Westminster · W1 · Shelf installation
Shelf installation in Soho, W1
Around Carnaby Street and Golden Square the walls are dot-and-dab plasterboard over blockwork, which is why an identical set of three shelves takes an hour in one W1 flat and half a day in the next. Most Soho lists start with media-wall shelving with concealed cabling, kitchen shelf runs and storage shelving where there is no loft.
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- Since 2019
- From £45 a shelf, fixed in writing before we arrive
- Most booked here: media-wall shelving with concealed cabling
- Concierge sign-in, a booked goods lift and a loading-bay window agreed before the slot
- Westminster City Council permits, ULEZ and packaging removal already inside the price

The service, locally
Shelving we fit in Soho homes
The price you are quoted is the price you pay: per shelf, agreed in writing, with the fixings, the Westminster City Council permit, dust extraction and clearing up already inside it.
Same-day and evening slots exist for a reason — the shelves arrive, the boxes are in the hallway and the flat is unusable. Tell us the window and we book the W1 slot behind it for £35.
- From, per shelf built
- £45From, per shelf built
- Soho homes are flats
- 98%Soho homes are flats
- Shelf types priced
- 16Shelf types priced
- Households in Soho
- 4,257Households in Soho
Instant estimate
Price your Soho shelf build
How it works
How a Soho shelf assembly visit works
- Send the wall, get a fixed priceSend a photo of the wall and the shelves. We price each shelf from the published W1 list, name the fixing the wall needs, and confirm one written figure.
- Access and slot sorted for W1Access is settled before the day: concierge sign-in, a booked goods lift and a loading-bay window agreed before the slot, with the Westminster City Council permit arranged and paid for by us.
- Fixed, levelled, load-testedEvery hole scanned before it is drilled, every shelf laser-levelled, and the visit closed with Corefix or Geefix through-fixings bridged into the block behind, then the run loaded and re-levelled.
- Get my price
Walls and fixings
What we are usually building in Soho
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
53% of Soho households are one-person, which is why single floating shelves and picture ledges outnumber full alcove days in this postcode.
Tottenham Court Road (Central, Northern, Elizabeth line) is the nearest station and Westminster City Council controls the kerb outside, so the permit is bought before the van leaves rather than argued about on the pavement.
4,257 households sit inside the ONS neighbourhood covering Soho, and 98% of them are flats — which is why dot-and-dab plasterboard over blockwork is the wall we expect to be fixing into around W1.
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.
Why Hello Services
Why book shelf assembly in Soho with us
Cables and pipes scanned
Every hole is scanned before it is drilled in this 98% flats neighbourhood, with Westminster parking rules in play, and an ambiguous reading moves the fixing rather than risking the circuit. With 98% of homes in Soho being flats, we plan the route up front.
Level to the room, not the ceiling
Laser set-out against the skirting, window head and the run beside it in Soho — and this being Westminster City Council territory, with a median age of 34 in this neighbourhood, because that is what the eye in a Soho 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 for Soho (W1) addresses, with 53% one-person households here.
Permits and access handled
Westminster City Council permits, bay suspensions, concierge sign-in and goods-lift booking are arranged and paid for by us for Soho (W1) addresses, with 53% one-person households here.
Per-shelf prices
Shelf installation prices in Soho
| Shelf | From | To | Fitting time | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Media wall shelving with cable managementLoad-tested, safe working load stated | £180 | £420 | 4 hrs | Quoted on survey: shelf runs, TV bracket loads and concealed cabling planned as one wall |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Anti-tip anchoring, existing bookcaseLoad-tested, safe working load stated | £35 | £55 | 25 mins | Restraint straps or brackets fixed into structure — the five-minute job that stops a tipping accident |
| 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 |
Soho W1 leads with these 8 rows because the local walls produce the same order again and again: media-wall shelving with concealed cabling, kitchen shelf runs and storage shelving where there is no loft. The rest of the 16-item list is priced identically.
£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.
Rates and local costs
Fixed per shelf, or hourly, in Soho
One shelf, fixed price
£45
from, per shelf
Hourly rate
£55
per hour, one-hour minimum
Old shelving removed
£40
per run
Full alcove day rate
£320
per fitter, per day
- Parking and permits
- Westminster City Council visitor permits and bay suspensions are arranged and paid for by us, so timber, brackets and the dust extractor are carried in once. Pedestrian zones, night-time economy congestion and no lifts in most walk-ups — carry-up is the default.
- Charging zones
- Part of Westminster 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 W1 invoice.
- What the wall is made of
- 98% of homes around Soho 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 Soho
Included in every visit
- A written set-out for the whole Soho run: heights marked on the wall and agreed with you before any drilling starts
- A scan of every W1 wall for live cables and pipework, and fixings chosen for the substrate we actually find: corefix or geefix through-fixings that bridge the void and land in the block behind
- Containment while we work in your Soho room: sheets down, extraction running, everything hoovered off before we pack the van
- Weight put on each W1 shelf while you watch, then the tested safe working load written down for you
Not included — and why
- Supplying the shelves themselves — we fit what you have bought, and will tell you before the day if it is not fit for the load
- Anything structural — notching studs, altering a lintel, forming an opening — which is a builder's job, not a fitter's
- Making good beyond filling and sanding the holes we or the old shelving left
- New sockets or spurs behind a media wall; we route the cables you already have and leave certified work to an electrician
Coverage
Shelf assembly around Soho
Nearby areas we also cover
- Shelf installation in FitzroviaW1W1
- Shelf installation in MayfairW1W1
- Shelf installation in MaryleboneW1W1
- Shelf installation in Covent GardenWC2WC2
- Shelf installation in Temple and AldwychWC2WC2
- Shelf installation in HolbornWC1 · CamdenWC1
- Shelf installation in BloomsburyWC1 · CamdenWC1
- Shelf installation in St James'sSW1SW1
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 Soho? 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.
Wider coverage: Westminster shelf assembly · shelf assembly across London · shelf assembly prices and what is included
Related services
Other work we do in Soho
Flat-pack assembly in Soho
Billy bookcases and Kallax units built square and anchored on the same visit as the shelves.
Bed assembly in Soho
Frames, ottomans and bunks built in the room while the bedroom shelving goes up.
Handyman in Soho
TV brackets, blinds, mirrors and the rest of the W1 wall-fixing snag list.
Old shelving and furniture removed
Stripped-out shelving and cabinets taken away under our waste carrier licence.
About the area
Soho in context
Soho in Westminster, by Carnaby Street and Golden Square and Tottenham Court Road (Central, Northern, Elizabeth line). 4,257 households, 98% flats, 52% privately rented; walls typically dot-and-dab plasterboard over blockwork.
Where Soho sits in our coverage
Soho (W1) is one of the neighbourhoods on our shelf assembly in Westminster page, which sits under shelf assembly across London. Nearest pages to this one, in travel order: shelf assembly in Fitzrovia W1 (under ½ mile), shelf assembly in Mayfair W1 (under ½ mile), shelf assembly in Covent Garden WC2 (0.9 miles), shelf assembly in Holborn WC1 (1.0 miles) and shelf assembly in St James's SW1 (1.3 miles). If your address sits on the boundary, book the closest page — the price and the crew are the same. For every trade we run at this postcode, see all services in Soho W1.
Most booked alongside this in Soho W1
Soho W1 at a glance
- 4,257
- Households
- 98%
- Homes that are flats
- 52%
- Privately rented
- 7,879
- Residents
- 33.9
- Median age
- 2.0
- Average bedrooms
Source: ONS Census 2021 via Nomis (TS008, TS041, TS007A, TS044, TS054, TS003), MSOA geography. Figures cover the ONS neighbourhood Fitzrovia West & Soho (E02000972) — the published geography that covers Soho, not the whole borough. Neighbourhood names: House of Commons Library MSOA Names (OGL).
Questions
Soho W1 shelf assembly questions
You pay by the shelf, not by the hour in Soho, with Carnaby Street and Golden Square a few streets away — and 52% of W1 homes being privately rented, and the figure does not move on the doorstep: £45 upwards a shelf, £95 a set of three, £75 for a loaded garage or utility run, £190 an alcove set. Hourly is £55 where the W1 list is a mixture around Tottenham Court Road (Central, Northern, Elizabeth line).
Allow forty minutes for one shelf, an hour and a half for a set of three around Tottenham Court Road (Central, Northern, Elizabeth line) — and 4,257 households on this patch, with Carnaby Street and Golden Square a few streets away, and half a day where Soho alcoves have to be templated and scribed. Booking the whole list into one W1 visit saves a second carry and a second permit in Soho, with 52% of W1 homes being privately rented.
The board is rarely the limit — the fixing is on the streets near Carnaby Street and Golden Square. Soho walls are typically dot-and-dab plasterboard over blockwork on W1 jobs, with 52% of W1 homes being privately rented — and 2% of Soho homes being houses, so expect up to about 35kg a pair once bridged — a plastic plug in the board alone holds almost nothing. Whatever the test shows is what goes on your job sheet on the Soho rounds.
Mostly dot-and-dab plasterboard over blockwork, which is what you would expect where 98% of Soho homes are flats on W1 jobs, with 28% social-rented stock nearby. Corefix or Geefix through-fixings that bridge the void and land in the block behind The local failure is fixings that stop in the plasterboard skin with a 25mm void behind it around Tottenham Court Road (Central, Northern, Elizabeth line), with 2% of Soho homes being houses — and 98% of homes here being flats, so the shelf pulls the board off the dabs.
No. Sheets cover the floor and furniture, the drill is on extraction across W1, with this being a short walk from Tottenham Court Road (Central, Northern, Elizabeth line), and we hoover skirting and carpet before we pack up. Dot-and-dab plasterboard over blockwork in particular is drilled slowly so the debris lifts out instead of blowing across the room around Tottenham Court Road (Central, Northern, Elizabeth line), with 53% one-person households here.
Yes. Taking old shelving down is a fixed extra per run: brackets off, plugs pulled, holes filled twice and sanded flush so the wall takes paint straight away across W1, with 98% of homes here being flats. Where the timber is being thrown out we remove it under our waste carrier licence rather than leaving it in the hall on the Soho rounds, with 4,257 households on this patch.
More shelf installation questions answered on the London hub
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 Soho W1
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
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I booked the services for putting together some new bedroom furniture. This was agreed for 3 pm. I got a call at 3pm to say they were going to be late and be there at 5, they arrived at 5:30. The workmanship and the guys who fitted it was excellent and they were very friendly… Read in full →
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