Pricing

Before undertaking any work customers are given specialist advice and a range of options with associated costs.  On reaching a decision a firm quotation is given, which is valid for three months.  Prices are NOT subject to VAT.

All framing is to conservation standards with acid-free backing and museum quality 100% cotton fibre mountboard.

Most of the mouldings used are bare timber and are then hand-finished in the studio to suit the artwork and the customers' requirements.  The following finishes are offered:

• Wax finish
• Stain and wax finish
• Hand painted finish
• French polish
• Patination - applied to frames to tone or age
• Water gilt - using 23.5 carat gold or silver

To give an idea of cost: a moderately sized frame (350mmx500mm) in oak with a wax finish, artwork mounted in hinged conservation mount, with standard glass and acid-free backing would be around £90.  A large frame (815mmx1125mm) in the same style would be around £225.  Many variations can be added to this basic example, such as: decorated mount, title windows, multiple aperture mount, hand cut mount, washlines, specialist UV protective glass, etc, at extra cost.

Staining, hand-painting and French polishing are calculated on the time taken and would be a little more expensive.

The water gilding is a more expensive finish due to the labour costs involved.  The small frame mentioned above, including board, backing and mounting would be £180.

Other services are all charged at £40 per hour and include:

• Oil Painting Surface Cleaning (small canvas c.3hrs)
• Oil Painting Varnish Removal (small canvas c.4-7hrs)
• Oil Painting Restoration - patching of small holes and restoration of paint loss (1-10hrs)
• Frame Restoration and Refinishing (1-30hrs)

The above price indications are to make customers aware that the framing and restoration of works of art is not as daunting as might at first be imagined.

The carved frame featured on this site is at the other end of the scale, as it took around 72 hours to produce.