How to choose a furniture maker in Adelaide

Furniture making is not a licensed trade in South Australia. There is no register, no licence number and no compulsory qualification behind the title, so anyone can use it and no amount of searching a government database will tell you whether someone is any good. That single fact is why choosing a maker here works differently to choosing a plumber, and why the 9 checks below matter.

Start here: there is nothing to look up

With most trades you begin by checking a licence. With furniture making there is nothing to check, which sends people to reviews and photographs instead. Both are weak signals. Photographs show a piece on delivery day, which is the day every piece looks its best, and they show nothing about how it was built or how it behaved in its second summer.

So the checks have to be structural. What follows is ordered by how much risk each one removes per minute spent.

Fitted work is the exception to all of this. Cabinetry fixed to a building can fall under building work in South Australia, which can require a licence held by the person doing the work or by the builder engaging them. Whether your specific job counts depends on what is being fixed and what else is being altered, so confirm it with the maker directly and ask them to name the licence they hold or the builder they work under. Consumer and Business Services is the South Australian body that administers occupational licensing and is the right place to verify what applies. The difference between the trades is set out in cabinet maker, furniture maker or joiner.

The 9 checks that actually work

| # | Check | How to verify it | Time it takes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Current, active ABN | Search the business name on ABN Lookup, free | 2 minutes | | 2 | Current public liability insurance | Ask for the certificate of currency, check the expiry date | 1 email | | 3 | Portfolio of completed local work | Ask for 3 pieces beyond the hero shots, including detail photos | 1 email | | 4 | References you can actually call | Ask for 2 from the last 12 months, then call them | 20 minutes | | 5 | A written quote naming species and construction | Read the quote against the 6 lines below | 10 minutes | | 6 | A clear deposit and payment structure | 40% to 50% at order, balance on delivery | Read the quote | | 7 | A warranty that addresses movement | Ask what happens if the top opens at a glue line in year 2 | 1 question | | 8 | Specific answers to construction questions | Ask how the top is fixed. Listen for the word "movement" | 1 conversation | | 9 | A workshop you can visit | Ask for 30 minutes on site | 1 visit |

1. A current, active ABN

Free, instant and the single highest-value 2 minutes in the process. ABN Lookup shows whether the ABN is active, when it was registered, the entity name and whether it is registered for GST. An ABN registered 3 weeks ago is not disqualifying, but it should change how much deposit you are comfortable paying and how large a first job you commission.

Match the entity name on the ABN to the name on the quote and the name on the bank account you are asked to pay. Those 3 should agree.

2. Current public liability insurance

Ask for the certificate of currency as a PDF. Check the expiry date, and check that the insured entity matches the ABN. Cover of $10 million or $20 million is standard for trades working in domestic properties.

This matters most on fitted work, where someone is in your house with power tools near your plumbing and wiring. On a freestanding piece delivered to your door, it matters less than the other 8 checks, but a working business carries it.

3. A portfolio past the hero shot

Every portfolio online is 12 beautiful photographs of finished pieces in styled rooms. Ask for something else:

• 2 or 3 detail photographs: a drawer front, a mitred corner, the underside of a tabletop, a scribe against a wall
• A piece photographed 2 or more years after delivery, which almost nobody has and which is enormously telling
• A piece similar to yours, not just similar in style

The underside of a tabletop is the most useful image a maker can send you. It shows the fixing method, whether the underside is finished, and how the boards were laid up. None of that is visible from above.

4. References you can call

Ask for 2 customers from the last 12 months and actually ring them. 3 questions: did it arrive when they said, did the final price match the quote, and has anything moved or opened since. The third question is the one that matters in Adelaide.

5, 6 and 7. What the quote says

A quote is a document about how someone works. Read these 6 lines and ignore the total until you have:

1. Species, and whether the top is solid or veneered
2. Finished dimensions including top thickness in millimetres
3. How the top attaches to the base
4. Finish product by name and number of coats
5. Deposit, balance timing and what happens if the date slips
6. Warranty scope, and specifically whether it covers movement

40% to 50% deposit at order with the balance on delivery is the Adelaide norm and is not a warning sign. It buys the timber. The cost guide breaks down where the rest of the money goes.

On warranty, the useful question is not "how long". It is "what happens if the top opens at a glue line in year 2". A maker who has built for this climate will answer that immediately and will tell you what is covered, what is normal seasonal movement, and where the line sits. A maker who has not will get uncomfortable.

8. Specific answers to construction questions

Ask 1 open question and listen to the shape of the answer: how is the top fixed to the base, and how does it move?

A good answer names a method. Buttons in a slot, z-clips, or elongated screw holes across the width, plus a note that the top is finished on both faces so both sides breathe at the same rate. It probably includes a comment about Adelaide summers.

A weak answer is a reassurance. "It will be fine, we have been doing this for years" is not an answer to that question, and the question genuinely matters here. Adelaide is the driest mainland capital, and a house on ducted refrigerated cooling can sit under 30% relative humidity indoors for weeks in February. A top screwed rigidly through a fixed rail will crack. Why solid timber tables split in Adelaide homes covers the mechanism.

9. A workshop you can visit

Look for 4 things: a timber rack with stock in it, a moisture meter, work in progress on the bench, and dust extraction. Those 4 in combination tell you this is a business rather than a garage hobby with a website, and they take 5 minutes to observe.

The 3 answers that should end the conversation

These are not rudeness tests or gut feel. Each one signals a specific, expensive problem.

1. Vagueness about whether the top is solid or veneered. Every maker knows exactly what they have quoted. Veneer over a stable substrate is a legitimate and sometimes superior choice, particularly on wide cabinet doors. It is only a problem when it is not disclosed, because the price difference on the same piece is roughly 40% and you cannot tell by looking on delivery day.

2. No explanation of how the top is allowed to move. Covered above. It is the single most common cause of a failed piece in this city and the fastest question to separate makers with.

3. A demand for 100% up front. No custom furniture commission needs full payment before the work exists. 40% to 50% at order is normal, a staged third payment on a large joinery job is normal, and the balance sits on delivery for a reason. Paying in full removes every piece of leverage you have if the date slips or the piece is not right.

What we check before we refer anyone

We are a referral service and we do not build furniture, so our only useful function is filtering. Before we pass an enquiry to a maker we confirm a current ABN, current public liability insurance and a portfolio of completed Adelaide work. It is free to use, the makers pay us rather than you, and there is no obligation on you at any point.

That is 3 of the 9 checks, which means the other 6 are still your job. They are worth doing.

Where to go next

If you have a shortlist and want to compare quotes properly, the finishes guide explains the specification line most often left vague, and it is where 2 quotes on the same piece most often diverge without saying so.

For the trades themselves, furniture makers in Adelaide covers freestanding work and cabinet makers in Adelaide covers fitted cabinetry and built-ins.