Process

Stage 1 — Consultation & Architectural Review

The first stage starts before any drawing exists. I meet with the client, visit the property, and look at the architectural conditions the work will operate within — proportion, period, conservation context, planning constraints, what’s already there.

Clients arrive with all sorts of starting material. Some have detailed architect’s drawings. Some have a builder’s specification. Some have rough sketches on the back of an envelope. Increasingly, some arrive with AI-generated concept images they’ve put together themselves to communicate the look they’re after.

All of these are useful. None of them are the starting point. The starting point is the building. My job at Stage 1 is to translate whatever the client brings — drawings, sketches, AI concepts, verbal description — into an architectural assessment of what the property will support, what conservation context permits, and what the joinery actually needs to do.

Stage 1 produces a written architectural review and an outline scope. No costed proposal yet — costing follows specification, not the other way around.

Stage 2 — Design Development

Once the architectural review is agreed, I move into design. This is where decisions get made — proportion, mouldings, glazing, ironmongery, materials, integration with surrounding architecture. For listed building work, this is also where conservation officer engagement begins, with drawings and specifications presented to support listed building consent applications where required.

Design development is iterative. Drawings are issued, reviewed with the client, refined, reissued. The work doesn’t move forward until the design is right — not just resolved on paper, but architecturally correct for the property and within the constraints of any consent process.

Stage 3 — Specification & Commitment

Stage 3 is where the project commits. The drawings are locked. Materials are confirmed. The full price is agreed. A contract is signed. From this point forward, scope changes only through documented variations — not informal conversation.

I handle this stage personally because it’s the stage where commercial clarity matters most. Clients spending £20,000 to £200,000 on a joinery package need to know exactly what they’re committing to. Stage 3 produces a single document that captures every architectural decision and every commercial term. No moving parts after that.

Stage 4 — Manufacture

Manufacture happens in the studio’s workshop in Shropshire. The drawings and specification produced in Stage 3 are now the brief. Machining, joinery assembly, finishing, and quality control are all handled in-workshop — nothing is subcontracted to third-party manufacturers.

The client receives manufacturing updates at agreed intervals, with photographs where useful. Manufacture takes the time it takes. Period-correct mouldings, traditional joinery techniques, and proper material drying schedules cannot be rushed without compromising the work.

Stage 5 — Installation

Installation is handled by trained teams who specialise in fitting period and rural property joinery. For straightforward installations, the team works to the specification produced in Stage 3 with site supervision documented at the studio’s standard intervals. For complex installations — particularly listed building work or full joinery packages — I attend on site at key stages.

The work is signed off when it is finished. Snagging, where required, is captured in writing and resolved before the project closes.