How much does a carpenter cost in Melbourne?
Melbourne carpenters bill $58–$135 an hour, and $89 is a fair middle figure; book a carpenter for a full day and expect $420–$945. Defined jobs usually get a fixed price instead. Fitting a new door, the back door included, costs $260–$680 supplied and hung, a built-in wardrobe $1,250–$5,250, and a pergola or carport frame $1,575–$6,300 in labour alone. Joinery prices swing the most, because size, materials and hardware all change from job to job. Melbourne has a bigger share of terraces and townhouses than Australia overall, and carpentry in a terrace often means working around a narrow hall or a steep stair. All prices include GST.
Comparing cities, or after the Australia-wide picture? See the national guide: Carpenter cost in Australia.
Detailed Pricing — Carpenter Cost in Melbourne 2026
| Service | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpentry (hourly rate) | $58/hr | $89 | $135 |
| Door installation (supply & fit) | $260per door | $420 | $680 |
| Door repair / rehang | $105per job | $190 | $315 |
| Skirting boards (per linear metre) | $21/lm | $32 | $58 |
| Architraves (per linear metre) | $10/lm | $19 | $47 |
| Built-in wardrobe (supply & install) | $1,250total | $2,625 | $5,250 |
| Timber shelving installation | $210per job | $420 | $735 |
| Minor staircase repairs (squeaky or loose treads, single tread or baluster) | $315per job | $630 | $1,250 |
| Pergola / carport framing (labour) | $1,575total | $3,150 | $6,300 |
| Timber window repair | $160per job | $295 | $525 |
| Deck build labour (per sqm) | $84/sqm | $135 | $200 |
| Full-day carpentry | $420per day | $650 | $945 |
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Get Melbourne quotes →Prices include GST. Based on Melbourne metro area, October 2026. Outer suburbs may vary.
Melbourne carpentry: the day rate, framing for pergolas and decks, and repairs
Melbourne carpentry rates: hourly against a full day
A carpenter is $58–$135 an hour in our Melbourne table and $420–$945 for a full day. A full day at the typical price ($650) comes in under eight hours at the typical hourly rate ($712).
Framing pergolas, carports and decks in Melbourne
Framing labour in our Melbourne table: a pergola or carport frame is $1,575–$6,300, and deck building labour $84–$200 a square metre, so the labour for a 20 square metre deck comes to $2,700 at the typical price, before materials.
Repairs: timber windows, stairs and shelving in Melbourne
Repair and fit-out jobs in our Melbourne table: a timber window repair is $160–$525, staircase repairs $315–$1,250 and installing timber shelving $210–$735.
These answers use the prices in the table on this page.
What Affects Carpenter Costs in Melbourne
By the hour or by the job
A short visit to rehang a sticking door ($105–$315) or put up shelving ($210–$735) normally goes on the hourly rate. Gather several small jobs and the day rate pays off: a typical day costs $650, below the $712 that eight hours at the typical hourly rate would add up to. For wardrobes, pergolas and decks, ask for a fixed sum when the job is fully defined.
Registration in Victoria
Consumer Affairs Victoria names carpenters among the trades that need Building and Plumbing Commission registration once the work is worth more than $10,000. Check the registration for any structural work. A job worth more than $10,000 that involves more than one trade must be under a major domestic building contract before anyone starts.
Deposits and home warranty
Victorian law caps the deposit at 10% for contracts under $20,000 and 5% for contracts of $20,000 or more. For work worth more than $20,000 on a home of up to three storeys, the builder arranges Home Warranty insurance in your name once the major domestic building contract is signed. Most carpentry jobs in our table sit well under that line, but a large deck or joinery package may not.
Pergolas and decks
Deck framing and boarding labour runs $84–$200 a square metre, timber extra. Victoria lets you build a pergola without a building permit provided it stands no taller than 3.6 m, covers 20 square metres or less and, on a house, sits within 2.5 m forward of the front wall. The rules define a pergola as unroofed, so adding a solid roof takes it outside that exemption.
Terraces and tight spaces
Semi-detached, row and terrace homes and townhouses account for 16.2% of Greater Melbourne dwellings, compared with 12.6% nationally, and flats for another 15.6% (ABS 2021 Census). In those homes there is often little room to set up a saw indoors, and long lengths have to be carried through the house. Trim is priced per lineal metre, skirting at $21–$58 and architraves at $10–$47, and repairing a stair that creaks or has a loose tread or baluster costs $315–$1,250.
Cool, damp winters
The building code places Melbourne in climate zone 6, mild temperate. July tops out at 13.5 °C on average and drops to 6.0 °C overnight, and rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, peaking at 66.0 mm in October (BOM averages). Timber doors and sashes take up moisture over a long damp season and can stick in their frames. Easing and repairing a timber window costs $160–$525, and a door that binds can be planed and rehung for $105–$315.
How to Save Money on Carpenter Cost in Melbourne
Carpenter Cost in Melbourne by Job Size
Say a Carlton terrace visit runs three hours: a sticking door eased, a shelf hung and a skirting board refixed. At $58–$135 an hour that is $174–$405, to be read beside the booked day at $420–$945 a day. The three hours are the example's own assumption, so ask how setting up and carrying timber through the hall are counted.
What moves a visit of that size in a Melbourne terrace or townhouse: a narrow hall or steep stair that slows carrying timber in and out, and the number of rooms the trim runs through. Each is time at the hourly rate, so ask for it as its own line.
Carpenter Cost in Melbourne: What the Quote Should Include
Melbourne terraces and townhouses can mean narrow halls and steep stairs, so a carpentry quote for a home in Carlton or Richmond should show how the work is handled. Read each line below against the rows on this page.
- A new back door described in full: the door, the frame, the lock and hardware, and painting, each shown as in or out of the price of $260–$680 a door.
- A sticking door eased and rehung at $105–$315, named as a separate job from a replacement.
- Skirting at $21–$58 a metre and architraves at $10–$47 a metre, with the lengths in metres written down and how long lengths reach the room noted.
- Stair repairs counted by tread and baluster, at $315–$1,250, with the stair's width and steepness described to the carpenter.
- Where indoor cutting is done when there is little room for a saw, and whether that adds set-up time, stated as a line.
- Timber windows and sashes that stick after a damp winter repaired at $160–$525, with the sash and sill named.
- Pine or hardwood named for every timber line, since species changes both the price and how timber handles a damp winter.
- Custom joinery's workshop time stated in weeks, with shelving at $210–$735 and a wardrobe at $1,250–$5,250 described by size and fit-out.
- Hourly time at $58–$135 an hour or a day at $420–$945 a day, whichever is quoted, with dates, payment stages and GST in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions — Carpenter Cost in Melbourne
Our Methodology
These are independent estimates from public cost guides, marketplaces and industry rate data, and no tradesperson can influence them, so always get a few quotes. Last reviewed October 2026. Read our full methodology →