Architect-led residential developments live and die on programme. Twelve matched doorsets across two build phases means twelve opportunities to hold up the whole programme with a single missed delivery. Here's how we coordinated a recent multi-doorset package end-to-end.
A boutique developer building 12 modern residential units on a Cotswold-stone-clad site. Architect-specified doorsets throughout: matched front entrances, matched internal doorsets, and a distinctive arched-head oak front door on each unit as the main visual feature.
Total scope: 12 arched front doorsets (identical, matched to a single set of architect drawings), 24 patio/back-garden French doors (matched pairs, aluminium-framed with matching hardware), and 84 internal doorsets (6-panel oak, matched across all units).
The manufacturing is the easy part. Coordination is where multi-doorset packages either work or don't work.
Two workshop visits from the architect during the first prototype build. First visit to review joinery detail and hardware. Second visit to sign off finished prototype for factory production. Once the prototype is signed off, remaining 11 units run identically — no design variation permitted mid-programme, which is what keeps a multi-unit build on schedule.
Site programme dictated first-fix carpentry in weeks 8-10 (frames set), second-fix in weeks 14-18 (doors hung and finished). We aligned:
Every delivery was booked into the site programme with the site manager 4 weeks in advance and re-confirmed 5 working days before the delivery date. Zero deliveries were missed. Zero units held up the site programme.
Our fitting team was on-site during the second-fit window with two fitters for four weeks. Each unit's doorsets were installed as a batch (front, back and internals per unit) to allow the site's decorating trade to follow immediately. Fitting per unit averaged 1.5 days — three units per week per fitter, meaning two fitters cleared six units per week.
Manufacturing 12 identical arched doors requires jig setup for the arched-head geometry. Once set up, each arched head is machined identically to the last — this is where volume actually saves cost per unit relative to one-off bespoke work.
Internal doorsets: engineered oak core with solid oak lippings, veneer-matched across the 84 doors from a single tree source to ensure grain consistency. Individual units of 12 doors bagged and labelled per unit at the workshop to prevent mix-up on-site.
All 12 units completed on the developer's original programme. Zero rework requests. Two snagging visits post-completion for minor door-drop adjustments as buildings settled — expected and included in the fitting programme.
The developer subsequently specified us for their next site (18 units) without competitive tender. The architect firm has since specified us on three further residential developments and one boutique hotel refit.
Two things: (1) locking design early (prototype sign-off, then no variation), (2) treating delivery scheduling as a first-class engineering problem, not an afterthought. Most multi-unit joinery failures aren't manufacturing failures — they're delivery-timing failures that hold up whole build programmes.
If you're specifying for a multi-doorset development, our default recommendation is to lock the design early, run prototype approval before batch production starts, and align our delivery schedule to your build sequence at contract stage. It costs nothing to plan it right; it costs a lot to fix it when it's wrong.
