Buyers Guide to Bench Seating

So......Bench Seating it's come back into fashion! Brilliant!

Benches make a great addition to a kitchen / diner. Mainly however they are used in bars, restaurants, pubs, night clubs and coffee shops. It creates a cosy feel without needing the space for sofas.

When your buying benches the best people to buy from is direct from the manufacturer. If you do this you can specify your size, colour of wood finish, fabric and even put your own design together.

It is a great way to lift the feel of a restaurant making it cosy and luxurious. You can use it to seperate areas or just to create a different space. Many restaurants and bars are being designed now with different areas for different people so that your customer will be able to distinguish that part o your restaurant as their own. Creating their "Third Place".

For More information on Bench Seating click here or call 01206 820200 to chat to our team who are more than happy to help you with your design.

The Technical Jargon

The Frame

Bench Seating frames are made from 50mm x 50mm softwood, these frames have Mortise and Tenon joints, these are pinned and glued together. This method keeps the frames really strong and creates the core of the product. This core enables us to offer a 10 year frame guarantee on all benches sold. Covering the softwood frame are various other materials depending on the customer's requirements examples of which are oak veneer, reinforced plywood and chip board.

The Upholstery

The upholstered seat that we use in our factory is different from most other manufacturers. The usual seat that is used in contract bench seating is chip foam to give firmness finished with a soft foam topper glued in place. The foams that are used in our factory are molded, cold cure foams that are shaped in a profile, they are designed to keep their shape for years. We found that after heavy use the soft foam topper used in traditional methods was disintegrating within the bench. Our method has improved the technique and we hope will set the standard in the industry.

The Finishing

When using Oak Veneer on the plinths of the bench or when there is any wood on show it would usually be sprayed. First the bench would be stained in the desired colour, then it would be left to dry, after the stain has dried it would be finished with two or three coats of lacquer and sanded in between applying the coats. The Lacquer used is Acid Catalyst and has properties of heat and stain resistance ensuring the bench has as long a life as possible. Metal Benches can be chromed, spray finished or powder coated.

Metal Framed Bench Seating

We're really unique in our factory, we have a woodworking department and a metal work department. This means that we can mix wood and metal together and create a really unique and strong product. The Metal framed benches enable us to offer a cheaper product that is just as strong if not stronger than the wooden bench seating.

Buyers Guide to Stacking Chairs

Stacking Chairs are used in many businesses including social clubs, schools, churches, restaurants, sports clubs, function halls and many other businesses. They are not always the best looking product but are highly functional and very durable hence why they are so widely used. Steel Stacking chairs are the most popular because they are the lowest cost as well as being stronger.

The more health and safety conscious business will buy Aluminium Stacking chairs because they are lighter and easier to stack. If you buy 10 or more stacking chairs it is advisable to buy a stacking chair trolley to make sure you can manoeuvre the chairs safely and easily.

The Construction
The Construction of the stacking chair that you buy is key to it lasting a long time. Areas to look for in the construction of the stacking chair are the thickness of the frame, steel frames should be 1.2mm thick or 18 gauge for heavy use as a minimum. Aluminium should be at least 2mm as it is a softer metal and easier to bend. Aluminium chairs are however lighter, they are easier to move around if you are getting chairs in and out all the time.

The underframe of the stacking chairs should have side bars or side rails, this is really important. The side bars keep the shape of the chair. If you buy a stacking chair without side bars it is likely to be fine at first but after a few stacks and un-stacks and after a few heavy people sitting on the chair the legs will bend. The chair will get to the stage where it is unable to be stacked. So make sure you buy a stacking chair with side rails. Under the seat of the chair should be a bar that holds the seat in place, this will prevent someone standing on the seat and their foot breaking the seat board in two.

Making sure your stacking chairs confirm to fire standards see our blog on FR Standards, click here

Buyers Guide to Pub Furniture

Pub Furniture has really changed over the last few years. Pubs or Public Houses have gone from being many of them simply just for drinking to them turning more gastro and food orientated. The furniture has reflected this, many pubs need to have areas that are versatile, some for dining early evening and then turning into a club type environment. Others have a dining area and a bar area where snacks are served.

Furniture needs to be versatile whilst still creating a sense of style so customers want to spend time in the environment, spending their money on food and drink. Pieces needs to be easy to move around but strong enough to withstand the heavy use that your customers will give it.

Furniture needs to be strong. Some pub owners buy their furniture in retail stores, not realising that retail products are not built in the same way as contract products. When furniture is sat on day in, day out, and often used buy people who might have one too many vodkas, it needs to be built to last. You might pay an extra £10 for a chair but it needs to be built specifically for the environment intended.

There are many specialists in the market that claim to be selling furniture ideal for pubs and restaurants. Be careful of importers that are only importing retail products that are not specifically designed for heavy use. Make sure you have checked the construction is specifically designed for the use intended before spending your hard earned cash.

Some reccomended suppliers include ChairsGB. Charman from ChairsGB (no pun intended), John Roy tells us how the products are different from domestic products. "When constructing our products we use plywood seats instead of webbing and springs that are used in the traditional domestic upholstery, this means the product is much stronger, seats don't sag and the products last for years and years. Our customers are always very pleased"