About Us
What sets Seagull Carpentry apart from the rest?
We aim to create beautiful, one of a kind furniture pieces at a fair price.
We feel that being a small and independent outfit, usually only taking on one project at a time, gives us the time and space to really focus on the customer and their needs.
We don’t have a catalogue of design and colour options - if we can imagine it, we can probably do it!
Learn more about our Founder Joe below.
Joe - founder
My name is Joe and I am the founder of Seagull Carpentry.
In 2022 I decided to leave a career in Finance to pursue my dream of starting a joinery and carpentry business. Before this, I had taught myself a variety of skills centred around joinery and carpentry by taking on projects at home and for friends and family, and in 2023 I finally took the plunge to turn my passion into a full time business.
Based in my workshop in Flimwell, on the border of East Sussex and Kent, I am happy to provide fully insured services across the South East.
The Process
Learn how a project with Seagull Carpentry works from start to finish using a real example.
1
It all starts with the design. We will work with you to create a 3D drawing showing exactly how the finished piece will fit into your room. This is an iterative process and we can adjust the design to suit your needs.
2
Once the design is finalised we will take some time to order all of the materials for the job. We prefer to use quality materials and when building units from MDF we always look to use moisture resistant MDF from a brand such as Finsa or Medite. Our sheet materials supplier is able to pre-cut the parts accurately to within a tenth of a millimeter, giving strong, tight and square joints once assembled.
3
It’s time for installation. Most installations start by building a plinth which gives a solid, stable and most importantly level surface for building up from. Once the plinth is in place we can build upwards, fastening units to the wall as we go to ensure things stay solid and safe.
4
Now it’s time for painting. We spray paint wherever possible as a far better finish can be achieved. The images show the difference between a brushed / rolled and sprayed finish with one coat of primer undercoat. You can see how the coverage is so much better and more even with the sprayed finish (first image) compared to the rolled finish (second image). This is especially true when painting intricate panels like these tongue and groove cupboard backs. We usually pre-paint all painted parts in the workshop in our dedicated spray booth before installation.
5
Once the carcasses are painted and installed, it’s just a case of adding the finishing touches such as sealing any remaining gaps around the unit and adding hardware such as handles and hooks!
After the piece is fully finished we always ask clients to use the furniture for a couple of weeks and if they notice any snags or defects to let us know and we can make one final visit to resolve any snags.
The Workshop
In September 2023 we moved into a 720sqft workshop space in Flimwell, just off the A21 on the border of East Sussex and Kent.
This workshop space allows us to be more efficient and deliver a significantly higher quality finish, with less time spent on site (meaning less disruption), which is a win-win for everyone!
We’re really excited to develop this space over time, so stay tuned on my social channels for progress updates.
Timeline
SEPTEMBER 2023
As you can see in the first photo, upon moving in the space was pretty sparce, although the unit did include a large workbench left from a previous tenant.
MARCH 2024
As of March 2024, roughly 6 months after moving into the space, we’d been really pleased with how this space had evolved over time. Upgrades included the purchase of a new Graco GXFF airless paint sprayer, giving an even better painted finish; as well as upgrading the electrics, expanding the drying racking and upgrading the air filtration and extraction within the workshop.
SEPTEMBER 2024
As of September 2024, the space had been transformed again, with the introduction of a partitioning wall separating the spraying / drying area from the main part of the workshop. This allowed the drying capacity to expand further and allowed two people to work simultaneously in different parts of the unit.
