Guide
Carpenter or joiner: what each one does
A carpenter fits timber on site. A joiner makes it in a workshop. In Scotland and the north of England the word joiner covers both.
The short answer
A carpenter works on site, fitting and repairing timber that is already made: hanging doors, laying floors, building stud walls, cutting roofs. A joiner works in a workshop, making the timber components themselves: staircases, windows, doors, fitted furniture. The joiner makes it, the carpenter fits it, and a great many people do both.
The regional answer, which matters more
Across Scotland, Northern Ireland, the North East, the North West and Yorkshire, joiner is simply the word for the trade. A joiner in Glasgow or Leeds hangs doors and lays floors and would not describe themselves as a carpenter. In the Midlands and the south, carpenter is the default and joiner tends to mean workshop work specifically.
This is worth knowing when you search. Looking for a carpenter in Aberdeen will show you fewer people than looking for a joiner, and they may not be the same people.
Which one do I need?
Ask what has to happen rather than what to call it. If the thing you want already exists and needs fitting, adjusting or repairing, that is site work. If it has to be made to a size that nothing off the shelf matches, that is workshop work, and the maker will usually fit it too.
Fitted wardrobes are the common in-between. Some are built from sheet material on site, some are made as panels in a workshop and scribed in. Both are legitimate; the workshop version generally has a better finish and a longer lead time.
What about cabinet makers and shopfitters?
A cabinet maker is a joiner specialising in furniture, working to finer tolerances than construction joinery needs. A shopfitter is a joiner working in commercial spaces, usually to a designer's drawing and often overnight. Both are the same underlying trade with different tolerances and different clients.
Common questions
Is a joiner better than a carpenter?
Neither is better. They are different parts of the same trade, and in much of the UK the words are used interchangeably for the same person.
Can a carpenter make a staircase?
Some can, but a staircase is usually made in a joinery workshop with machinery and then fitted on site, often by the same firm.
Do I need a carpenter or a builder?
A carpenter for timber work. A builder where the job spans several trades, such as an extension, and needs someone to co-ordinate them.