Joinery and carpentry for fitted furniture, doors and stairs in Malta

Old houses rarely have square walls or level floors. A fitted wardrobe or alcove unit is scribed to the walls and ceiling so that it looks built in rather than pushed against the wall. The main choices are the carcass material, the doors and their finish, the internal layout and the hardware. Painted MDF doors are common and take a crisp spray finish; solid timber and veneers cost more and move a little with the seasons.

Bespoke furniture takes the same approach further: a dining table, a window seat with storage, shelving for a particular collection. Ask the joiner for a drawing with dimensions and materials before you pay a deposit, and agree whether the piece is finished in the workshop or on site.

Replacing internal doors looks simple, but the doors must be trimmed to fit existing frames, hung on the right number of hinges and fitted with latches that line up. Older houses often have non-standard sizes, and period panel doors may be worth restoring rather than replacing.

Some doors do a safety job. In houses with a loft conversion or three or more storeys, the doors onto the stairway are often fire doors, and in blocks of flats the front door of each flat usually is. A fire door only works as a complete assembly: the door leaf, frame, intumescent seals, hinges, closer where needed, and gaps within its tested limits. Swapping a fire door for an ordinary one, trimming it heavily or fitting unrated hardware can undermine it. If you live in a flat, the entrance door may belong to the building rather than to you, so check the lease and speak to the managing agent before changing it.

Joiners can often renew treads, strings or balustrades on an existing staircase, or replace it entirely, and a good joiner will measure the stairwell precisely before quoting.

Balustrades deserve particular attention in homes with small children. The spacing of spindles and the height of the handrail are set in the regulations, and an old staircase that met the rules of its time may not meet current ones.

Many joinery jobs are repairs: sticking doors, loose stair treads, rotten sills, damaged skirting or architrave, sash windows that no longer slide.

• what you want made, fitted or repaired, with rough dimensions
• photos of the space, including the walls, ceiling and floor where it will sit
• materials and finish you have in mind: painted, oiled, veneered, solid timber
• for doors: how many, standard or non-standard sizes, any fire doors
• for stairs: whether it is a repair, a new balustrade or a full replacement
• your timescale and any other trades working at the same time

Whether the work needs a development permit from the Planning Authority depends on what is built and where; in apartment blocks, the rules of the condominium also apply. Ask before you commit, and let the business tell you which documents it needs from you.

Electrical installation work is carried out by licensed electricians; ask to see the licence and the certificate for the finished installation. Maltese businesses are registered with the Malta Business Registry, so ask for the company registration and VAT numbers, and check whether the quote includes VAT.

Source: mbr.mt

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