First and second fix carpentry
The two halves of a fit-out that bracket everybody else's work. First fix is the framing, the grounds, the noggins and anything that has to be in before the walls close up. Second fix is the doors, frames, skirting, architrave, ironmongery and the trims that make the room look finished.
Covering the whole of the Wirral, Liverpool and Merseyside, and commercial work across the North West, roughly an hour and a half from Liverpool.
- Free written quotes
- Domestic and commercial
- Wirral, Liverpool and the North West
- Real photos of our own work
01How we do it
How it is done
First fix is the part that decides how well the second fix goes. Grounds in the right places, noggins where fixings are going to land, and door openings framed to the actual door rather than to a nominal size, so the frames go in without being fought.
Second fix is where a job is judged, because it is at eye level and at hand height. Doors hung to an even margin and closing without being pushed, architrave mitred tight, skirting scribed into the corners rather than mitred and filled, and ironmongery fitted square and working the first time.
On a commercial job we work to the programme and keep out of the way of whoever is in the room with us. Where the sequence slips we would rather tell you early and re-plan than turn up to a room that is not ready.
What first and second fix carpentry involves, and where we do it
First fix is the carpentry that goes in before the plasterer: stud partitions and timber framing, boxing in pipework, column casings, and the structure a staircase sits on. Second fix is everything after the walls are closed up, so internal doors hung and eased, skirting and architrave scribed in, flooring laid and the staircase parts finished off. We do both, which means the same joiner carries a job from the rough work through to the trims instead of handing it over halfway and hoping the setting out still lines up.
Moreton is where we are based, so Leasowe, Wallasey and Birkenhead are a few minutes up the road, and West Kirby, Hoylake, Heswall and Neston are an easy morning start. We cover the rest of the Wirral through Upton, Bebington and Bromborough, and cross the water for south, north and east Liverpool, Sefton and Knowsley. Further out we take work in Chester, Ellesmere Port, Warrington, Widnes, Runcorn and St Helens. If you are just outside those towns, ask and we will tell you straight whether we can get to it.
One thing worth saying plainly: we do not fit fire doors, so if your job needs them you will want a joiner who does that work. Ordinary internal doors are no problem. Carpentry rarely turns up on its own, so we can pick up the rest of the joinery on the same job, whether that is a fitted kitchen, wardrobes and storage, wood flooring, benching or a staircase. That keeps the second fix and the fit out with one outfit rather than two trades waiting on each other.
02What is included
First and Second Fix Carpentry, in detail.
- First fix framing, grounds, noggins and door openings
- Second fix doors, frames, linings and ironmongery
- Skirting and architrave, scribed and mitred
- Trims, sills, window boards and made-good work
- Working to a main contractor's sequence
- Snagging done properly rather than left on a list
03Our work
No photographs of this one yet.
Every picture on this site is a McGuinness Joinery job. We have not photographed first & second fix carpentry yet, and a stock image of somebody else's work would tell you nothing about ours, so there is nothing here rather than something borrowed.
Ask when we come out to measure and we will show you what we have done.
04Questions
What people ask.
Do you take on second fix only?
Can you supply the doors and ironmongery?
Call for a no-obligation quote
We come and look, and the written price is free and carries no obligation.