Wooden Shop Fronts — Repair & Restoration
Premium Shop Front repairs and restores wooden shop fronts across London and the South East. We are a small, family-run joinery firm, and we have been working on timber shop fronts for over twenty years.
We work in timber only. We are not fitters of aluminium or plastic shop fronts, and we do not pull out a sound old front to sell you a new one. Where a wooden shop front has gone soft or tired, we repair the original timber, keep the look of the building, and save you the cost of a full replacement.
Most of our work comes from shopkeepers, publicans, restaurants and landlords who want their existing shop front put back into good order. We are happy to look at listed buildings and shop fronts in conservation areas.
What we do
A wooden shop front is made up of a good many parts, and most of them can be repaired rather than replaced. Our work includes:
- Splicing and piecing in rotten or damaged timber
- Stallriser, pilaster and console bracket repairs
- Fascia and cornice repairs, with new sections made to match the original
- Re-glazing and repairs to glazing bars
- Rubbing down and repainting
- Restoration of period and Victorian shop fronts
As well as full shop fronts, we repair traditional wooden shutters, carry out shop front glass replacement, and fit toughened safety glass where it is needed.
Repaired, not replaced
Most rotten timber shop fronts can be saved. We cut out the decayed sections, splice in new timber to match, and make good the mouldings so the repair does not show. It is usually cheaper than a new front and it keeps the character of the building. A front that is repaired properly and kept painted will go on for many years; most of the ones we work on have already stood for a century or more.
Costs vary with the job. Most run from a few hundred pounds for small repairs to several thousand for a full strip, repair and repaint, depending on the rot and the scaffolding needed. We give a price once we have seen the work.
How we work
We start with a look at the front to see what is sound and what has gone, and give you a price for the work. Most of the joinery is made up in our own workshop, so the time spent on site, and the disruption to your trade, is kept as short as we can. When the repairs are in, we rub the front down and repaint it.
Wooden shop front restoration in conservation areas
A good deal of our restoration work is on listed buildings and shop fronts in conservation areas. We match the original mouldings and detail, use the right timber and paint, and can deal with the council and consent side where it is needed. The aim is a restoration that looks right on the building and that the conservation officer is happy with.
Can a rotten wooden shop front be repaired?
In most cases, yes. Unless the timber has gone right through, we can splice in new sections and save the original front. We only suggest a full rebuild when there is little sound timber left to work with.
For repairs we use good-quality softwood, oak, Accoya or sapele, matched to the original front and finished with a breathable paint so the work lasts.
Some of our work
For a free, no-obligation quote, please get in touch or email us at [email protected]. We cover London and the South East and will usually reply within a day or two.