Carpentry & Joinery in Hendon

Carpentry & Joinery in Hendon: what is different here

Fire doorsets to Barnet's HMO standards

Barnet's adopted HMO standards ask for kitchens in shared houses to be fitted with 30-minute fire resisting doorsets to BS 476-22, self-closing from any point of travel, with intumescent and cold smoke seals to the head and both sides. The council can also attach property-specific fire precaution conditions to a licence, based on the LACORS guide.

We fit complete doorsets where the frame is unsuitable, or new door leaves into a sound frame, hang them with the correct hinges, fit the closer and seals and leave the gaps within tolerance. Each door is photographed with its label so you have evidence for the licence file.

Locks on bedroom and exit doors

Barnet's HMO licence conditions require bedroom and final exit doors to have locks that open from the inside without a key, meeting BS 8621, with a thumb turn or handle inside and a key outside. In shared accommodation the council does not insist on bedroom locks at all, but where they are fitted they must meet that standard.

Old Victorian mortice deadlocks that need a key on both sides are a common licence finding in Hendon student houses. We swap them for compliant lock cases or rim locks and make sure the door still latches and closes against its self-closer.

Sashes, doors and Article 4 on The Burroughs

Barnet's appraisal for The Burroughs notes that the older listed buildings, such as Nos. 42 to 52, keep their timber sash windows, while a couple of the locally listed terraces at 63 to 77 have had uPVC put in. The 1987 Article 4 direction covering 63 to 77 The Burroughs and 1 to 8 Burroughs Gardens restricts replacing windows and doors.

That makes repair the practical route: new sash cords and pulleys, splicing in new timber where the bottom rail or sill has rotted, replacing staff and parting beads, and easing a painted-shut sash. Front doors in the area are mostly painted softwood, so we repair panels, frames and thresholds to match rather than fit a new door.

Converted flats: boxing, floors and sound

Conversions of the Victorian and Edwardian houses around Brent Street often left pipes and soil stacks boxed in with thin hardboard, floorboards cut and refixed several times for new pipe runs, and stud partitions with poor fixings. Typical jobs are re-boxing pipework with access panels so a plumber can reach the valves later, refixing squeaking or loose boards before a new floor goes down, and building shelving and wardrobes into the alcoves either side of a chimney breast, which the interwar semis around Hendon Central have as well. Where a leaseholder wants to put down a hard floor, check the lease first, because many conversion leases require carpet or acoustic underlay to protect the flat below.

Void repairs between lets

Shared houses take hard wear on doors. Between tenancies we refit hinges that have pulled out of the frame, replace damaged architrave and door stops, fix kitchen cupboard doors and drawer runners, repair skirting kicked loose by furniture, and adjust doors that have dropped and no longer close against a closer. A summer list for a five-bedroom Hendon house is often a day or two of carpentry, which we can schedule alongside decorating so doors are repaired before they are painted.

Official sources

• Barnet HMO standards: kitchen fire doorsets to BS 476-22 with seals
• Barnet HMO licence conditions: BS 8621 locks on bedroom and exit doors
• The Burroughs appraisal: sash windows, softwood front doors, 1987 Article 4 direction
• Hendon conservation areas, Planning Data

Last reviewed October 2026 by EliteShires Property Services.