At a glance
| Check | Ready when | How to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weathertight | Roof, windows and external doors closed; no water coming in | After rain; contractor's confirmation | Damp raises timber moisture |
| Wet trades | Plaster, screed, tiling and concrete finished and dried | Contractor's written confirmation | Early joinery takes up moisture |
| Heating and ventilation | Running steadily for the period the maker states | Log temperature and humidity | Sudden changes cause movement |
| Temperature and humidity | Inside the maker's window until fitting ends | Data logger, dated readings | The window is the maker's |
| Services first fix | In place and tested where the work needs them; positions agreed | Contractor's records; the datum | Hard to move once fitted |
| Walls and ceilings | Finished, with backing in place, flat enough to scribe | Site survey sheet | Heavy work needs sound fixings |
| Floors | Laid and protected, or the fitting order agreed | Survey readings | Joinery is scribed to the floor |
| Access | Route clear, lifts booked, doors protected | Access survey sheet | A blocked route stops delivery |
| Power and light | Temporary power and working light where it is fitted | Visit | Installers need both |
| Storage | A dry, secure, ventilated space away from wet work | Visit | Damp or sun moves and marks work |
| Other trades | Wet, dusty and painting work finished or programmed away | Programme; site meeting | Dust and splashes mark finishes |
| Site rules | Inductions, permits, RAMS and hours agreed; a named signatory | Document list | No induction, no access |
Twelve checks. Not every item applies to every piece, but write n/a and the reason rather than leaving a check blank.
Where the readiness check sits
The check sits between the building drying out and the work arriving. In a typical order, the building is made weathertight, services are first-fixed, wet trades finish and dry out, and floors are laid and protected. Then the readiness check is signed, and joinery is delivered and fitted. On our projects deliveries are sequenced with the site programme: furniture after floors, joinery before decoration completes. Our installation process begins with a pre-install survey of the same things (see installation): floors down, the state of the decoration, power available and access clear.
The order varies by project, and the programme sets it. A check that only happens on the day of delivery is too late to change the date, so schedule it a few days earlier, with the delivery still movable.
The tick sheet
Use one sheet for each room or area and each delivery. A named person who controls the building, normally the main contractor's site manager, completes it. Attach the logged temperature and humidity readings, and agree with the designer that nothing is delivered until it is signed. Where a check does not apply, write n/a and why. The same twelve checks are in the table at the top of the page, with how to check each one.
Moisture and humidity: what the sources say
Timber takes up and gives off moisture with the air around it, and it moves as it does. The two sources we could read are older and narrower than we would like. Both are written for doors and exterior joinery, so treat them as the direction of travel for fitted interior work and ask the maker for the figures that apply to your piece.
| Source | What it says | Scope and age |
|---|---|---|
| BWF Guide No. 11, Care of Timber Doors on Site | Wet trades such as plastering put a lot of moisture into a building: finish them, and let the building dry out fully, before timber doors are stored or fitted. Doors should be conditioned to the moisture and temperature of their service conditions and protected from sudden changes. British Standards are said to put timber in doors at 10% to 16% moisture content by type and location, and the guide says recent research indicated 15% plus or minus 2% as the optimum. | Doors only. 2012 edition. Check the BWF for a current edition. |
| A wood-coatings manufacturer's technical notes | A broad rule of thumb for typical UK conditions: timber dimensions change by about 1% for every 3% change in moisture content. An exterior panel door made at 10% and fitted at 22% would change by about 4%, which on a 120 mm stile is 4.8 mm. Joinery fitted before wet processes finish takes up moisture from the humid building; gentle heating and good ventilation greatly reduce the problem. | Finish supplier's advice, 2020, exterior-joinery example. Not a standard. |
| BS EN 942, BS 1186-2 | Named by the BWF guide for the grading of timber in joinery and for workmanship. We have not read either. | Confirm current editions and what they say for fitted interior work. |
Neither source gives a temperature or relative humidity window for a finished interior, and we found none in a primary document we could read. That window, the time the work needs to settle in the building before it is fitted, and what it needs while it waits, are the maker's to state. Ask for them in writing at the time of order, and write them into the clause below. Timber floors have their own sources and humidity bands, compared on the timber floor acclimatisation and site conditions sheet.
If the building is not ready
- Move the delivery rather than deliver into a wet or unheated building. We coordinate delivery dates with the main contractor so that pieces arrive when the site is ready to receive them.
- Agree storage in writing: where, in what conditions, for how long, and who is responsible for the work while it waits.
- Keep the packaging on. The BWF guide advises keeping protective packaging on pre-finished joinery until the latest possible time, ideally until decoration is complete. The finish supplier advises against sealed, non-breathing sheeting in damp storage, and against metal containers, which can collect condensation.
- Record the change as a programme change, with who bears any cost decided under the contract, not on the day.
Protection and storage on site
From the same two sources: store pre-finished work flat or as the maker directs, off the floor on bearers with air able to move round it, away from daylight if it has a natural finish, and away from the dust and splashes of other trades. Keep protective wrapping on until the other trades have finished. These are door-guide details, so confirm them with the maker for upholstered pieces, veneered panels and metalwork, which have different needs. The delivery access survey sheet covers protecting the route, and the site survey sheet covers what to measure once the surfaces are finished.
Specification wording
Paste into your schedule or specification and replace anything in [square brackets] with your own figures. Wording is a starting point: your specification governs.
Joinery and furniture will not be delivered until [Contractor] has confirmed in writing, on the readiness sign-off sheet, that: the building is weathertight; wet trades [plaster, screed, tiling, concrete] in the areas concerned are complete and dry; heating and ventilation have run continuously for [ ] days; temperature is between [ ] and [ ] degrees C and relative humidity between [ ] and [ ] per cent (the maker's figures), recorded at [intervals] and held until fitting is complete; services first fix is complete; and floors are [laid and protected].
[Contractor] is to provide dry, secure, ventilated storage at [location], within the conditions above, from [date]. Items stay in their packaging until [event]. Floors, walls, door frames and the lift along the route are protected before delivery, and the fitted work is protected until handover. Wet and dust-making trades do not work in the area after fitting except by agreement with [name].
If the conditions are not met on the agreed delivery date, [Contractor] is to tell [name] at least [ ] working days before the date. Delivery is re-programmed, and storage and any resulting cost are dealt with as [a variation / as the contract provides].
Readiness is signed by [named person, role] on the sheet for each room or area, with the date and the logged temperature and humidity readings attached. A completed sheet is a condition of release for delivery.
Terms used on this page
- Wet trades
- Trades that put water into a building, such as plastering, screeding, tiling and concreting. They have to finish, and the building has to dry out, before timber joinery is fitted.
- First fix and second fix
- First fix is the installation of services and structure that will be hidden (cables, pipes, backing). Second fix is the visible fittings and finishing that follow, including most joinery.
- Moisture content
- The weight of water in timber as a percentage of its dry weight. Timber changes size as its moisture content changes.
- Conditioning
- Letting a material settle to the temperature and humidity of the place it will be used before it is fitted. The maker states whether it is needed and for how long.
Standards and sources
- BWF Guide No. 11: Care of Timber Doors on Site (2012 edition): read 5 Nov 2026 as a hosted PDF copy; doors only; check the BWF for the current edition.
- A wood-coatings manufacturer's technical notes on site care and moisture content (2020): read 5 Nov 2026; exterior-joinery examples; supplier advice, not a standard.
- BS EN 942 (timber in joinery) and BS 1186-2 (workmanship): named only; not read. Confirm current editions.
- Make Bespoke Studio: Installation: the pre-install survey and how installation is coordinated.
Questions we are asked
What conditions must a building meet before joinery is installed?
It should be weathertight, with wet trades finished and dried out, heating and ventilation running, services first-fixed, floors laid and protected, power and light available, a clear route, and somewhere dry and secure to store the work. The BWF's guide for timber doors says wet trades should be finished and the building fully dried out before timber doors are stored or fitted.
How long should plaster dry before fitting joinery?
We found no single figure in a primary source we could read. How long a building takes to dry depends on the work, the season and the heating, so use the contractor's written confirmation and the maker's conditions rather than a fixed number of days.
What humidity is right for fitted joinery?
The maker sets it. The sources we read are written for doors and exterior joinery and give moisture contents, not a humidity window for a finished interior. Ask the maker for the temperature and humidity range in writing and have it logged through fitting.
Can joinery be stored on site before fitting?
Yes, if the store is dry, ventilated and secure, away from wet work and direct sun, with the work off the floor and the packaging kept on. Agree the store in writing before delivery. Do not use sealed plastic or metal containers where condensation can collect.
What if the site is not ready on the delivery date?
Move the delivery, or agree storage in writing, and record the change. Delivering into a wet building risks the work swelling and marking, which is a worse outcome than a delay.
Who signs the readiness check?
A named person who controls the building, normally the main contractor's site manager, with the designer's agreement. A designer should not sign what only the contractor can know.
Download the factsheet
A two-page A4 PDF with the twelve checks, the order of trades, the moisture sources and the building-conditions wording, to keep with your project file.