Formby is fifteen minutes down the coast road and I'm there most weeks. It's a village of substantial detached houses - a lot of 1930s-60s architecture, plenty of modern executive builds on the newer developments, and some gorgeous period properties closer to the village itself. The work here tends to be larger projects: walk-in wardrobes, garden rooms, premium decking, and full internal door replacements. Bigger budgets, but always a fixed price up front.
Why Formby clients come back for bigger projects
Formby tends to be a once-we-find-a-joiner-we-stick-with-them sort of place, and I'm grateful to have a loyal customer base there. A typical pattern: I'll hang a few internal doors for someone in year one, build fitted alcove cupboards in year three, then end up doing a full garden pergola and decking run in year five. Because the houses are big and the gardens are big, projects naturally scale up.
I don't upsell. If you're asking about a £200 repair, you get a £200 repair. But when people do want the full job done right - bespoke master wardrobe, oak-framed garden room, cedar-shingle garden pavilion - Formby is where I get to stretch the workshop's capability.
Formby property styles and matched joinery
The village itself has a mix of 1930s detached, 1950s-60s architect-designed homes (some very striking modernist pieces around Freshfield), and newer executive developments from the 1990s onwards. Each era has different joinery expectations: the 1930s houses often still have original timber sashes worth restoring (splice repairs, re-cording, draught-proofing are all regular work), the mid-century homes suit bespoke fitted furniture that respects the clean lines, and the newer homes often get walk-in wardrobes and garden rooms to match the generous room sizes.
Gardens, pergolas and the famous pine winds
Formby's weather is brutal on outdoor timber - you're right next to Formby Point and Altcar, and the salt wind coming off the Irish Sea will eat through untreated softwood in three years. Every external joinery job I do in Formby gets either solid oak, treated softwood with three coats of Osmo UV protection, or FSC-certified cedar. I'll always over-spec rather than under-spec when the coast is close - it costs a bit more up front but you'll get twice the lifespan.
