Barking and Dagenham · London
Under-Stairs Storage in Barking and Dagenham
Wherever you are in Barking and Dagenham, we design and make under-stairs storage for your room. We visit, measure and talk it through before we quote.
Planning under-stairs storage in Barking and Dagenham?
Under-stairs storage in every part of Barking and Dagenham
Each job starts with a design visit and a written quote. Pick your neighbourhood below to see the details for your area, or get in touch to arrange a design visit.
Main places
Also in Barking and Dagenham
- TV and media units
- Built-in bookshelves
- Fitted home offices
- Alcove units
- Bespoke kitchens
- Fitted wardrobes
- Wall beds
- Window seats
- Walk-in wardrobes
- Loft storage
- Fitted cupboards
Postcode areas we cover
About under-stairs storage in Barking and Dagenham
In many terraced houses, the gas meter, electricity meter or fuse board sits under the stairs. These must stay easy to reach for meter readers and engineers. Our designs keep a clear way to them, often behind their own door, so you gain storage without losing access. If you’re not sure what’s under your stairs in Barking and Dagenham, we’ll look when we visit. Typical reasons to get in touch are an old cupboard door that doesn’t suit the hall and coats and shoes piling up in the hall; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
When we arrive on fitting day, the first job is covering the floors and protecting the way in from the front door. Next, we carry in the sections made at our workshop. How long fitting takes depends on how much storage you want under the stairs, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote.
- You tell us about the stairs and what you’d like to store, like coats, shoes or the vacuum cleaner.
- At the design visit, the space is measured and any meters are noted.
- The design is agreed and a quote in writing follows.
- Every part is made in our workshop, ready for a spray-painted or hand-painted finish. We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- The storage is fitted, scribed to the stairs and checked with you. The way to any meters is left clear.
Quotes in Barking and Dagenham
The inside of the furniture affects the price as well: drawers take more making than shelves, and each rail, divider or pull-out adds to the work. We will talk through what you need inside during the design visit.
Why householders in Barking and Dagenham choose us
- Scribed to uneven walls
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Every quote follows a design visit
Getting a quote
The quote is built from the design visit. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. Afterwards, we send a written quote, so you can take your time with it. To book one, use our contact form.
What’s near Barking
Around Barking, we cover homes near Mayesbrook Park, Greatfields School and The Barking Dog pub. You will also find Eastbury Primary School (a few minutes’ walk north-east) and St Patrick's Church (within half a mile south-west). For rail, the closest station is Barking station, about 0.8 miles north-west. A little further out are East End Women's Museum (0.9 miles west) and Barking Community Hospital (less than half a mile north). Green spaces nearby include Ripple Nature Reserve.
Under-stairs storage for homes across Barking and Dagenham
Barking and Dagenham has homes of every age, Barking, Dagenham and Becontree included, and each kind has its own odd corners. Under-stairs cupboards are scribed and levelled on site, so everything looks straight even where the room isn’t.
Homes built between 1919 and 1939 make up about 50% of the housing in Barking and Dagenham, with about 20% built since 2000, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. We take that into account at the measuring visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. About 50% of homes in Barking and Dagenham date from between 1919 and 1939, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Interwar houses typically have a straight flight of stairs with a cupboard below, often holding the meters or the fuse board, which must stay accessible. Terraced houses are home to about 42% of households in Barking and Dagenham, going by Census 2021 figures from the ONS. Under-stairs cupboards in terraces often house the gas meter, electricity meter or fuse board, and they must stay accessible.
Controlled parking zones cover large parts of London, so a van may need a visitor’s permit, a paid parking bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges. Let us know about parking during the design visit.
Barking: For families living near Eastbury Primary School, under-stairs cupboards can give school bags, shoes and sports kit a proper home. Close to Mayesbrook Park? Under-stairs cupboards can be designed to hold outdoor kit, from walking boots to picnic things.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Walls and floors in older homes are seldom straight or level. Standard units show the gaps, and filler strips can only hide so much. We scribe each under-stairs cupboard to follow the walls and the stairs, and set it level on a plinth or adjustable feet.
What to check before you book
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- Are the boards named, such as MDF or plywood?
- How parking will work on your street
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
Flats, conversions and lettings
In a managed block, the building manager or concierge may need notice before we arrive. If there is a lift, it may need booking, and its size matters when we plan the sections. Tell us about it when you contact us.
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations. We cannot advise on your lease.
What we do not do
We don’t treat damp or carry out building work, and there are a few other limits too:
- Changing where a meter sits, which is not carpentry
- Moving gas pipes under the stairs
- New sockets, lights or wiring, which are for your electrician
Before and after fitting day
Because fitted furniture stays put, a little upkeep goes a long way. Here are a few tips worth knowing:
- Make room so the whole space can be measured
- Bring paint colours you like to the design visit
- Find out what sits in the space now, from meters to pipes
- Measure your vacuum cleaner and ironing board
A hand-painted finish is easy to touch up if it gets marked. It’s worth keeping a note of the colour so any touch-ups match. A spray-painted finish is smooth and even, and small marks often clean off with a damp cloth.
Wet coats and shoes can mark paint and leave damp in a closed cupboard. It is best to let them dry before closing the door on them, and air the cupboard if it feels damp.
What affects the cost of under-stairs storage
What it costs comes down to the materials and the time involved. The main factors are:
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
- The finish: spray painted or hand painted
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
- Tricky walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
Parking is part of the price picture in London. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension near your home. Let us know about parking at the design visit, so it can be planned.
Getting in touch
Before the design visit, it helps us to know about:
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
- Approximate measurements of the space
- Anything in the way, like radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
Rough sizes are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit. To get started, send us a few details through our contact form. You receive a written quote after the visit.
Questions we’re often asked
Do I need to be in when you fit?
Someone needs to let us in at the start of the day. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
Can you fit a small desk under the stairs?
In many homes it’s possible, if the space is open to a room and tall enough at one end. A built-in desk with shelves above and drawers below can work well. New sockets or lights are for your electrician, and we leave a route for the cables.
Can you match the storage to my hallway?
Yes. The storage is spray-painted or hand-painted in a colour agreed with you. It can match the walls, the stairs or the woodwork, so it looks like part of the house.
Where is the furniture made?
Everything is built in our workshop for your room, then fitted in your home. It’s built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
External walls can be colder and damper than internal ones, so ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps, which helps avoid condensation and mould. Any damp needs sorting by the right specialist before fitting.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
No. We are carpenters, so electrical work is for your electrician. We can plan cable routes into the design.
Is it possible to fit storage around a meter under the stairs?
Yes. It is common to find a meter or fuse board under the stairs, and access has to be kept. At the design visit we measure around them and leave a clear way in. Moving a meter isn’t our work, so we design for where it is now.