Woodworkers near you

When looking for a professional to hire for your woodworking project, make sure you complete the following steps:

• Verify their license and insurance: Woodworkers may need a license for certain residential projects that require specialized training. For example, if you want to hire a woodworker for carpentry, millwork, or construction-related projects, they may need a specific license. But if your project involves furniture building or a custom wood piece, they may just need a business license. Requirements depend on your local area so be sure to do your research. Also, make sure whoever you hire is bonded and insured.

• Get several estimates: Request detailed estimates from multiple woodworkers near you, including a breakdown of labor, materials, and any potential additional costs.

• Read their reviews: Look for reviews consistently highlighting craftsmanship, punctuality, and professionalism. Red flags include complaints about poor-quality work or missed deadlines.

• Look at their portfolios: Review their past projects, particularly ones similar to yours, to evaluate their expertise, craftsmanship, and style.

• Find out if they have warranties: Ask if the woodworker offers any warranties or guarantees for their work. Always make sure you understand the terms before moving forward. 

• Ask important questions: For example, have they worked on projects similar to yours, can they provide references, and what is the expected timeline for completing the work?

For more tips, visit Thumbtack’s Smart Hiring page.

Woodworkers typically offer the following services: 

• Building custom furniture, such as tables, chairs, bookshelves, and desks

• Creating custom kitchen cabinets designed to fit in a new home or office space perfectly

• Engraving decorative pieces with an artistic flair

• Producing custom wooden vases, lamps, dishes and bowls

• Building custom stair railings and handrails

• Carving statues and other display items in and around the home

• Repairing and preserving antique items

• Creating outdoor and garden woodwork such as custom pergolas, gazebos, and decking

There are a few other services that a skilled woodworker might offer. Double check with your pro to confirm if they can also do the following:

• Installing their pieces and creations, such as cabinets, stair railings, flooring, and more.

• Rough carpentry, such as installing wood flooring, wall framing, and more.

• Installing trim, crown molding, baseboards, and more.

Woodworkers and carpenters are both skilled in crafting with wood, but there are some differences between them. 

In most cases, a carpenter is involved with the building process on a larger scale. They are often mobile and work on the job site, helping build and install frames, decks, staircases, sheds, and other wooden components of a project. 

In comparison, a woodworker often handles smaller, artisan jobs such as furniture, cabinets, dishes, tables, and other household items. Woodworkers typically work in their own workshop and bring their creations to the job site after completion for installation.

In short, carpenters build with wood, while woodworkers create projects out of wood. Carpentry is more about structural and construction-related work, while woodworking leans toward craftsmanship and precision projects. However, you may find pros that offer both services. 

The cost to hire a woodworker will greatly depend on your project. For example, the national average cost of building custom furniture ranges from around $700 to $2,660*, according to Thumbtack data. Meanwhile, custom cabinetry costs around $1,265 to $4,720*. 

There are several other factors that might impact the cost to hire a woodworker, including: 

• Project complexity: More detailed or custom work may require additional time and materials, increasing costs.

• Materials: The type and quality of wood (and other materials) you select can affect the final price. For example, walnut and cherry wood is usually more expensive, and pine and fir tend to be more affordable.

• Location: Woodworker rates may vary based on your location and local demand.

You might be able to save money on your project with these tips:

• Keep designs simple: Straightforward projects tend to be more affordable.

• Plan ahead: Book woodworkers in advance to avoid last-minute premium charges.

• Reuse materials: If possible, provide your own wood or salvage materials to help cut costs.

*Data on file at Thumbtack. For a personalized cost estimate, request a quote from a professional.

Some of the biggest benefits of hiring a local woodworker include the following:

• Quality: Many woodworkers have mastered their craft and can provide a high-quality product for your project. Just make sure you’ve seen proof of their previous pieces and projects so you can judge for yourself.

• Customization: Hiring a professional woodworker means you can often customize what you want for your space. Instead of choosing mass-produced products (like furniture and cabinets), you can work with a woodworker to create something truly unique.

• Timeliness: While some woodworkers are in high demand with some required lead time, they’ll likely complete the job much faster than you could on your own.

• Knowledge: You can rely on their expertise for wood choice, care, maintenance, and finishing technique to get the best results for your project.

Carpenters are skilled craftsmen who build things out of wood. Depending on what the carpenter builds, they may be referred to by various names. A framer is a carpenter who puts up the framing on a house. A trim or finish carpenter installs the finishing touches of prefabricated or custom trim and detail work once a house has been built and the walls are up. A furniture maker or woodworker builds furniture — such as tables, beds and dressers — out of wood. A cabinetmaker is a carpenter who builds custom and semi-custom wood cabinets. If you’re having a home built or remodeled, your general contractor will either provide or subcontract the carpentry work for the framing, cabinets and trim. You can hire a carpenter directly to update the trim in your home, build you a piece of custom furniture, or repair or replace your wood cabinets.

Carpenters are trained to work with wood. That means that any part of your home that is built of wood is very likely to involve a carpenter. Framing carpenters will put up the wood that makes up the bones of your home. If you’re having a wood floor installed, it may be done by a carpenter — although being a carpenter is not a requirement to install flooring. Trim, baseboards, wainscoting and any other detail work is typically installed by a finish carpenter. The wood boxes of custom cabinets will be built and installed by a carpenter.

Although all of these components in your new or remodeled home are built by carpenters who specialize in building things with wood, a general contractor typically oversees construction of the entire house. If the general contractor is also a carpenter skilled in all these areas, they may well construct your entire home. More often, the general contractor subcontracts out the various building stages to different individuals, including carpenters.

On average, finish carpenters charge $60 per hour. However, this hourly rate will vary depending on where you live, the scope of the project and other factors. For a more accurate estimate, ask for price quotes from at least three finish carpenters in your area.