Joinery sub-contractor Dubai: what the package must state
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A joinery sub-contract in Dubai should state where your scope stops before anyone signs it: supply-and-install or supply-only, who owns setting-out, how many shop drawing revisions sit inside the price, and who closes snags at handover. Get those four wrong and the argument is already scheduled. Below is what a main contractor, fit-out PM or QS should see written into the package, and what to ask before appointing. Shukran Interiors works on mosque, office, clinic, retail and residential fit-out as a commercial fit-out and bespoke joinery contractor Dubai, so the clauses here are the ones that come up on site.
Scope split against the main contractor
Supply-only and supply-and-install carry different risk. Supply-only leaves site measuring, fixing tolerances, damage and re-visits with the main contractor, and the joinery sub-contractor carries factory output and delivery. Most Dubai fit-out packages are supply-and-install because the interface list is long: ironmongery, stone upstands, glass in display joinery, MEP penetrations for sinks and taps, power to illuminated sections, and the gap between a joinery plinth and the raised floor.
Setting-out is the clause argued about most. Say whether the sub-contractor sets out from the structural grid or from the architect's setting-out drawing, and who pays for a re-measure when a wall moves 30mm. Name who buys the ironmongery. A QS buying it direct to save the margin leaves the sub-contractor fitting hardware they did not order and cannot warranty.
Shop drawings, submittals and the approval loop
Shop drawings are produced by the joinery sub-contractor on nearly every fit-out here, but the revision loops inside the price are usually one, and real projects run three or four. A sub-contract that says shop drawings included with no revision cap is a variation waiting to be issued. Cap the loops, or price them.
Material submittals behave the same way. Veneer, laminate, lacquer and solid surface each need a sample approved against the specification, and that approved sample becomes a contract document, so say so. Where a benchmark room or mock-up is required, put the obligation, its cost, the sign-off and its lifespan in the package. Add a line on who approves a substitute when the approved veneer is discontinued mid-project, which happens more often than anyone plans for.
Programme, site access and protection
Measuring is an event, not a date. It happens after blockwork is complete, first-fix is in and the ceiling grid is set. Hand a sub-contractor a site-ready date with no dependency list and they will measure early and re-measure at their own cost, or measure late and hold the flooring and ceiling trades behind them. Factory slot and site-ready date are two separate commitments. Ask for both in writing.
Install sequence decides the snag list. Joinery that lands before flooring gets protected for a week. Joinery that lands after the ceiling is closed cannot come in through the core and gets carried down corridors instead. In occupied towers and malls, permits, lift bookings and delivery windows cost more schedule than the factory does, and a programme that ignores them is fiction.
Protection is priced or it is not done. Finished veneer marks in a corridor within a day, so state who supplies the protection, who renews it, and who pays when another trade's pole goes through a wardrobe panel. Supervision is a number too. Ask how many working supervisors cover the install and how many other jobs they are running at the same time.
Snagging, handover and the defects liability period
Snagging is a scope question disguised as a quality question. The sub-contract should say who closes snags, how many working days they get, and whether joinery snags caused by another trade's damage fall inside the same obligation. It should also say who supplies replacement veneer, laminate or hardware after handover, from which batch, and for how long.
Warranty splits in two. Hardware carries the manufacturer's warranty and the fitter's workmanship warranty, and those are not the same thing. Carcass, veneer and lacquer carry a workmanship obligation tied to the defects liability period. Write both down with a start date, which is handover and not installation day, and make the retention release at the end of the DLP a date rather than an intention.
"Shukran Interiors delivered exceptional quality on our project from start to finish. Their team is highly professional, attentive to detail, and completed everything right on schedule." naeem hazrat, 5/5
3D render, not built work: a bedroom concept with a marble feature wall and media console. Both are joinery items, and both need a fixing detail priced before they can be built.
Fire rated elements: tested assemblies, not a word
A line that says fire rated doors is not a specification. The leaf, frame, intumescent seals, hinges, closer and ironmongery form one tested assembly, and certification runs to the assembly and the test standard behind it, not to the leaf alone. The sub-contract should demand the tested assembly reference, an ironmongery schedule with each item's fire rating, and the certificate package issued before handover. It should also say who is responsible when a builder's hardware substitution breaks the certification. This is why a fire rated door is only as good as its assembly, and it is worth reading before you sign the door schedule.
The commercial mechanics
Payment terms set behaviour. A monthly valuation cycle with a stated cut-off, measured work and a retention held as a percentage of each valuation is normal, and the retention releases in halves at handover and at the end of the DLP. What matters is when materials on site get valued, and how a back-charge is raised: does the main contractor deduct first, or issue a notice with photographs and a cost, and how many days does the sub-contractor have to respond. Put a delay protocol in the same clause. Programmes move, and the notice period decides who pays for the move.
A fair quote submission includes a BOQ take-off line by line, an RFI list for anything unresolved, a programme with dependencies, and a written exclusions list. The exclusions are the useful part, because they show what the sub-contractor thinks someone else owns. On a hospitality job, what a restaurant joinery package covers shows how fast that list grows beyond fixed seating.
What to ask before appointing
Five questions separate the weak from the competent, and none of them are about price per linear metre.
- Which shop drawing revisions are inside your price, and what does revision four cost?
- Who sets out on site, and who pays for a re-measure if the blockwork moves?
- Name the tested door assembly and the certificate you hand over, not the door type.
- How many working supervisors will be on site, and on how many other jobs at once?
- What is excluded, and who carries protection until handover?
The answers tell you whether the package is priced or guessed. A 4.8 rating from 30 Google reviews is one signal, but a sub-contractor who can quote the revision cap, the supervisor count and the certificate format has done this before. The how to vet a bespoke joinery company in Dubai guide covers the factory side of the same checking. To get a number from Shukran Interiors on a package like this, send the joinery BOQ or drawings, the door and ironmongery schedules, the consultant's finish specification, the building location and the date the area is ready to measure, plus photographs of any existing joinery the new work must match. WhatsApp +971 55 131 7286 is the fastest route, and the office line is 04 254 0442.
3D render, not built work: a formal dining room concept with bespoke chandeliers and panelled walls. A joinery package has to translate this into shop drawings, fixing details and a substrate that can carry the weight.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a joinery contractor and a fit-out contractor?
A fit-out contractor delivers the whole interior package, which means partitions, ceilings, MEP, flooring, joinery and finishing, and carries the overall programme. A joinery contractor delivers the timber and board elements: doors, wall panelling, counters, wardrobes, reception desks and loose furniture, either supply-only or supply-and-install. Many Dubai firms do both, which is exactly why the sub-contract has to state which role is being signed.
How early should a joinery sub-contractor be appointed on a Dubai fit-out?
Before the shop drawing phase, not after. Joinery drives ceiling heights, door frame positions, outlet locations and flooring set-out, and each of those is fixed during first-fix. Appointing after the ceiling closes usually means variations, a re-measure and a compressed install window.
Who produces joinery shop drawings, main contractor or sub-contractor?
The joinery sub-contractor produces them, the main contractor reviews, and the consultant comments. What the sub-contract must state is how many revision loops are priced, how many days the reviewer has to return comments, and who pays beyond the agreed number.
Should a joinery sub-contract be supply-and-install or supply-only?
Supply-and-install suits work with many interfaces and tight tolerances, which covers most fit-out joinery in Dubai. Supply-only suits a main contractor with a fixed joinery crew and daily control of the site. The scope split matters more than the label, so write the split down either way.
What warranty should joinery carry after handover?
Two separate obligations. Hardware carries the manufacturer's warranty plus the fitter's workmanship warranty, and carcass, veneer and lacquer carry a workmanship obligation for the defects liability period named in the sub-contract. Both should start at handover and name a person to call.
