Carpenter Prices in Cairo 2026 — Kitchens, Wardrobes and Curtains

Indicative carpentry price table

These are comparison ranges, not a fixed tariff.

One warning before you read it: "kitchen fitting" is the installation labour — a carpenter fitting kitchen units that are already made or cut. A full custom kitchen including board, worktop and hardware is a completely different, far higher number, and it's priced per linear metre of upper and lower units. If someone offers to "build you a kitchen" at the fitting price, they've either misunderstood or they're misleading you.

The material is the price — a quick guide

Around 90% of the price gap between one carpenter and another comes from the board, not the skill. Know what you're paying for:

• MDF: smooth, easy to rout and shape, mid-priced. Its fatal flaw is water — it swells and never recovers. Under a kitchen sink or in a bathroom that's a disaster, unless it's moisture-resistant (green) MDF with properly sealed edges.
• Plywood: far better than MDF at holding screws and resisting moisture; widely used for kitchen and wardrobe carcasses. Costs more.
• Blockboard: a core of timber strips, relatively light and strong — common in doors and wardrobes.
• Solid wood (beech, ash, pine): the most expensive and the longest-lived, right for doors and load-bearing pieces. Beech in particular is heavy and strong.
• HDF / HPL / acrylic / poly-lacquer: these aren't the board, they're the finish on top of it. Acrylic is glossy and pricier; HPL is practical and better against knocks.
• Hardware: soft-close hinges, telescopic drawer runners, gas struts. People dismiss these, and they're precisely why a wardrobe still feels solid — or starts banging — a year later. Ask for the brand by name, not "good hardware".

What drives the price

• Made-to-measure vs off-the-shelf: fitted to your actual walls costs more but fits properly. Egyptian walls are rarely truly square, and with flat-pack you see that as a gap down the side.
• Internal fit-out: shelves, drawers, trouser rails, internal lighting — each one adds.
• Finish: duco and lacquer are applied in stages with drying time, so they cost more than veneer.
• Curtain rails: priced per window, not per apartment — indicatively 150–500 EGP per window, more for high ceilings, hard concrete walls, or wide windows needing a centre support.
• Floor and access: a large piece like a wardrobe may not fit up the stairwell, so it's cut and assembled on site — extra hours.
• Delivery: transporting the pieces from the workshop is usually a separate line. Ask.

Red flags, and what to ask

Carpentry disputes almost always erupt after the board has been cut — at which point there is no going back. Everything therefore hinges on what you agreed before the saw came out.

• Don't accept a quote without a site visit and measurements. Anyone who prices a wardrobe off a WhatsApp photo will come back with "the measurements turned out bigger" after you've paid a deposit.
• Get a drawing — even a rough one — with dimensions, shelf count and drawer count, and have you both sign off on it before cutting.
• Write the material and its thickness into the agreement: "18mm MDF", not "good wood". Thickness especially — being charged for 18mm and given 9mm is a real and common trick.
• Ask: does the price include hardware, delivery and installation, or are those extra?
• Warranty: how long, and covering what? (Hinges, runners, assembly.) And if the board warps or swells from damp, who's responsible?
• Don't pay in full up front. A deposit for materials and the balance on delivery after inspection is normal.
• How many days, and what's the delivery date in writing? Delays are the most common complaint in this trade.
• For kitchens: who cuts the openings for the sink, hob and extractor, and who coordinates with the plumber and electrician — them or you?

Custom or flat-pack? An honest answer

Flat-pack is faster, transparently priced and looks exactly as advertised — but the dimensions are fixed, and in a typical Egyptian apartment with imperfect walls you'll end up with dead gaps.

Custom uses every centimetre and lets you choose material and finish — but the outcome depends entirely on the carpenter. A good carpenter with mid-grade board beats a bad one with expensive board.

Practically: if the space is small or irregular — which describes most Cairo apartments — custom earns its money. If the space is standard and you're in a hurry, there's nothing wrong with flat-pack.

How Eidak works differently

Carpentry has one of the widest price spreads of any trade for identical work. Instead of touring workshops and collecting phone quotes, you post the job with real detail — dimensions, the material you want, photos of the space — and carpenters bid on it.

You see each carpenter's ratings and photos of past work before choosing, which in this trade matters more than anything anyone says, because the work is visible.

Your money is held in escrow until you've inspected the piece and confirmed it matches the agreed dimensions and material. Minimum task value is 200 EGP, and Eidak adds 10% on top of the bid — the carpenter receives 100% of what they bid.

Practical tip: keep every agreement on measurements and materials in the in-app chat, not on a phone call. Calls evaporate; the chat stays — and if there's ever a dispute, it's what settles it.

Frequently asked questions

How much does fitting a kitchen cost?

The fitting labour itself runs indicatively 1500–5000 EGP, depending on the number of units and how complex the cut-outs for sink and hob are. But be clear — that is not the price of the kitchen. A full custom kitchen with board, hardware and worktop is far higher and is priced per linear metre, with the material setting the number.

How much is a custom wardrobe?

The range is genuinely wide — indicatively 3000–12000 EGP — and that isn't evasion, it's reality: a plain MDF wardrobe and a solid-wood one with telescopic drawers and internal lighting are different products. Fix the dimensions, material, board thickness, and shelf and drawer counts, and only then can you compare bids fairly.

How much to install curtain rails?

It's priced per window, not per apartment — indicatively 150–500 EGP per window. It rises for wide windows needing a centre support, high ceilings, or hard concrete walls. Agree whether brackets, fixings and the rail itself are included, or on you.

Which is better — MDF, plywood or solid wood?

There's no absolute best, only the right fit. Solid wood (beech, ash) is strongest, longest-lived and priciest — right for doors and load-bearing pieces. Plywood handles moisture far better than MDF, so it makes sense in kitchens and bathrooms. MDF takes a beautiful finish and routs well, but water destroys it. The rule: where there's water, keep standard MDF away.

The carpenter wants the full amount up front. Is that normal?

No. A deposit for materials is normal — he genuinely has to buy board. The balance should be due on delivery, after you've inspected. On Eidak the amount is held in escrow and isn't released until you confirm the work matches the agreed dimensions and material.