Commercial work has different pressures to domestic work. There is usually a date, usually a landlord, and usually a cost to being closed. The joinery has to be right first time and it has to go in when you said it would.
We make commercial joinery in our own workshop in Mansfield and fit it ourselves. Retail counters, display units, servery and bar counters, wall panelling, reception desks, bespoke storage and general site joinery. We have worked at East Midlands Designer Outlet as well as on smaller independent premises across Mansfield and the wider East Midlands.
What we make
Counters and serveries. Sales counters, till points, servery counters and reception desks. Built to take heavy daily use, with the equipment, cabling and power planned in rather than drilled through afterwards.
Display and shopfitting. Shelving, display units, plinths, back-fittings, cabinets and slatted or panelled wall units. Made to your drawings or designed with you from a brief.
Panelling and wall finishes. Timber panelling, boarded walls, bulkheads and boxing-in. Useful for hiding services and for giving a unit a finished look without a full refit.
Storage and back of house. Staff rooms, stock rooms, cupboards, worktops and shelving. Unglamorous, but it is what makes a place work day to day.
Site joinery. Doors, frames, linings, architrave, skirting, second fix and making good. If you need a joiner on site rather than a delivery, we do that too.
One-offs. If the design has something odd in it, that suits us. Awkward one-off work is what we are known for. Over the years we have made things well outside normal joinery, including movie props and boats. A curved counter or an unusual profile is not going to worry us.
Working to drawings, or working from a brief
We are happy either way.
If you have an architect, designer or shopfitter and there is a drawing pack, we will work to it. We will also flag anything on the drawing that we think will cause a problem when it meets the actual building, because there is nearly always something.
If you have not got drawings, tell us what you need the space to do. We will survey, propose something sensible, and price it in writing with the spec on it so you can see what you are buying.
Made here, not bought in
Everything is made in our workshop in Mansfield. Nothing is outsourced to a third party and sold on with a mark-up.
That matters commercially for three reasons. You are not waiting on somebody else's lead time. Changes can be made without going back through a supply chain. And if something needs adjusting on site, the person adjusting it is the person who made it.
Working around your trading
Closing for a week is not an option for most businesses.
Tell us your constraints at the enquiry stage and we will plan around them. Fitting out of hours, working in phases so part of the unit stays open, delivering pre-made and pre-finished so site time is as short as possible. The more we can build in the workshop, the less time we spend in your premises.
We will also tell you honestly if what you want cannot be done in the window you have got. Better to hear that now than on the day.
Listed buildings, conservation areas and older premises
Plenty of town centre and village commercial property is old, listed, or in a conservation area. We work in conservation areas regularly and we are used to matching existing profiles, mouldings and details.
If you are altering a shopfront or anything visible from the street in a conservation area or on a listed building, there will very likely be consent required. Talk to the council's conservation officer early. We will work to whatever they specify and we will not push you towards something that is going to get refused.
Timber, materials and durability
Commercial joinery gets used harder than domestic joinery, so specification matters.
For anything external, we are a licensed Accoya manufacturer. Accoya is modified timber that carries a 50-year above-ground warranty, which makes it a serious option for shopfronts, external doors and anything exposed to the weather where you do not want to be back doing it again in ten years.
Internally, we specify hardwoods and sheet materials to suit the traffic and the finish. Counter tops, edges and door faces are the things that take the punishment, and those are worth spending on. We will tell you where it is worth the money and where it is not.
Who you are dealing with
TC Joinery has been trading since 2004. Tez is City & Guilds qualified and still on the tools. Tina deals with customers, so when you need to know where a job is up to, you get a straight answer from someone who knows.
We keep clients updated with progress photos over WhatsApp while work is being made. On a commercial job with a fit-out date attached, being able to see that your units are actually being built is worth a lot.
What you get
- Counters, display units, panelling, storage and site joinery made in our own workshop
- Work to your drawing pack, or designed with you from a brief
- Written quotes with the specification set out
- Experience on commercial premises including East Midlands Designer Outlet
- Accoya available for external work, from a licensed Accoya manufacturer
- Conservation area and period property experience
- Out-of-hours and phased fitting where you cannot close
- Progress photos over WhatsApp so you can see where the job is up to
Frequently asked questions
Can you work from our architect's or shopfitter's drawings?
Yes. Send the drawing pack and we will price against it. We will also come and check the site, because drawings and buildings rarely agree exactly. If we spot something that will not work as drawn, we will raise it before anything is made rather than after.
Can you fit out of hours so we do not have to close?
In most cases, yes. Tell us your trading hours and any access restrictions at the enquiry stage. We build as much as possible in the workshop and pre-finish it, which keeps site time down. Where a job is bigger, we can phase it so part of the premises stays in use.
What affects the timescale on a commercial fit-out?
The size and complexity of the joinery, the finish, whether specialist materials are involved, access, and the current workshop workload. Other trades matter too, because joinery usually cannot go in until floors, walls and services are ready. We will give you a realistic programme when we quote and tell you straight away if anything changes.
What drives the cost?
Quantity, complexity, timber and material specification, the finish, and site conditions. Curved work, unusual profiles and heavy-duty construction all take more workshop time. Difficult access and out-of-hours working add to it as well. We break quotes down so you can see the trade-offs and decide what to keep.
Our premises are listed or in a conservation area. What do we need to do?
If the work affects the external appearance, or anything of historic interest inside a listed building, you will most likely need consent. Speak to the conservation officer at your local council before ordering anything. We work in conservation areas regularly and are used to matching original details and building to what the officer requires.
Do you use Accoya for shopfronts and external work?
We can. We are a licensed Accoya manufacturer. Accoya is modified timber with a 50-year above-ground warranty, which is a strong argument on a commercial property where repeat maintenance costs money and disruption. It costs more upfront than standard softwood, so it is worth weighing against how long you expect to hold the premises.
Do you take on small commercial jobs as well as full fit-outs?
Yes. A single counter, a set of doors, some shelving or a bit of second fix joinery is perfectly normal work for us. Small jobs are not a nuisance.
Get in touch
Got a fit-out, a counter or a site joinery job coming up?
Ring 01623 530838 or send over your drawings and your dates. We will tell you honestly whether we can hit them and what it will take. We work across Mansfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Ashfield and the wider East Midlands from our workshop in Mansfield.
We work across Mansfield, Ashfield and the wider East Midlands from our workshop in Mansfield. See the areas we cover.