Most of our furniture doesn’t exist until you order it. Here’s exactly how long the wait is, why it takes that long, and how to know if the wait is right for you.
“How long is this going to take to make?”
It’s one of the first things you ask us, and it’s a fair question. You’ve found the piece. You like the price. Now you want to know when it’ll actually be in your home.
Here’s the honest part: there isn’t one number. Most of what we make is built to order at our Greymouth workshop, which means your piece doesn’t exist until you place the order. Your timber, your colour, your dimensions. That’s the whole point of buying solid timber furniture, and it’s also why it takes longer than walking out of a store with a flat-pack box under your arm.
But “it depends” is a useless answer when you’ve got a deadline. So below we’ll give you the real timeframes, walk you through what happens in those weeks, and tell you plainly when made-to-order is the wrong choice for you.
The short answer
A standard made-to-order piece takes about 4 to 6 weeks. A custom piece takes about 6 to 8 weeks.
Those are delivered timeframes, not just build time. When we quote you a window, it’s order to your door, freight included. The freight leg itself takes 5 to 10 working days, anywhere in New Zealand, and that’s already counted inside the 4-to-6 and 6-to-8 week windows. The freight company contacts you directly to arrange a time that suits.
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What you're ordering |
Order to your door (delivery included) |
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A standard made-to-order piece (a size and timber we already build) |
About 4 to 6 weeks |
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A custom piece (changed dimensions, combined options, or built to your own spec) |
About 6 to 8 weeks |
Working to a deadline? Ring us on 0800 369 963 before you order and we’ll give you the current lead time for the exact piece you want. It takes two minutes, and it’s a lot cheaper than guessing.
Why does it take weeks when flat-pack takes minutes?
Because nothing is sitting on a shelf waiting for you. Your piece is cut, built, and finished from raw timber after you order it, to the spec you chose.
Flat-pack furniture is fast because it’s already made, in bulk, before anyone’s decided to buy it. It’s mass-produced, boxed, and stacked in a warehouse. You’re buying something that already exists, so you can take it home today. The trade-off is that you get exactly what’s in the box and nothing else, and it’s built to a price, not to last.
Made-to-order is the opposite trade. You wait, because we don’t start until we know what you want. In return you get your timber, your colour, your size, and a piece built from solid timber with real joinery that we’ll back for 25 years, which we believe is the longest furniture guarantee in New Zealand.
Neither is “better.” They’re different deals. If the wait is the part you’re weighing up, the rest of this article is really about whether that deal is worth it for you.
What actually happens in those 4 to 8 weeks?
Six stages, start to finish. None of them are padding.
Here’s what your piece goes through between the moment you order and the moment it’s wrapped for freight.
1. We process and schedule your order
When your order comes in, we check it, confirm it, and schedule it into the workshop. For custom orders with larger changes, we draw it up and send it through for you to confirm before anything is built. You can revise that drawing as many times as you need. Once your 50% deposit is received, it goes into production.
2. We select your timber
We work in two timbers: NZ Radiata Pine, grown here on the West Coast, and American Ash, a hardwood. Both are FSC-certified, which means the timber is traceable to responsibly managed forests. Your order specifies which timber, and the right boards are pulled for your piece.
3. We cut and machine it to your dimensions
Every component is cut to size and machined to the spec for your piece. This is the stage where the dimensions you chose become real timber. Nothing is pre-cut or waiting on a shelf, which is exactly why a made-to-order piece can’t be rushed out the door in a week.
4. We assemble it by hand
The cut components are assembled by hand. Joints are fitted, glued, and clamped. This is the part that separates solid timber furniture from flat-pack: real timber joinery, not cam locks and dowels. It’s also the part that makes the 25-year guarantee possible. You can’t back something for 25 years if it’s held together with fittings designed to be assembled once on a bedroom floor.
5. We finish it in your colour
Once it’s assembled, the piece is sanded and finished in the colour you chose. We use Mirotone commercial-grade finishes throughout, with 31 colours available across Pine and Ash. If none of those is right, we can match a colour for you.
6. We check, pack, and dispatch it
Before anything leaves the workshop, handles are fitted and the whole piece gets a final check. Then it’s packed for fragile freight and dispatched. Delivery is door-to-door at a flat $150 nationwide, or $180 rural, and takes 5 to 10 working days once it’s on the truck. That freight time is already inside the 4-to-6 week window we quote you, not added on top. The freight company will contact you to arrange delivery.
When made-to-order is the wrong choice for you
If you need furniture in your home within two weeks, we are not your best option, and we’d rather tell you now than take your deposit and disappoint you.
We don’t have a product for every situation, and the wait is the most common reason we’re not the right fit. Here’s who should think twice:
• You’re on a hard deadline inside 4 weeks. A housewarming, a new baby, family arriving for Christmas. If the date can’t move and it’s close, made-to-order is a gamble we don’t want you taking.
• You need it now and the specific piece doesn’t matter much. If you just need a functional table this weekend and you’re not fussed about timber, size, or keeping it for decades, a flat-pack or in-store piece will serve you better and faster.
• You’re furnishing a short-term rental or staging a house to sell. If the furniture only needs to last a season, paying for solid timber and waiting weeks for it doesn’t make sense.
If that’s you, no hard feelings. Buy the thing that fits your timeline. We’re here when you’re furnishing somewhere you actually intend to stay.
How to know if the wait is right for you
If you’re buying furniture you expect to keep for decades, a few weeks is a rounding error.
The buyers who are glad they waited tend to have a few things in common:
• You’re furnishing a home you plan to stay in, and you’d rather buy once than replace flat-pack every few years.
• You want a specific size, timber, or colour that you can’t find in stock anywhere.
• Your timeline has some give in it. You’re planning a renovation, a new build, or a room you’re doing properly, and the furniture is one part of a longer project.
If you can plan 6 to 8 weeks out, you get exactly what you want, built to last, with no compromise forced on you by what happened to be in a warehouse. For most people buying timber furniture, that’s the entire reason they came looking in the first place.
Questions people ask us about lead times
Can you make it faster if I’m in a hurry?
Sometimes, depending on what’s already in the workshop and how busy we are. We won’t promise it on the website because it changes week to week. Ring us on 0800 369 963 with your deadline and the exact piece, and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s possible.
Does “4 to 6 weeks” include delivery?
Yes. When we quote a timeframe, it’s a delivered timeframe, not just build time. The 4 to 6 weeks, or 6 to 8 for a custom piece, is from the day you order to the day it arrives at your door, freight included. The freight leg is 5 to 10 working days of that, not an extra fortnight tacked on the end.
Why is custom slower than standard?
A custom piece often needs a drawing confirmed before we start, and changed dimensions mean changed machining. That confirmation step and the extra setup is where the additional 2 weeks goes.
Does a bigger or more complex piece take longer?
Generally the 4-to-6 and 6-to-8 week ranges hold across most pieces, but a large or complex order can sit at the top of the range.
Can I track where my piece is in the workshop?
To find out where your piece is up to in the workshop, please get in touch at info@coastwoodfurniture.co.nz and we will let you know.
So, how long will yours take?
Standard made-to-order, about 4 to 6 weeks. Custom, about 6 to 8 weeks. Both are delivered timeframes, from the day you order to the day it lands at your door, freight included. That’s the honest range, and the reason behind it is simple: we don’t build your piece until you’ve told us what you want.
If a few weeks feels long, it’s worth remembering what you’re waiting for: a solid timber piece, built to your spec, that we’ll stand behind for 25 years. The flat-pack you could take home today won’t be in the house in five years. This will.
We’ve been building furniture in the same Greymouth workshop since 1997, for people furnishing homes they intend to keep. If that’s you, the wait is on your side.
Got a deadline you’re working to? Ring us on 0800 369 963 or Request a Quote and we’ll confirm the current lead time for your exact piece before you commit. Quotes come back within 2 to 4 working hours.
Still weighing it up? Read Custom Made Furniture – what’s possible and how to get started, or our Shipping & Delivery Policy for the full freight detail.
