Film crew hire/London/Set builders
Hire set builders in London. Walls, floors and fronts, built, painted, shot, and gone by morning.
Set builders, carpenters and scenic painters for adverts, music videos, brand films and drama across London, booked from City Road. They build to the art director’s drawings in a workshop outside the centre or on a stage in west London, paint it, and strike it at wrap. From £341 a day per builder, paid in full.
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
- £10m employers’ liability on every crew member we book
- 1,400+ of our freelance crew live in and around London
Photos: Ali Mkumbwa, Ryno Marais and Callum Hill
The role
What set builders do on your shoot
Set builders make the parts of the world the location can’t give you: walls with windows in the right place, a shop counter, a stage, a room that comes apart so the camera can get in. Carpenters build it, scenic painters age and finish it, and the same team takes it down and clears the stage.
A set build runs in four stages: design, construction, dressing and strike. The art director designs it, the builders make it, the dressers fill it, and everyone helps clear it.
In London the workshop and the stage can be on opposite sides of the city: pieces built in Erith or in Kent, driven in on a tail-lift van, and stood up on a stage in Acton or Park Royal. The van, the route and the load-in time are part of the plan.
- Built to drawings. Dimensions, finishes and camera positions agreed with the art director first.
- Made to move. Wild walls and flying pieces, so the camera and the lights can get in.
- Finished for camera. Paint, ageing and textures that hold up at 4K.
- Struck and gone. The stage or location cleared, and waste taken away.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
Per builder, per day
- An 11-hour day per builder, including an hour for lunch
- Building to the art director’s drawings
- Painting and finishing
- Wild walls and flying pieces where needed
- A standby carpenter on the shoot day, if booked
- The strike, and the space cleared
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Materials, at cost
- Workshop space, transport and waste disposal
- ULEZ on any van below Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol, and the Congestion Charge if it comes into central London
- Cove or stage repaint, if the studio charges for it
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in London.
Two ways to book
Crew hire or full production: who’s the producer of record?
One question sets the price: who’s the producer of record? Book builders for your own London production, or have us take the whole film on.
Crew hire
You run the shoot.
10% + 2% booking fee and insurance, on everything we book for you: crew, kit and travel.
We do
- Find, book and brief the crew, and pay them
- Book kit, travel and hotels too, if you want them
- Send the full price before anything is booked
- One person to call all day
- Employers’ liability for the crew we book, and insurance on kit we hire in
You do
- Run the shoot, or your producer does
- The plan, the schedule and the call sheet
- The location, its permission and its public liability
- Responsibility for the production: you’re the producer of record
What the 2% insures: employers’ liability for every crew member we book, and the kit we hire in for you. Nothing else on the shoot. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote.
Full production
We’re the producer of record.
15% + 5% production fee, plus insurance and contingency, on the whole production budget. Quoted as a production.
We do
- Our producer plans it with you and runs the day
- Locations, permits, kit, studio, travel and hotels, booked and paid in our name
- Insurance for the whole shoot, public liability included, plus the risk assessment and the call sheet
- One contract and one invoice, so overseas teams need no UK company
You do
- The creative calls
- Signing off the plan and the budget
What the 5% pays for: our production insurance across the whole shoot, £10m public liability included, and the contingency.
Not sure which you need? If your own producer or director will run the day, it’s crew hire. If you want us to take the production on, it’s a full production quote.
On the day
A set build, from drawings to strike
A kitchen set for an advert, built in a workshop and stood up on a drive-in stage in Acton. Days are an example; the schedule sets the real ones.
- Week 1 Drawings The art director’s plans agreed: the room, the window, the walls that come out for the camera, and what fits in the van.
- Day 1 Workshop Flats and units built in the workshop, the window frame made to size, everything numbered for the load-in.
- Day 2 Load in Pieces driven across London on a tail-lift van that meets ULEZ, onto a drive-in stage, then stood up, braced and fixed.
- Day 3 Paint The scenic painter’s base coats, then the ageing: a kitchen that has been lived in.
- Day 4 Dress The dressers fill it; the builders hang the doors and fix what the camera finds.
- Shoot Standby A standby carpenter on set to pull a wall, fix a hinge or make a quick change.
- Strike Clear Everything down and out, materials recycled where they can be, the stage handed back as the studio wants it.
Which kind
Which construction crew do you need?
The team grows with the build. Card rates are per person, per 11-hour day.
Carpenter Builds the set Card £341–512
Builds flats, platforms, units and pieces, from the workshop to the stage.
Best for any set build, from a single wall to a room.
Master carpenter Runs the build Quoted on the brief
Runs the carpenters, solves the tricky pieces and signs off what’s safe.
Best on builds of more than a couple of days.
Scenic painter Paint, ageing and finishes Quoted on the brief
Paints and ages the set: wood, plaster, metal and dirt, all convincing on camera.
Best when the set has to look old, used or expensive.
Standby carpenter On set on the day From £341 a day
Stays with the set during the shoot to move walls, fix things and make changes.
Best on any built set.
Props, models and effects Specialist workshops Quoted on the brief
Models, miniatures, moulded props and physical effects such as fire, smoke and weather, made by a specialist workshop.
Best when the set needs something no carpenter would make. Artem in Greenford does all of these, with its own test and shoot space.
Construction manager Big builds Quoted on the brief
Plans and runs the construction department, the budget and the workshop on large builds.
Best for drama and big adverts.
What it’s for
What people book set builders for in London
Adverts
A kitchen, a shop or a living room built on a drive-in stage in Acton, with walls that come out.
Music videos
A look built in a warehouse in east London or on a cove in Park Royal.
Product films
Plinths, platforms and backgrounds for a product on a cove.
Events and launches
Stages and backdrops built for the cameras as well as the room.
Locations that need help
A false wall in a City office, a fake window, or a shop front over a real one, with the landlord’s permission.
Recent work
How we crew a build in London
How we crew it · London
Workshops in Erith and Edenbridge, stages in Acton
Set builders who serve London include N2 Creative in Erith, which designs and builds sets for TV, film and events and has a commercials portfolio, and Set2 Construction in Edenbridge, Kent, which builds anything from a single piece to a full set in its own workshop or on site. The stage is often in west London: Black Island in Acton has six stages, every one of them drive-in, from 2,208 to 16,500 sq ft.
How we crew it · London
Building on a cove
Park Royal Studios’ Studio 5, 105 by 65 feet, has a U-shaped infinity cove the studio calls one of the largest in London. One of Black Island’s stages has a paintable cove, and Klatch keeps its coves white as standard and can repaint them. A build that marks the floor, or a cove in a colour, means a repaint, so ask the studio what it charges before you book and it goes on the quote as its own line.
Before you book
Things to know
Planning
- A build needs drawings and a schedule: tell us the shoot date and work back.
- Load-in times at the stage, and the van’s height and weight, agreed before the build starts.
Building on location
- Private property: the landlord’s consent first.
- In the City, the City of London Film Office handles hoarding licences, with 20 working days’ notice.
- In the Royal Parks, prep and strike days are charged at half the daily filming rate.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the builders.
- 50% by card when you book, 50% on receipt of the final rushes.
- Every line on the quote: day rate, booking fee, kit, travel.
- Cancellation terms are on every quote.
What our insurance covers
- Employers’ liability for the builders we book: £10m.
- Kit we hire in for you is insured. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote.
- Nothing else on a crew hire. Public liability, the location and your own kit stay with you, and your venue will want your certificate. When we’re the producer of record, our policy covers the shoot.
- London asks for its own figures: £5m public liability for the boroughs and the Royal Parks, £10m for TfL and Canary Wharf. On a crew hire that certificate is yours; on a full production, ours.
From £341 a day
APA/Bectu card: £341–512 a day, carpenter to master carpenter.
| Per builder, 11 hours | £341 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £34.10 |
| Insurance, 2% | £6.82 |
| One builder, one day, before materials | £381.92 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the builders we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the build.
- 1,400+ crew living in and around London
- 50% by card at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
Or call us on 07412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book set builders in London.
Tell us what needs building, where, and when it has to be ready. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in London, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in London, paid to the crew member in full:
Production 06
- Director From £500
- Producer From £450
- Production manager £504–627
- 2nd AD £355–448
- Production assistant £400
- Runner £245
Camera 07
- DOP From £850
- Camera operator £529–656
- Focus puller £461–575
- Clapper loader £355–448
- Steadicam operator From £950
- Gimbal operator £529–656
- Drone operator From £750
Data and playback 02
- DIT £527
- Video playback £334–518
Sound 01
- Sound recordist £550
Hair, make-up and costume 02
- Hair and make-up £398
- Costume £519–694
Art department 02
- Art director £675–878
- Set builders This page £341–512
Post-production 01
- Editor From £350
How our rates work: crew rates in London. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in London.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A build needs a stage, materials and a way to clear it. Each gets its own line on the quote, or use the London guides to sort them yourself.
02
Locations and permits
Borough film services, the Royal Parks, TfL, the private estates and the drone zones.
Questions
Set builders in London: questions
How much does a set build cost in London?
It depends on the build. Builders are priced per person per day, at £341–512 on the APA/Bectu card from carpenter to master carpenter, paid in full; materials, workshop and waste are at cost. Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance go on top. A simple wall can be a day for two; a room set, a week for a team. Our rates are national, so London builders cost the same through us as anywhere else.
What does the insurance on a crew booking cover?
Two things. Employers’ liability for every crew member we book, up to £10m, and insurance on the kit we hire in for you. That’s what the 2% pays for. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote. The 2% doesn’t insure the rest of the shoot: public liability, the location, your own kit and anything you book yourself stay with you, because you’re the producer of record. If you’d rather we were, it’s quoted as a full production, and our insurance covers the whole shoot, public liability included.
Do I need an art director as well?
Yes, for anything more than a simple piece: the art director designs it and draws it, the builders build it.
Where can we build a set in London?
On a stage or a cove. Black Island and Dukes Island in Acton have drive-in stages, 3 Mills in Bow has 75,000 sq ft of stage space, and West London Film Studios in Hayes has 10 stages. For smaller builds on a cove, Park Royal Studios and Klatch are in Park Royal. See film studios in London.
Who builds sets for London shoots?
London set builders include N2 Creative in Erith and Set2 Construction in Edenbridge, Kent, which both build sets for TV, film and events. Artem in Greenford makes props, models and physical effects. We book the builders to your art director’s drawings.
Can you build on a London street or in a park?
With permission, yes. On private property the landlord says yes first. In the City, a hoarding licence goes through the City of London Film Office with 20 working days’ notice, and in the Royal Parks, prep and strike days are charged at half the daily filming rate. Pieces fix without damage and come out cleanly at wrap.
How far ahead should I book a set build?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours, and the build sets the rest: a small build needs about a week from drawings to shoot, a room set two or three. Allow more if a permit is involved: 20 working days for a City hoarding licence.