Film crew hire/Cornwall/Set builders
Hire set builders in Cornwall. Walls, floors and fronts, for a county with no film studios.
Set builders, carpenters and scenic painters for adverts, music videos, brand films and drama across Cornwall. They build to the art director’s drawings, in a workshop upcountry, a hired studio at Falmouth University or a converted barn, paint it, and strike it at wrap. From £341 a day per builder, paid in full.
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK
- 30+ of them in and around Cornwall
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
Photos: Ali Mkumbwa, Ryno Marais, Callum Hill and Here Now Films
The role
What set builders do on your shoot
Set builders make the parts of the world the location can’t give you: a wall with the window in the right place, a shop counter, a beach hut, a room that comes apart so the camera can get in. Carpenters build it, scenic painters age and finish it, and the same team strikes it and clears the space.
Screen Cornwall says Cornwall has no film studios; the nearest stages are in Bristol. So a Cornish build goes up somewhere else: a hired studio at Falmouth University, a converted farm building, as Roscarrock Farm was for Doc Martin, an empty industrial unit turned into a pop-up studio, or the location itself.
Big pieces are often made in a workshop upcountry and driven down, so the truck, the A30 and the lanes at the far end are part of the plan. Visit Cornwall puts London or Birmingham at less than five hours by car from the heart of Cornwall, on an A30 that’s mostly dual carriageway, and warns of heavy traffic in peak season, school holidays and at weekends (checked October 2026). We schedule the load-in around it, off-peak where the week allows.
We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 30+ of them in Cornwall, and we scale a build team up as the build needs: a carpenter for a day, or a construction crew for a week. Builders who live in Cornwall first; when the build needs more hands, they come down from Bristol, Devon or London, with travel and hotels on the quote before anything is booked.
- Built to drawings. Dimensions, finishes and camera positions agreed with the art director first.
- Made to travel. Pieces sized for the truck, the lane and the door at the far end, and numbered for the load-in.
- Built for the weather. Anything outdoors ballasted and braced against the wind, with nothing pegged where the ground can’t be broken.
- Struck and gone. The space cleared, waste taken away, and the location left as it was.
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, the van or truck, and waste disposal
- A hired space, such as Falmouth University’s Studio 1 at £750 a day plus VAT, room only (checked October 2026)
- Ballast, weights and weather protection for anything built outdoors
- Travel from outside Cornwall, hotels where the day needs them, mileage and parking, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in Cornwall.
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 Cornish 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 upcountry and stood up in a hired studio at Falmouth University. 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 truck and through the studio door.
- Day 1 Workshop Flats and units built, the window frame made to size, everything numbered for the load-in.
- Day 2 The drive Loaded early and driven down the A30, off-peak if the week allows, then stood up, braced and fixed in the studio.
- 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, and the room handed back as the studio wants it.
Before the drawings are signed off, the set is measured against the room it’s going into, door and ceiling included. See studios and set builds in Cornwall.
Which kind
Which construction crew do you need?
The team grows with the build. Card rates are per person, per 11-hour day.
Carpenter flats, platforms and units
Builds flats, platforms, units and pieces, in the workshop and on site.
Best for any set build, from a single wall to a room in a converted barn.
Head carpenter runs the build
Runs the carpenters, solves the tricky pieces and signs off what’s safe.
Best on builds of more than a couple of days, or anything built outdoors on the coast.
Scenic painter paint and ageing
Paints and ages the set: wood, plaster, metal and weather, all convincing on camera.
Best when the set has to look old, salted or lived in, like a fish cellar or a harbour café.
Standby carpenter on the shoot day
Stays with the set during the shoot to move walls, fix things and make changes.
Best on any built set, and on anything outdoors when the wind gets up.
Special effects smoke, rain and fire
Models, moulded props and physical effects such as smoke, rain and fire, made by a specialist workshop.
Best when the set needs something no carpenter would make. Cornwall Council’s code of practice asks for the Fire Brigade to be told about special effects, fire or explosions.
Construction manager large builds
Plans and runs the construction department, the budget and the workshop on large builds.
Best for drama and big adverts, where pieces are built upcountry and driven down.
What it’s for
What people book set builders for in Cornwall
Adverts
A kitchen, a shop or a living room built in a hired studio at Falmouth University or a converted barn, with walls that come out.
Beach and coast pieces
A beach hut, a market stall or a kiosk front, built to stand on sand or turf and ballasted against the wind.
Music videos
A look built in an empty industrial unit, an old mining building or a barn.
Drama
Fronts, rooms and period pieces, in a county where Roscarrock Farm was fitted out for Doc Martin.
Launches and events
Stages and backdrops for a launch at the Eden Project or a festival in Falmouth, built for the cameras as well as the crowd.
Recent work
How we crew a build in Cornwall
How we crew it · Cornwall
Where a Cornish build goes up
Screen Cornwall says Cornwall has no film studios, and the nearest stages are in Bristol, so we start with the space. Falmouth University hires out its film school studios, Studio 1 at 154 square metres for £750 a day plus VAT, room only, and its photography studios at Kernick Industrial Estate run up to 22 by 9 metres, in term time. Converted farm buildings and empty industrial units work too (checked October 2026). Before a build is drawn, we ask the space for its door sizes, load-in times and floor rules, and anything it charges goes on the quote as its own line.
How we crew it · Cornwall
Building on the coast
On location, the land sets the rules. Cornwall Council’s permit terms allow no vehicles on its property without specific permission (checked October 2026). On a Site of Special Scientific Interest the landowner needs Natural England’s written consent first, which can take up to four months (checked October 2026). Nothing breaks the ground on an SSSI: on our Cohere shoot on the Lizard every gazebo was weighted. The Duchy of Cornwall holds over 160 miles of Cornish foreshore, and the tide decides how long a beach build can stand.
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- 11 hours, including an hour for lunch.
- Overtime at card rates, agreed with you before it happens.
- Build, dressing and strike days are quoted separately.
Planning
- A build needs drawings and a schedule: tell us the shoot date and work back.
- Door sizes, load-in times and the truck’s route down the lanes agreed before the build starts.
- Built upcountry? The drive is on the quote, timed off-peak where the schedule allows.
Building in Cornwall
- Cornwall Council asks for £5m public liability and a location-specific risk assessment with every application.
- Private property: the owner’s consent first.
- A road closure goes through Cornwall Council’s Street Works team with at least 12 weeks’ notice; a full order with that notice is £1,942.50 (checked October 2026).
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.
- Moving the date? Tell us as soon as you know.
- 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.
£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.
- 50% by card at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
- Every line on the quote before anything is booked
Or call us on 07412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book set builders in Cornwall.
Tell us what you’re building, where it has to stand, and the shoot date. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in Cornwall, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Cornwall, 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 Cornwall. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Cornwall.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A build leans on the studio, the permits and the drive down, so here’s how the rest of a Cornish shoot fits around it.
01
Kit rental
Kit in West Cornwall and Falmouth, the crew’s own kit, and what comes down from Bristol and London.
02
Locations and permits
Cornwall Council, the National Trust, Natural England, the harbours and the drone rules.
Questions
Hiring set builders in Cornwall: questions
How much does a set build cost in Cornwall?
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, the space, transport and waste are at cost. Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance go on top, so one builder for one day starts at £381.92 + VAT. A simple wall can be a day for two; a room set, a week for a team. Our rates are national, so Cornwall costs the same as anywhere else we crew, with any travel from outside Cornwall on its own line.
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.
Where can we build a set in Cornwall?
Screen Cornwall says Cornwall has no film studios; the nearest stages are The Bottle Yard in Bristol. Falmouth University hires out its film school studios: Studio 1 is 154 square metres, at £750 a day (checked October 2026). Falmouth University’s photography studios at Kernick Industrial Estate run from 6 by 6 metres up to 22 by 9, from £300 a day in term time only (checked October 2026). Screen Cornwall also points to converted farm buildings and empty industrial units as pop-up studios. See studios and set builds in Cornwall.
Do you build in Cornwall or bring it down?
Both. Small pieces are built on site or in a local workshop. Big builds are often made upcountry and driven down. Visit Cornwall puts London or Birmingham at less than five hours by car from the heart of Cornwall, on an A30 that’s mostly dual carriageway, and warns of heavy traffic in peak season, school holidays and at weekends (checked October 2026). The truck, the driver and the drive are lines on the quote.
Can you build on a Cornish beach or clifftop?
With permission, yes. Cornwall Council owns beaches as well as woods, parks and old mining sites, and filming there needs a FilmApp permit. Cornwall Council’s permit terms allow no vehicles on its property without specific permission (checked October 2026). The Duchy of Cornwall holds over 160 miles of Cornish foreshore. On a Site of Special Scientific Interest the landowner needs Natural England’s written consent first, which can take up to four months (checked October 2026). Nothing breaks the ground on an SSSI: on our Cohere shoot on the Lizard every gazebo was weighted. On the coast, builds are ballasted for the wind and planned round the tide.
Can the build use smoke, fire or rain?
Yes, with a specialist and notice. Cornwall Council’s code of practice asks for the Fire Brigade to be told about special effects, fire or explosions, for emergency vehicle access to be kept at all times, and for silent generators wherever possible. On wild heathland, expect limits: on our Cohere shoot on the Lizard, fire cover was water only.
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. On location, add the notice: ten working days for a FilmApp permit, 12 weeks for a road closure, and up to four months for Natural England’s consent on an SSSI (checked October 2026).
Do I need an art director as well?
For anything more than a simple piece, yes: the art director designs it and draws it, the builders build it. See art directors in Cornwall.