Greater London · All 33 boroughs · Shelf installation
Shelf installation in London
Shelf installation across London: 33 boroughs and 329 named areas, each with its own page, its own access notes and the wall type that decides which fixing your shelf actually needs.
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- £5m public liability
- Licensed waste carrier CBDU300454
- Since 2019
- From £45 a shelf — floating, bracketed, alcove, kitchen and garage shelving
- 33 boroughs and 329 areas, each with its own local page
- Same-day and evening slots booked behind your delivery window
- Old shelving down, holes made good, price fixed in writing
The service, locally
Shelf installation across Greater London
We are an independent installation company. Shelves are priced per unit from £45, set out from the room, scanned for cables, fixed with rated anchors, load-tested and the dust taken away with us.
Same-day and evening slots are held for deliveries and handovers, and old shelving is taken down — and the holes made good — in the same visit.
- Boroughs covered
- 33Boroughs covered
- Local area pages
- 329Local area pages
- From, per shelf
- £45From, per shelf
- Hourly, mixed lists
- £55Hourly, mixed lists
Instant estimate
Price your London shelf build
How it works
How a London shelf assembly visit works
- Send the wall, get a fixed pricePhotograph the wall and the shelves. We price each shelf from the London list, name the fixing the wall needs and confirm one written figure the same working day.
- We handle the accessPermits, bay suspensions, concierge sign-in and goods-lift bookings are arranged and paid for by us, so full-length boards are carried in once.
- Fixed, levelled, load-testedDust sheets down, cables scanned, drilling on extraction, every run laser-levelled and loaded in front of you before the packaging leaves in the van.
- Get my price
Walls and fixings
What we are usually building in London
Most likely here
post-2010 apartments with dot-and-dab plasterboard over blockwork and reinforced concrete party walls
- Most-booked shelving
- media-wall shelving with concealed cabling, kitchen shelf runs and storage shelving where there is no loft
- Set-out constraint
- an open-plan wall carrying the TV, the router and the speakers, so the cable route is set out before the first hole
- Getting the boards in
- concierge sign-in, a booked goods lift and a loading-bay window agreed before the slot
- The check that closes the visit
- Corefix or Geefix through-fixings bridged into the block behind, then the run loaded and re-levelled
Per-shelf pricing across 329 London areas, with one written figure before the visit.
Every wall scanned for cables and pipes, every run load-tested and its safe working load written down.
Registered waste carrier: packaging leaves in the van and old shelving can be removed with a transfer note.
We carry plasterboard anchors, Corefix and Geefix through-fixings, resin capsules, frame fixings, toggles and long masonry bits, so the wall we find is the wall we can fix into. The fixings you actually need are itemised on the quote rather than sold as an unexplained extra.
Hello Services is an independent installation company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to IKEA, String, Vitsœ, B&Q or any other shelving brand. Brand and range names are used only to describe the shelves we fit.
Per-shelf prices
Shelf installation prices in London
| Shelf | From | To | Fitting time | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floating shelf, single (up to 120cm)Load-tested, safe working load stated | £45 | £75 | 40 mins | Concealed bar brackets set into stud or masonry, laser-levelled, then loaded and re-checked |
| Floating shelves, set of threeLoad-tested, safe working load stated | £95 | £155 | 1 hr 30 mins | Spacing set out from the room, not the box, so the gaps read even against the skirting and cornice |
| Bracketed shelf or timber shelf on railsLoad-tested, safe working load stated | £40 | £70 | 35 mins | Brackets pulled onto studs where they exist, rated cavity anchors where they do not |
| Picture ledge or narrow display shelf | £38 | £60 | 30 mins | Fixed to a marked-up line so a row of frames sits square to the ceiling rather than the floor |
| Glass shelf, bathroom or display | £45 | £80 | 35 mins | Tile-safe drilling on slow speed, holes sealed, brackets bedded so nothing weeps behind the tile |
| Alcove shelf, cut and scribedLoad-tested, safe working load stated | £65 | £110 | 1 hr | Templated to a wall that is never square, scribed tight, supported on a battened frame |
| Alcove set, three to four shelvesLoad-tested, safe working load stated | £190 | £340 | 3 hrs 30 mins | One alcove set out as a run, equal reveals, battens hidden and edges lipped ready to paint |
| Full-height alcove shelving, both sidesLoad-tested, safe working load stated | £380 | £720 | 7 hrs | Chimney-breast pair matched shelf for shelf, levelled across the room rather than each side alone |
| Heavy-duty shelf (books, records, tools)Load-tested, safe working load stated | £75 | £130 | 1 hr | Through-fixed or resin-anchored to a stated safe working load, then loaded in front of you |
| Kitchen or utility shelf runLoad-tested, safe working load stated | £85 | £160 | 1 hr 30 mins | Set above worktop height off the units, tile courses respected, silicone-sealed where it meets splashback |
Floating shelf, single (up to 120cm)
£45 – £75
40 mins · load-tested
Concealed bar brackets set into stud or masonry, laser-levelled, then loaded and re-checked
Floating shelves, set of three
£95 – £155
1 hr 30 mins · load-tested
Spacing set out from the room, not the box, so the gaps read even against the skirting and cornice
Bracketed shelf or timber shelf on rails
£40 – £70
35 mins · load-tested
Brackets pulled onto studs where they exist, rated cavity anchors where they do not
Picture ledge or narrow display shelf
£38 – £60
30 mins
Fixed to a marked-up line so a row of frames sits square to the ceiling rather than the floor
Glass shelf, bathroom or display
£45 – £80
35 mins
Tile-safe drilling on slow speed, holes sealed, brackets bedded so nothing weeps behind the tile
Alcove shelf, cut and scribed
£65 – £110
1 hr · load-tested
Templated to a wall that is never square, scribed tight, supported on a battened frame
Alcove set, three to four shelves
£190 – £340
3 hrs 30 mins · load-tested
One alcove set out as a run, equal reveals, battens hidden and edges lipped ready to paint
Full-height alcove shelving, both sides
£380 – £720
7 hrs · load-tested
Chimney-breast pair matched shelf for shelf, levelled across the room rather than each side alone
Heavy-duty shelf (books, records, tools)
£75 – £130
1 hr · load-tested
Through-fixed or resin-anchored to a stated safe working load, then loaded in front of you
Kitchen or utility shelf run
£85 – £160
1 hr 30 mins · load-tested
Set above worktop height off the units, tile courses respected, silicone-sealed where it meets splashback
Every shelf type we price, from a single floating shelf to a full-height alcove pair. Prices are per shelf and include VAT, the van, the fixings and clearing up.
£45 minimum per visit. Prices include VAT, the van, the fixings, dust control and taking the packaging away. Nothing is added on the day without your written agreement first. Load ratings are quoted per pair of fixings, in shear, on the substrate we actually found — not the maker's laboratory figure. Books, tools and a full record collection are the loads we design for.
Why Hello Services
Why book shelf assembly in London with us
Load-tested, then written down
The finished run is loaded in front of you and the safe working load goes on the job sheet — not left to the packaging to claim on the streets near The Barbican Centre — and 15% social-rented stock nearby, with 4,914 households on this patch.
Cables and pipes scanned
Every hole is scanned before it is drilled around Barbican (Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City), with The Barbican Centre a few streets away, and an ambiguous reading moves the fixing rather than risking the circuit.
Level to the room, not the ceiling
Laser set-out against the skirting, window head and the run beside it across EC2, with 98% of homes here being flats — and this being City of London Corporation territory, because that is what the eye in a Barbican room actually compares it to.
Old shelving out, holes gone
Take-down, plugs pulled, filled twice and sanded flush in the same visit, instead of a wall of craters waiting for a decorator on City of London bookings, with a median age of 37 in this neighbourhood. With 98% of homes in Barbican being flats, we plan the route up front.
Rates and local costs
Fixed per shelf, or hourly, in London
One shelf, fixed price
£45
from, per shelf
One shelf set out, scanned, drilled, fixed, levelled and load-tested, with the dust vacuumed as we go.
Hourly rate
£55
per hour, one-hour minimum
For mixed snag lists, salvaged timber and shelving that arrived without brackets or instructions.
Old shelving removed
£40
per run
Taken down, fixings pulled, holes filled and sanded flush ready for your decorator.
Full alcove day rate
£320
per fitter, per day
A pair of alcoves measured, cut, scribed and fitted in one visit, including the make-good.
- Parking and permits
- City of London Corporation visitor permits and bay suspensions are arranged and paid for by us, so timber, brackets and the dust extractor are carried in once. Estate loading bays must be booked with the car park office; goods lifts are shared and time-limited.
- Charging zones
- Part of City of London sits inside the Congestion Charge zone and all of it is inside ULEZ. Our vans are ULEZ compliant and neither charge ever appears on a EC2 invoice.
- What the wall is made of
- 98% of homes around Barbican are flats, so dot-and-dab, concrete panel and lath-and-plaster are common here — through-fixings are quoted from your photos before the slot, never discovered on the day.
Every wall is sounded and scanned for cables and pipes before a bit goes anywhere near it. Where a shelf lands on plasterboard we fix into the studs or use rated cavity anchors, never a plastic rawl plug taking a bookcase's worth of weight.
Scope
What is included in London
Included in every visit
- Every shelf on your Barbican list set out from the room, marked up and laser-levelled before a hole is drilled
- Cable and pipe detection on each wall, then the right fixing for what we find — corefix or geefix through-fixings that bridge the void and land in the block behind
- Containment while we work in your Barbican room: sheets down, extraction running, everything hoovered off before we pack the van
- Weight put on each EC2 shelf while you watch, then the tested safe working load written down for you
- Any City of London Corporation visitor permit, bay suspension or concierge booking EC2 requires, arranged and paid by us
- Cardboard, polystyrene, offcuts and the old brackets leave with us under our waste carrier licence
Not included — and why
- Buying the boards or brackets for you; we install your own and flag it in advance if the hardware will not carry what you plan to put on it
- Structural alterations: cutting into studs, moving a lintel or forming a new opening belongs to a builder
- Redecorating: we fill and sand the holes flush, but painting the wall afterwards is priced separately
- Electrical work behind a media wall beyond routing existing cables, which belongs to a registered electrician
- Cutting out shelving that has been plastered into a Barbican chimney breast — that is quoted as small works once we have seen it
Coverage
Shelf assembly around London
All 33 London boroughs
- City of London10 areas · EC1, EC2, EC3
- Westminster15 areas · W1, W2, W9
- Camden16 areas · NW1, NW3, NW5
- Islington11 areas · N1, N4, N5
- Kensington and Chelsea11 areas · SW3, SW5, SW7
- Hackney15 areas · E5, E8, E9
- Tower Hamlets14 areas · E1, E2, E3
- Southwark14 areas · SE1, SE5, SE15
- Lambeth12 areas · SE1, SE11, SE24
- Barnet12 areas · N2, N3, N11
- Enfield8 areas · EN1, EN2, EN3
- Haringey7 areas · N4, N6, N8
- Brent10 areas · NW2, NW6, NW9
- Harrow10 areas · HA0, HA1, HA2
- Waltham Forest5 areas · E4, E10, E11
- Newham13 areas · E6, E7, E12
- Redbridge10 areas · IG1, IG2, IG3
- Barking and Dagenham5 areas · IG11, RM6, RM8
- Havering9 areas · RM1, RM2, RM3
- Greenwich10 areas · SE2, SE3, SE7
- Lewisham12 areas · SE4, SE6, SE8
- Wandsworth8 areas · SW11, SW12, SW15
- Merton6 areas · SW19, SW20, CR4
- Croydon10 areas · CR0, CR2, CR5
- Sutton6 areas · SM1, SM2, SM3
- Kingston upon Thames8 areas · KT1, KT2, KT3
- Bromley11 areas · BR1, BR2, BR3
- Bexley7 areas · DA1, DA5, DA6
- Hammersmith and Fulham9 areas · W6, W12, W14
- Ealing9 areas · W3, W5, W7
- Hounslow7 areas · TW3, TW4, TW5
- Richmond upon Thames11 areas · TW1, TW2, TW9
- Hillingdon8 areas · UB3, UB4, UB7
Guides
Read before you book
How long does shelf installation take?
Honest fitting times per shelf type, and the four things that turn an hour into an afternoon.
12 min read
How much weight can a shelf hold?
What each wall type really holds, which fixing gets you there, and how to load a shelf without pulling it off.
13 min read
Alcove shelving in London homes: a practical guide
Why no alcove is square, how the boards are scribed, and what a proper alcove set costs and takes.
14 min read
Working out a slot for London? Start with how long shelf installation takes, check how much weight a shelf can hold before you load a run, and read the alcove shelving guide if a chimney breast is where the storage has to go.
Related services
Other work we do in London
Flat-pack assembly in Barbican
Billy bookcases and Kallax units built square and anchored on the same visit as the shelves.
Bed assembly in Barbican
Frames, ottomans and bunks built in the room while the bedroom shelving goes up.
Handyman in Barbican
TV brackets, blinds, mirrors and the rest of the EC2 wall-fixing snag list.
Old shelving and furniture removed
Stripped-out shelving and cabinets taken away under our waste carrier licence.
About London
London in context
Greater London holds every kind of wall a shelf can be fixed to: dot-and-dab plasterboard over blockwork in the new-build towers, Victorian lath and plaster in the conversions, solid brick in the suburbs and dense concrete panel on the estates. The shelf is the easy part — the fixing behind it is the job.
That is why this silo publishes a page per borough and a page per area rather than one London page. Each one carries the local wall stock, the shelving that area orders most and the access reality for that postcode, alongside the same fixed per-shelf prices.
London at a glance
- 4,914
- Households
- 98%
- Homes that are flats
- 48%
- Privately rented
- 8,583
- Residents
- 36.9
- Median age
- 1.7
- Average bedrooms
Source: ONS Census 2021 via Nomis (TS008, TS041, TS007A, TS044, TS054, TS003), MSOA geography. Figures cover the ONS neighbourhood City of London (E02000001) — the published geography that covers Barbican, not the whole borough. Neighbourhood names: House of Commons Library MSOA Names (OGL).
Questions
London shelf assembly questions
Per shelf, fixed in writing: from £45 a single floating shelf, £95 a set of three, £75 a heavy-duty run, £190 an alcove set and £35 for anti-tip anchoring. Hourly is £55. VAT, the van, the fixings and clearing up are included.
All 33 London boroughs and 329 named areas, each with its own page. Pick a borough, then an area, and the pricing, wall types and access notes on that page are written for that postcode.
On timber studs, around 30kg a pair of concealed brackets. On solid brick with frame fixings or resin, 40kg and up. On dot-and-dab bridged with through-fixings, about 35kg. On plasterboard alone with plastic plugs, almost nothing — which is why we never do that.
Constantly. Alcoves are never square, so each shelf is templated and scribed rather than cut to a single measurement, supported on a hidden batten frame, and the pair is levelled across the room so both sides read as one run.
Yes. Removal is a fixed extra per run: shelves down, plugs pulled, holes filled twice and sanded flush ready for paint. Timber leaves under our waste carrier licence rather than living in your hallway.
Every run is load-tested before we leave, the safe working load is written on the job sheet, and we carry £5m public liability. If something we fixed works loose we return and put it right rather than charging twice for the same shelf.
Source: ONS Census 2021, borough totals via Nomis (table TS008, TS041, TS007A, TS044, TS054, TS003). Figures describe the whole borough, the smallest area ONS publishes every one of these tables for.
Book shelf assembly in London
Send the shelf model or a photo of the boxes for a fixed written price the same working day. The carry, permits and taking the packaging away are already in the figure.
Reviews for shelf installation across the UK
4.5 ★ from 3,131 Trustpilot reviewsSulltan is the best handyman in London. He is very reliable and professional. I highly recommend.
The initial lack of communication from the team that arrived to clean the property was a bit unnerving. We booked an end of tenancy clean and were concerned that the lack of response meant the booking would be cancelled but thankfully after getting in touch with corporate, they confirmed the team had arrived and would… Read in full →
Sulltan is the best handyman in London , Highly recommend ......
Read all 31 shelf installation reviews →
Quoted verbatim from reviews customers left on our public Google and Trustpilot profiles. Nothing is edited, shortened beyond the link above, or written by us.