What a carpenter should cost in India in 2026: hinges, doors, wardrobes, kitchen and polish rates

A sagging door does not need a new door, and a wardrobe quoted as one number is a wardrobe nobody can check. Here is what each common carpentry job involves, what you should expect to pay in a typical Indian city, and the difference between a carpenter who delivers a finished unit and one who leaves you adjusting shutters for a year.

The short answer

Small repairs run from ₹200 to ₹800. Built-in furniture is priced per square foot of front elevation, from ₹300 to ₹500. The visit charge is around ₹300 and most carpenters waive it once the work is confirmed.

Metro cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru run about 30 percent higher. A same-day call adds roughly 20 percent. Flexible timing takes a little off. These are the figures the TheHire cost estimator uses, so what you read here is what it will quote.

How carpenters actually charge

Four parts make up the number, and most disputes come from the second one being left vague.

1. The visit charge. Around ₹300 to come and measure. Waived when the work goes ahead. For a wardrobe or kitchen, the measurement visit is where the quote becomes real, so expect it.
2. Labour, per unit or per square foot. Repairs are per piece. Assembly is per item. Built-ins are per square foot of front elevation: width times height of the finished face, in feet. A 6 ft by 7 ft wardrobe is 42 sq ft, whether it has three shelves or nine. Ask explicitly whether the rate is labour only or includes material; the ₹450 wardrobe rate includes material in its range, while the ₹6,000 TV unit rate is labour with material on top.
3. Materials, by brand and grade. Plywood, laminate, hardware, adhesive, edge banding. This is where quotes diverge most and where a cheap quote hides. The brand and the grade belong in writing.
4. Where you live and when. Tier 1 cities cost more; a same-day repair costs more; flexible dates cost a little less.

The eight jobs every home eventually calls for

1. Hinges, handles and shutters, ₹200 to ₹300

A kitchen shutter that will not sit flush, a cupboard door that catches, a hinge that has pulled out of the board. Shutter alignment, including setting the soft-close, is ₹200 per shutter. A hinge or handle replacement is ₹300 per piece plus ₹100 to ₹500 for the hardware. If a hinge screw spins without biting, the board behind it has blown out from moisture, and plugging it properly is the difference between a repair and the same call in six months.

2. Drawers and sliding tracks, ₹350 and ₹500

A drawer that drops or grinds is a telescopic channel, ₹350 to replace plus ₹150–₹800 for the channel. Soft-close and tandem channels sit at the top of that range and are worth it in a kitchen. A sliding wardrobe door that jumps its track is ₹500, usually a worn roller or a track clogged with dust.

3. Locks, ₹350 per lock

Fitting or replacing a mortise lock, a cylindrical lock or a drawer lock: ₹350 plus ₹300–₹2,500 for the lock itself. For a main door, buy the lock before the carpenter arrives and buy a known brand; a ₹300 main door lock is a ₹300 main door.

4. Doors and frames, ₹1,500 to ₹1,200

A new flush door on an existing frame is ₹1,500 plus ₹2,500–₹12,000 for the door. A new frame is ₹1,200 plus ₹2,000–₹8,000. A wooden window is ₹1,200. A mosquito mesh door is ₹900 plus ₹1,200–₹4,000, and is the single most useful carpentry job in most Indian homes. Door polish or paint preparation is ₹1,200 per door.

For a bathroom door, the material matters more than the carpentry: solid wood and ordinary plywood both swell. A WPC or PVC door, or a BWP-grade flush door, is what survives.

5. Flat-pack assembly, ₹500 to ₹1,500

Furniture bought online and delivered in boxes. A table or chair is ₹500, a TV unit or bookshelf ₹900, a bed ₹1,200, a wardrobe ₹1,500. Dismantling for a move is ₹600 per unit. Worth paying for on anything with a cam-lock fitting; over-tightened cam locks crack the board and the piece never sits square again.

6. Custom built-ins, ₹300 to ₹450 per sq ft

The big one. A custom wardrobe in plywood with laminate is ₹450 per square foot of front elevation, with material in the range at ₹250–₹600 per sq ft depending on the grade. A loft or storage cabinet is ₹300 per sq ft, a bookshelf or display unit ₹350 per sq ft, a study table ₹3,500, a TV unit ₹6,000 in labour plus ₹4,000–₹15,000 in material, a pooja unit ₹7,000 plus ₹5,000–₹20,000.

A 6 ft by 7 ft wardrobe is 42 sq ft; multiply by the rate to sanity-check any quote you are given.

7. Kitchen, ₹150 to ₹500 per sq ft

Installing ready-made modular units is ₹150 per sq ft. Building custom cabinets on site is ₹500 per sq ft with material at ₹300–₹700. A single replacement shutter is ₹600 plus ₹400–₹1,500.

In a kitchen the carcass material is the decision that matters: anything below the sink and beside the hob should be BWP plywood or marine ply, never MDF or particle board, because that is where water lives.

8. Finishes, ₹45 to ₹110 per sq ft

Melamine or PU polish on wood is ₹45 per sq ft plus ₹15–₹40 in material. Laminate on an existing surface is ₹60 per sq ft plus ₹40–₹120. Veneer finishing is ₹110 per sq ft plus ₹80–₹200. Wooden or laminate flooring is ₹60 per sq ft, a wooden partition ₹180 per sq ft.

One rule that saves money: group the small jobs. A visit that fixes four shutters, two drawers and a lock costs far less than four visits, and carpenters on TheHire discount from the fourth item. For a day of mixed small work, the ₹900 day rate is often cheaper than itemising.

Five signs of a carpenter who finishes properly

• They measure twice and write the measurements down, including the floor's level and whether the wall is plumb. Indian walls rarely are, and a wardrobe built square against a wall that is not will not close.
• They name the plywood brand and grade, BWP or MR, and the laminate thickness, and they let you check the BIS mark on the sheet.
• They edge-band every cut edge, including the ones inside the unit that nobody sees. An unbanded edge in a humid city drinks water and swells.
• They dry-fit before glue, and they use proper fasteners rather than only nails into end grain.
• They clean up, adjust every shutter after fitting, and come back once to re-adjust after the wood has settled.

Every carpenter on TheHire is ID and phone verified, and reviews after each job are public, which takes care of the part you cannot check at the door.

What to keep ready before they arrive

• The measurements of the space, and a photo of the wall with the window and any switchboards visible.
• Pictures of what you want, which communicate better than any description.
• Your decision on laminate finish and colour, or a willingness to go to the shop with the carpenter.
• Clear floor space and a power point for the tools; cutting makes a great deal of dust, so agree where it happens.
• For a repair, a photo of the broken part. A picture of a failed hinge tells the carpenter which hardware to bring.

When the price is not the price

The wall is not straight. A wardrobe against an out-of-plumb wall needs filler strips and scribing. It is honest extra work; a carpenter who mentions it at measurement is being straight with you, and one who discovers it on day three is not.

Moisture damage behind the unit. Opening up an old wardrobe often finds a damp wall or termite in the batten. Replacing a termite-damaged panel is ₹120 per sq ft plus ₹60–₹200, and the cause is the pest control service's problem before it is the carpenter's.

Material grade substitution. The commonest way a quote becomes cheap is MR plywood where BWP was agreed, or a thinner laminate. Both are invisible on day one and obvious in year three. Keep the material bill and check the brand on the sheets before they are cut.