How much do joiners earn?

If you’re a dab hand at working with timber, joinery is the ideal trade for you. As an artisan responsible for designing, creating and installing things made of wood, every day will be different and you’ll be able to take real pride in your work. But how much do joiners earn?

Whether you’re new to the trade, looking to go self-employed or hoping to hire employees for your joinery business, this guide is for you.

How much do joiners make?

As a joiner, you could earn anywhere from £11,414 per year for an apprentice, to £66,377 per year for a limited company owner.

However, exactly how much you can expect to earn will depend on a number of factors, such as your location, any areas of specialty, your rates and how many jobs you complete each year.

As you can see, there’s good scope to improve your earnings as you become more experienced. However, it’s also worth noting that you’ll have the highest earning potential by going self-employed – whether you choose to run your business as a sole trader or a limited company.

How much do joiners earn as employees?

Working for a company as a joiner is a great way to build up your experience and learn the tricks of the trade. However, the highest earning potential is reserved for joiners who are self-employed.

How much does an apprentice joiner earn?

A joiner’s apprentice will earn an average salary of £11,414 per year (£11,024 take home). That works out at around 1126.58 per month or £11,414 per hour.

That might not sound like a lot, but it’s a fantastic way to learn on the job. It won’t take long until you’re fully qualified, at which point, there’s plenty of scope to work your way up and earn more.

How much does a joiner make a year?

Once you’ve qualified as a joiner, you’ll earn a salary that reflects your level of experience, where you live and any special skills you have. Here’s how much you can expect to make.

• Newly qualified joiner: £17,560 per year (£15,434 take home)
• Employed joiner: £35,360 per year (£27,538 take home)

How much do joiners earn a month?

If you’re wondering how much joiners earn a month, you’re in luck. We’ve broken down the average yearly salary above to reveal how much you could expect to earn on a monthly basis.

• Newly qualified joiner: 1733.2 per month
• Employed joiner: 2946.44 per month

Average joiner salary UK per hour

So, how much do employed joiners earn per hour? Here’s the lowdown based on the yearly salary provided above.

• Newly qualified: £10 per hour
• Employed joiner: £17 per hour

Although being an employed joiner can be good experience, you’ll have the potential to earn a lot more if you go self-employed.

How much do self-employed joiners earn?

As a self-employed joiner, you’ll be able to set your own rates. You’ll also be able to pocket more of what you charge clients! So, it’s no surprise that you’ll have the highest earning potential.

How to start a joinery business

How much does a joiner earn per hour when self-employed?

Self-employed joiners can either run their own businesses as sole traders or as limited companies.

• Sole trader: £37.50 per hour
• Limited company owner: £45 per hour

As you can see, if you decide to run your own limited company, you’ll have the potential to earn the most. However, you’ll also have more admin and business expenses to contend with!

Should I be a sole trader or limited company?

Joinery business revenue

So, how does that compare when you look at these earnings across a whole year?

• Sole trader: £55,314 per year (£37,010 take home)
• Limited company owner: £55,314 per year (£43,268 take home)

When you’re working out your take-home pay as a self-employed joiner, you’ll have to take into account your outgoings. These include things like tools, insurance, vans, fuel and more. We’ve deducted some estimated costs here, but you might have more or less depending on what you choose to invest in to run your business.

Business expenses – everything you need to know to boss them

Set your hours and pay by starting your own joinery business

If you like the idea of maximising your earning potential, you’ll want to set up your own joinery business. Better still, it will also enable you to choose your own hours, set your own rates and control how many jobs you win each year. Nice!

To learn everything you need to know about setting up your own joinery business, make sure to sign up to our ‘Become the Boss’ series.

We’ll send you 7 emails (and a cheeky bonus one!) featuring handy tips and guidance from tradespeople who were once in your position. Plus, you’ll receive a free business strategy call.

And at the end of it all? You’ll get to be your own boss!

To get started, just enter your email in the form below (then, enjoy receiving trade business insider secrets straight to your pocket!).

How to boost your joinery business profit

It might feel like a long way off now, but before you know it you’ll be looking at growing your joinery business and boosting that all-important profit! So, brush up on these tips now and set yourself up for success.

Pinpoint your USP

To encourage homeowners to choose you over your competitors, it helps to have a USP.

Often, this will be about the services you offer. Consider whether you want to specialise in any particular type of joinery. For example, you could specialise in constructing furniture or in making staircases.

That way, when a homeowner is looking for that service, your business will stand out from the crowd.

Get more leads

To boost your bottom line, you’ll need a steady stream of leads. That’s where marketing comes in.

We’d recommend investing in both print and digital marketing to be as visible as you can be both in your local area and online. Our guide to growing your trade business has a free download you can use to help.

How to grow your trade business in 2023 – Free guide included

Joining Checkatrade will boost the number of leads you receive too. Members not only have the chance to appear in our printed directory, but they’re also visible to the millions of homeowners searching for trades like yours online every year.

Win more jobs

Increasing your leads is only half the picture – you’ll also need to be able to convert those leads into paying customers!

Trust is an essential part of this. So, make sure you collect reviews from happy customers. You can display these on your website as well as asking customers to review you on third-party sites such as Google or trade directories.

Becoming a Checkatrade member is another fantastic way to give homeowners confidence in your business. We’re the tick people trust – in fact, 8 out of 10 people would choose a trade endorsed by Checkatrade compared to one that isn’t*.

Consider your rates

Although running your own business will mean you can choose your own rates, you’ll need to make sure you price yourself sensibly. Charge too much and homeowners will turn to your competitors. Charge too little and you’ll struggle to cover your outgoings and make a decent profit.

Before setting your pricing, do some research into other joinery businesses in your area to ensure you can price yourself competitively. Do some calculations into how much it will cost you to carry out your work too – if you find you’re barely covering your outgoings, that’s a sign you probably need to increase your rates.

Reduce your expenditure

Improving your profit margins isn’t just about boosting your revenue. By reducing your expenditure, you’ll be able to keep more of that juicy revenue in your own pocket!

Try to limit the amount of debt you take on, as credit card bills and loan repayments can quickly eat into your profit. And ensure that you shop around for the best deals on good-quality tools, materials and workwear.

As a Checkatrade member, you’ll be able to access exclusive discounts with our trade partners. Members who use the offers actually save on average £500 per year (year runs from April 20’ to March 21’)!

Evaluate your service area

Consider how far you’re willing to travel to carry out joinery work. The further you travel for a job, the greater your costs will be. So, it might be worth staying closer to home to keep your costs down.

That said, there are things you can do to make it worth your while travelling further afield. For instance, you could charge a travel fee for jobs that are far away, or only travel beyond a certain distance for high-value jobs.

Join Checkatrade!

Finally, the best way to grow your new business is to become a Checkatrade member.

As the #1 trade directory in the UK, millions of homeowners use us to find trades like joiners every year. By joining us, you can make sure your business is one of those they find!

FAQs

What does a joiner earn in the UK?

The average employed joiner in the UK earns around £35,360 per year (£27,538 take home).

Are joiners well paid?

There’s good scope to improve your earnings as a joiner. The best-paid joiners are those who are self-employed. While a sole trader could receive a take-home salary of around £37,010 per year, a limited company owner could receive around £43,268 take-home.

What is a joiner’s hourly rate in the UK?

A joiner’s hourly rate starts at around £11,414 for an apprentice and goes up to around £45 for the owner of a joinery limited company.

*Deep Blue Thinking 2021 Trade Perception Survey