens or ornate details on wood trim to major ones like carrying out the entire framework of buildings. With that in mind, let’s take a more in depth look at what carpenters does.
In general, carpenters carry out a wide array of unique job duties which depends on whether they work in rough carpentry or finished carpentry. What’s more? There are a number of areas in which carpenters can specialize in special types of wood products or engage in specialized carpentry processes.
For rough carpentry, this typically involves carpenters who work on large scale construction projects where they make use of blueprints to determine the amount as well as type of material required for a job. When they work, they may need to build sleds to haul timber via wooded areas and rough terrain where motorized vehicles cannot access. Finished carpentry, on the other hand, involves carpenters who are skilled in making cabinetry, furniture, models as well as instruments. They’re also able to make ornate, detailed as well as fine wood products for a number of different uses. They must be able to work efficiently on a small scale while also being detailed oriented.
There are a variety of tasks you can employ a Carpenter for, as well as some of one of the most typical jobs that Carpenter are asked to do consist of:
Carpenter FAQs
The number of hours you would have to invest and the number of holidays you will have will be mentioned on the contract before you undertake a project. It is very common that of you to be asked of work longer than your shift. It is completely your choice if you want to work more hours, but your employer has no right to force it on you.
There are certain guidelines that establishes the maximum number of hours an individual should labour each week. In general, the maximum number of hours for someone not yet 18 years old, is 40 hours in a week, or eight hours a day. For workers who are aged 18 or above, the number of hours increases to 48 hours a week.
You can contact the environmental health department of your local council or the National Health and Safety Executive (0845 345 00 55) for more information and advice about working hours. According to the law, all workers have the right to a holiday of at least 5.6 weeks (or a total of 28 days of paid leave, if you happen to work five days in a week).
Your holidays may be extended than the minimum right, but it is dependent on your employer. The critical things you should keep in mind about holiday rights are:
• holiday entitlement starts as soon as you begin work;
• your employer has a complete say in when you can take your holiday;
• for holidays you get normal pay;
• after completing the job, you will be compensated for any unused holidays.
In order to meet the requirements for the right to once a year leave you need to be categorized as a worker. You will have no statutory right to paid annual leave if you’re self-employed.
You, as a worker will not have a statutory right to paid leave on bank and public holidays. If you are given a paid leave on a bank or public holiday, this can count towards your 4.8 weeks minimum leave privilege. However, you may be provided with a paid leave on bank and public holidays in addition to your annual leave entitlement, if your employer chooses so.
Great Britain has a total of eight permanent bank and public holidays, whereas, Northern Ireland has ten.
There is no automatic right to an enhanced pay rate that you can exercise if you work on a bank or public holiday. Your remuneration depends on your contract of employment.
- Plan your shed base
You must have a sturdy base for your shed, otherwise the frame won’t stand properly and could stop the door from opening. Decide whether you’re going to have:
- A concrete base laid on hardcore
- Concrete slabs on sharp sand
- Treated wood beams on hardcore or shingle
- An interlocking plastic system
- Treat wood with preservative To help your shed last as long as possible, you should coat all the wooden parts with timber preservative before you put it together.
- Put the shed floor together Some will need more assembly than others, but you need to make sure that the floor panel is attached to the joists; follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the correct spacing.
- Put up the shed walls
- Mark the centre point of each wall on its bottom edge, then do the same for the shed floor so you can line them up together.
- Stand the gable end on the base and line it up. Check that it’s vertical with a spirit level – you might need someone to support the panel while you do this. Use a temporary holding batten to keep it in place.
- Fix a side panel to the gable end panel with countersunk screws, then add the second side panel in the same way.
- Fit the roof
- If the shed comes with a support bar, put this in position before you put the roof panels in.
- Nail the roof panels in place, ensuring there’s a parallel and equal overlap at each end.
- Roll out some roofing felt from front to back, leaving a 50mm overlap at each side. Secure it with clout-headed felt tacks at 100mm intervals.
- Apply mastic sealant to the outside corners, then fix each corner trim with 30mm nails.
- Add the fascias and finials, predrilling 2mm holes to avoid splitting the wood. Nail them through the felt into the shed using 40mm nails.
- Add the shed windows
- Slide each windowsill into the tongue and groove cut out, then put the window cover strip in position, fixing it to the vertical framing.
- From inside the shed, put the glazing sheets into the window rebates, making sure the bottom edge of the glazing sheets sit on the outside of the sill.
- Fix the window beading on the top and sides with 25mm nails.
- Fix the walls to the floor Before you do anything, make sure you check that the centre marks on the walls line up with the marks on the shed floor. Then fix the wall panels to the floor with 50mm screws, aligning them with the joists. And that’s it! But if you’re not confident in building a shed yourself, there are plenty of professionals available who will be happy to help.
Though both solid wood and engineered wood can be installed on a concrete sub-floor, the processes are quite different from each other. Solid wood is produced from a single plank of wood which can be reactive to both temperature and humidity changes which is capable of making the wood expand or contract. Hence, the different approach to solid wood and engineered wood flooring installation on concrete. Here, we’ll discuss how you can lay solid wood on your concrete.
First and foremost, you’d have to determine the method you’ll use to attach the planks to the floor. Is it floating whereby you only have to lay the wood flooring on the concrete after fitting the right underlay? You can also go for the most popular installation method which is gluing your floor with a flexible wood adhesive (to be applied to both the boards and the sub-floor). Or perhaps you’d prefer to use the traditional method of nailing the boards to the concrete (the nails will be covered as you lay the subsequent planks and the groove locks with the tongue).
After making this decision, you’d have to ensure that the sub-floor is well prepared for the installation. This implies checking the wood’s moisture content (mustn’t exceed 7 to 8 percent). Also inspect the floor to ensure its neat, if not, clear out the dirt or debris and make sure the surface is flat to avoid post-installation problems.
In the event whereby you discover a high moisture content, you’d want to acquire a damp proof membrane. This will not only enhance the floor’s stability, but also prevent shrinking or warping of the wood due to changes in humidity or temperature.
It is crucial to note that the preparation of the sub-floor is equally as important as the laying of the planks as this can go a long way to improve the durability and strength of your floor. Click here to learn more about wood flooring.
What Is Engineered Wood Flooring?
Engineered wood flooring is produced through the fixing of several layers of wood together with a solid wood as the top or wear layer. Due to its ability to hold its ground when faced with frequently changing temperature and humidity, it happens to be one of the most popular types of flooring. As a result of its ruggedness, engineered wood flooring can be easily fitted with under floor heating and in special areas like conservatories. And apart from its usually stunning visual appeal and ability to be floated over an underlay, the engineered wood flooring is even becoming a lot more popular amongst home and other property owners.
Given the fact that engineered wood flooring is made up of several layers of wood, it may be almost impossible to tell the difference between it and a solid wood flooring just by looking at both. It can also be mistaken for a laminate flooring which is basically an image of wooden flooring placed onto a high density fibreboard.
The planks of a engineered wood flooring is crafted in such a way to ensure the it does not expand or contract unlike the solid wood counterparts. What’s more? There are several benefits that comes with installing an engineered wood flooring. They include:
• Its very easy and simple to install
• When compared to solid wood flooring, it’s more cost effective.
• It can be utilized alongside an under floor heating
• It can be loose laid, meaning it does not need to be fixed in position
• It is available in multiple varieties of wood and finishes
• It can be incorporated alongside an underlay including thermal barriers
• It can be utilized in areas with a fluctuating humidity and temperature.
• It is available in different kinds of thickness.
Click here to learn more about wood flooring.
How Much Plasterboard Do I Need?
Although many people especially contractors have a tough time estimating the number of drywall or plasterboard needed to complete a project, it’s a rather simple task if all factors are taken into consideration. If you’re able to follow the same procedures taken by professionals to count dry wall sheets, you’ll be in the right direction. Let’s have a look at the procedures to follow!
lTake Square Footage Measurement
• Measure the square footage of the area where the plasterboard will be fitted.
• Multiply the height by the width of each wall or ceiling area.
• Add all quantities to obtain a total square-foot amount.
lCalculate Drywall Sheets
• To calculate the number of drywall or plasterboard sheet is very simple once you’ve gotten the total square footage.
• To get started, simply divide the total square footage of area by 32 (that’s if you are using a 4 by 8 sheets) or you can also make use of 48 to make the division (only if you’re making use of the 4 by 12 sheets).
• The answer you get after the division will give you the full number of plasterboard sheets that’s required to complete the project.
We’d recommend you include an extra 10 to 15 percent of whatever you calculate to take care of the possible odd cuts and wastages. This implies that if your total area is 1600 square feet while incorporating 4 by 8 sheets, simply divide 1600 by 32 which equals 50 sheets, now take 10% of 50 which equals 5, then add back the 5 extra to the 50 sheets earlier calculated to get 55 sheets. If you wish to estimate the cost, simply multiply the number of sheets gotten by the price per sheet. Do not forget to include delivery charges and local taxes.
How To Put Up Plasterboard
Putting up a plasterboard is a vital process when it comes to home renovations. However as daunting as it may seem, with a good guide and regular practice you can master the skill within a small period of time. If you lack proper training and experience, we’d recommend you hire a seasoned professional plasterer for help so as to get the best result and also avoid additional costs due to possible damages.
Putting up plasterboard is way quicker than wet plastering and also significantly reduces the drying time that can slow down your renovation plans. With a plasterboard, you can delve straight into the decorating stage and achieve a smooth finish. Below are the steps required to put up a plasterboard.
• The first step is cutting the plasterboard to shape which be one of the most challenging parts of the process. This is because you’ll need to fit the board around things such as plug sockets and window sills. As a result, this involves cutting complex shapes rather than just a simple straight line. To get this done, simply mark out the cut required with the use of a tape measure, combination square and spirit level for a better precision. Once done, you can then use a plasterboard pad saw to cut along the marked spots.
• After you made the required cuts, the next step is putting up the plasterboard. And depending on where the boards are going to be put, this could be a very challenging task. If you’re going to put the boards on the ceiling or somewhere very high up, you’d probably need an extra pair of hands for help. To get this done, use the appropriate screws to secure the boards in place if you’re installing them directly on studs. However, if you’d be fixing them onto bricks or blocks, a drywall adhesive is your best bet.
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