Ipswich's historic core has plenty of period shopfronts where new metalwork has to sit quietly among old brickwork. We make canopies, brackets, screens and feature stairs in Norwich, finished clean enough to bear close inspection.
Ipswich, about 43 miles south of our Norwich workshop.
Metalwork for Ipswich's old town
Ipswich's older streets are unforgiving of a clumsy bracket or a heavy handed weld.
Swift Fabrication makes architectural metalwork for shopfitters, agents and owners working on Ipswich's period buildings, alongside newer commercial and residential jobs. Mild and stainless steel are cut, welded and dressed in our Norwich workshop, so each piece arrives ready to fit.
A conservation area or a listed building usually means drawings that reflect the original frontage, and we build to whatever sizes and details you are given. Where a bracket or canopy carries load, the calculations still come from your engineer, and any consent needed is yours to arrange.
See how we work on a project
Dressed clean, mitres tight
Free estimate, price agreed
43 miles from Norwich
Ipswich feature steelwork
From a single canopy over a shop door to the ironwork for a full frontage restoration, each piece is made to measure and finished to be seen up close.
Entrance canopies, door surrounds and hanging sign brackets for shopfronts in the older parts of town. We fabricate the frame and fixings ready for glazing, timber or roofing, and load bearing pieces are made to your engineer's details.
Plate stringers, folded or timber-ready treads, glass-ready posts and handrails, built to sit comfortably inside an older shop or office. Each staircase is made as separate pieces in Norwich, then assembled on site so the lines come out even.
Steel framed glazing surrounds, brackets for timber and glass, and counter or bar frames for a shop or cafe fit out. Made for shopfitters working on the older buildings around the town centre, in mild or stainless steel.
From drawing to Ipswich frontage
Send us what you have: an architect's drawing, a heritage consultant's detail, or photographs of the existing frontage. Tell us the material and finish wanted, and whether the piece sits outdoors on an exposed elevation or inside a shop.
A free estimate comes first, and the price is agreed before we start. Anything fitting an existing period opening is measured on site in Ipswich before any steel is cut, since old buildings rarely match the original drawing exactly.
Working to a shopfit programme in the town centre? Tell us your dates early and we will say plainly what we can make in time.
If you have no drawings
Plenty of Ipswich shop owners come to us with a photograph of the frontage and a few measurements. That is fine. We talk through section sizes, fixings and what finish suits an exposed elevation, then help develop a design that can be fabricated.
We do not certify structures or arrange listed building consent. If a canopy or staircase needs calculations or approval, those come from your engineer or the customer's side, and we build to what is agreed.
What to send for a quoteMetalwork across Suffolk
Everything is made at our Norwich workshop, about 43 miles north, and delivered down the A140 and A14. We fit in the town centre, out towards Kesgrave, and on the industrial estates such as Ransomes Europark and Hadleigh Road.
In a listed or conservation area setting, any consent needed for the frontage is arranged from your side, and we build to whatever the approved drawing shows. Stainless steel is worth considering where a piece will be cleaned often.
See how we cover IpswichIpswich metalwork questions
Answers on drawings, listed settings, materials and fitting, for buyers in Ipswich.
Yes. A dimensioned sketch or a few photographs of the frontage is enough to start. We help develop it into a design that can be fabricated and give you a free estimate. Anything load bearing still needs figures from your engineer.
Yes. Mild steel and stainless steel are both everyday work for us, with TIG welding for a fine, neat joint. Tell us the grade and finish your drawing calls for, and ask about aluminium if a job needs it.
Primer, paint, galvanising and powder coating can all be arranged, in a colour to match the existing frontage. For an exposed elevation in the town centre we usually suggest galvanising first, then talk through what suits the setting.
Yes. We deliver and install what we make in Ipswich, working alongside your builder or shopfitter. Supply only is fine too if your own team is doing the fitting.
A large canopy or fixed sign bracket often does, such as posts or brackets fixed back into old brickwork. Your engineer decides what is needed. We can fabricate the supporting steel along with the visible piece.
Structural steel fabricationSwift Fabrication Services
Send your drawings, sketch or photographs with rough sizes, or call 07495 409006. We will come back with a free estimate for architectural metalwork in Ipswich.
