Built-in wardrobes: what goes in
A built-in wardrobe fills an alcove or runs across a bedroom wall, floor to ceiling, with the inside planned around what you keep in it. A licensed carpenter quotes from the width, the height, the doors and the fit-out.
Reach-in robes
The usual bedroom robe: shelving and panels fixed to the walls and floor, with doors across the front.
Inside the robe
Hanging rails at one or two heights, adjustable shelves, drawer stacks and shoe racks. Long coats and dresses need one full-height hanging section; shirts and jackets fit two rails, one above the other.
Sliding and hinged robe doors
Sliding doors run on a track and suit a narrow room, and mirrored sliders double as a full-length mirror. Hinged doors open the whole robe at once but need floor space to swing.
Replacing an old robe
The old robe and its doors come out first, and the walls, floor and ceiling around it are made good before the new one goes in.
Built-in wardrobe costs in Adelaide
Built-in wardrobe prices
| What’s charged | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Basic reach-in robe, sliding doors | $800 – $1,800 | The Quote Yard (SA guide) |
| Standard reach-in robe, fitted | $1,800 – $3,800 | The Quote Yard (SA guide) |
| Mid-range fitted robe, premium hardware | $3,200 – $6,500 | The Quote Yard (SA guide) |
| Custom joinery, solid timber | $4,500 – $12,000 | The Quote Yard (SA guide) |
| Built-in wardrobe, supply and install (typical $2,500) | $1,200 – $5,000 | What’s The Damage (national) |
Checked 28 October 2026. The Quote Yard’s South Australian guide (4 May 2026) doesn’t state GST; What’s The Damage’s national figure (October 2026) includes it.
A licensed carpenter puts a price in writing after measuring the room: the width, the height, the doors and the fit-out inside set it. For a smaller job, such as a run of shelves in an alcove, the carpenter rates guide has published hourly rates.
Built-in robes in older Adelaide homes
In villas and older houses the walls can be out of plumb and the ceilings are high. The robe’s end panels and fillers are scribed to the walls so there are no gaps, and a tall robe gets a top cupboard or a bulkhead to the ceiling. Alcoves either side of a chimney breast take a robe or shelving without losing floor space.
Older homes: check for asbestos first
asbestos.sa.gov.au says to check for asbestos before repairs or renovation in a house built before the mid-1980s. Taking out an old robe, or cutting and fixing into old wall linings, can disturb it, so mention when the house was built. See asbestos before renovating in SA.
What to send us
- The wall width and ceiling height, measured at both ends
- Sliding, mirrored or hinged doors
- What goes inside: hanging space, shelves, drawers, shoes
- Whether an old robe comes out first
- Photos of the room, and when the house was built
Questions about built-in wardrobes in Adelaide
Does installing a built-in wardrobe need a licence in SA?
Yes. Consumer and Business Services lists the installation of built-in furniture in its joinery and cabinet making licence scopes, and SA’s Building Work Contractors Act has no dollar threshold. See how to check a licence.
Can new doors go on an existing robe?
Yes, if the robe inside is sound. Measure the opening’s width and height at both ends, and say whether you want sliding, mirrored or hinged doors.
Can a robe system I’ve bought be fitted?
Send the product’s name and the sizes with your enquiry, so the quote covers fitting it to the room. Check the system suits the wall width and ceiling height before you buy.
Can lights go inside the robe?
Yes, but lights and power points are electrical work for a licensed electrician, separate from the carpentry. Plan where the cable runs before the robe goes in.
Is a built-in robe the same as a walk-in robe?
No. A built-in, or reach-in, robe sits against a wall and you reach in from the room; a walk-in robe is a small room lined with hanging and shelving. The prices in the table are for reach-in robes.
Where this information comes from
The rules and figures on this page come from these published pages, checked on 28 October 2026.
- The Quote Yard: built-in wardrobes SA 2026 · Quote-comparison marketplace, South Australian price guide, published 4 May 2026
- What’s The Damage: carpenter cost Australia 2026 · National cost guide (paid by tradespeople for enquiries), updated October 2026, prices include GST
- Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) · South Australian legislation: ss 3, 6, 28–36, 47A–47D, 49 and 50
- CBS: building work supervisor standard registration conditions · SA Government, Consumer and Business Services: the licence categories (carpentry, decks, fencing, windows and doors)
- asbestos.sa.gov.au: homeowners · SA Government asbestos information site (SafeWork SA, EPA SA, SA Health and others)
