Find a trusted carpenter in Adelaide

Repairing timber in Adelaide’s villas and cottages

Carpentry on an old Adelaide home is mostly about saving what’s there. Stone villas and cottages from the late 1800s and early 1900s are full of timber worth keeping: Baltic pine floorboards, double-hung sash windows, panelled doors and tall moulded skirtings. When a board splits or a sash cord snaps, a careful repair usually looks better and costs less than ripping it all out.

That kind of work is slow and fiddly, so it’s normally charged by the hour. Matching an old skirting or architrave profile can mean a custom-milled length or recycled timber, and replacement Baltic boards often come from salvage yards. Front verandahs are a regular job too, where timber posts and floorboards rot at the base after decades of weather, and a carpenter can replace the damaged sections without rebuilding the lot.

Decks and pergolas that cope with the heat

Adelaide’s dry summers and strong sun are hard on outdoor timber. Decks dry out, turn grey and start to split if they aren’t oiled or sealed regularly, and dark composite boards can get uncomfortably hot underfoot in the afternoon. Hardwoods like merbau and spotted gum hold up well, treated pine costs less, and any timber going into the ground should be rated for in-ground use.

The clay matters here as well. Deck stumps and pergola posts need footings deep enough to ride out the seasonal movement, or the frame will twist and boards will start to lift. Some decks, verandahs and pergolas need development approval, depending on their size, height and distance from a boundary, so ask your carpenter to check through PlanSA before you commit.

Carpentry needs a licence in SA

South Australia treats carpentry on a house as building work. That means the carpenter you hire needs a CBS building work contractors licence with conditions covering that work, whatever the job is worth. That’s stricter than states with a dollar threshold, so even a small deck counts. Look the carpenter up on the CBS Occupational Public Register before you pay a deposit, and read our guide to licence checks in SA for what the conditions mean.

What carpenters charge in Adelaide

Carpentry rates in Adelaide sit inside the national guide: roughly $60–$100 an hour, or $500–$800 for a full day, with materials on top. Hanging an internal door is usually $150–$450 in labour, skirting and architraves around $300–$900 a room, and a 20 m² timber deck about $6,000–$12,000. A timber pergola typically runs $5,000–$15,000 before a roof or approvals. Our carpenter price guide covers more jobs, from external doors to stair treads.

How we match your Adelaide carpenter

Tell us what you need built or fixed and your suburb, whether you’re in a Parkside villa or a newer place in Greenwith. You’ll hear from one local carpenter, already checked for licence, insurance and reviews. One carpenter, one quote, and no charge to you.

Need a carpenter in another city? Start at our carpenters page. For other trades in town, see tradies in Adelaide. Then get a free quote.