How to Choose the Best Church Chairs

6 Things to Know Before Buying New Church Chairs

If you’re shopping for church chairs, you might have noticed that most church chairs look the same.

Although they might look the same on the outside, what matters is what’s on the inside. One pew chair can make you feel stiff and achy within minutes, while another one feels as comfortable as a cloud for hours. Some church chairs last for decades, while others last just a few years.

If you don’t know what to look for in church seating, or what questions to ask, you could end up with pew chairs that are uncomfortable, heavy, difficult to stack, environmentally unfriendly, or poorly made.

Here are the 6 things to know when buying chairs for your church.

• Manufacturing location
• Frame style & durability
• Sustainability
• Foam & comfort
• Seat & back construction
• Stacking & storage

Manufacturing Location

The highest quality chairs are usually made in the US or Canada. Church furniture manufactured domestically is more durable and is made to higher standards. Domestically made furniture usually has a faster delivery time and is less likely to be damaged during shipment. Plus, by choosing a chair that is manufactured in the USA, your purchase will support American workers and the US economy.

However, that doesn’t mean that you should discount some of the benefits of imported chairs.

Price is the main advantage of church chairs made overseas. Often, imported chairs are less expensive because of the lower production costs, reduced labor costs, bulk materials purchasing benefits, the price advantages of leveraging global supply chains, and other factors.

If your church has a tight budget, imported chairs might be a feasible way to get the furniture you need now rather than in a year or two. They may not last as long as American-made chairs, but sometimes cost is the ruling factor. The disadvantages of imported church chairs are longer lead times, higher carbon emissions (due to transportation of goods), and (usually) reduced durability.

The Bertolini Impressions Chair is made in the US. The Bertolini Essentials V2 Chair is imported from overseas. We manufacture chairs in a variety of locations to make sure there is a chair for every preference and every budget.

Frame Style & Durability

If you’re going to invest in new chairs, you want to make sure they will last. Look for steel or aluminum frames that have a powder coated finish, which will resist scratches and dents better than any other finish. This type of finish involves spraying a dry powdered paint onto metal and then baking it at a high temperature, which then cures the powder coating. This creates a hard finish that’s waterproof, stain-resistant, and more durable than ordinary paint.

To make sure you are buying chairs that last, you’ll also want to find out how the frame is manufactured. Bertolini chair frames are manufactured of 16-gauge cold-rolled steel tubing, creating a solid frame that supports 1,000 pounds (453.5 kg). The frames feature carbon steel with an integrated torsion bar (the extra steel bar that’s welded across the back of the frame), which provides extra strength and prevents wobbling.

Steel-framed chairs are good stacking chairs. Look for chairs that come with stack buttons to help protect the upholstery.

Sustainability

The best church chairs will last a long time—25 years or more. You will also help the environment by finding chairs that can be recycled at the end of their lifetime. Bertolini chairs are all recyclable. Chairs made with recycled content (such as recycled steel, plastic, or aluminum) are also much more sustainable.

Look for products that are GREENGUARD Certified to protect against off-gassing, which happens when materials like textiles or plastics leak harmful chemicals into the air and contribute to bad indoor air quality. The Bertolini Impressions Church Chair is 100% recyclable and GREENGUARD Certified. The steel chair frames are made with an average of 23% post-consumer recycled steel.

If you are concerned about green building and environmental health, you will want to avoid chairs and church auditorium seating that is manufactured in countries with low levels of environmental regulation. Otherwise, your purchase may contribute to pollution in those countries and could also be made with knock-off materials that are more likely to off-gas harmful toxins.

Foam & Comfort

The quality of foam plays a big part in whether a chair is comfortable or not. Look for chairs with high-density foam because it’s more solid and durable. Denser foam will also provide comfort and support over a long duration.

Bertolini chairs feature high quality, high-density foam cushions. The Impressions Chair delivers superior comfort thanks to custom molded, cold-cured foam that we create right in our factory. The Impressions foam is under warranty for a full 25 years.

The Essentials V2 Church Chair is also very comfortable. It features a plush, 4-inch-thick seat cushion that is under warranty for five years. Seats feel soft and comfortable, while still being firm enough to offer support.

All of our chairs feature a seat cushion that has a waterfall (rounded) front edge. A waterfall cushion edge curves downward more gently than a crisp square edge with a 90-degree angle. A waterfall edge is much more comfortable because it promotes healthy circulation in the legs and feet.

Seat & Back Construction

The materials used to make the seats and backs on a chair can impact a lot of things such as weight, maintenance, and comfort level.

Underneath the upholstery and padding, the material used to make the base can impact the comfort. Plywood seat and back bases are less expensive; however, they are also heavier, less comfortable, and more difficult to maintain and replace damaged upholstery.

Plastic seat and back bases are lighter, more comfortable, and easier to maintain. However, there is a price increase over plywood chairs. Plastic bases can also be contoured to the shape of the body for added comfort. Plastic bases sometimes include extra features like a flexible back, which leans back for individualized comfort during seating.

The Bertolini Impressions Chair features an Ergo-V plastic backrest base that provides extra comfort, ample support, and flexibility. Full upholstery helps provide sound absorption, to help create a quiet and worshipful environment.

Stacking & Storage

A stacking footprint refers to how much floor space a stack of chairs will require (measured in square feet). Remember that a stack of chairs will take up more space than a single chair because the chairs will “stack creep” forward as they are stacked—that is, each chair sits an inch or so forward from the last chair on the stack.

For example, a single Bertolini Church Chair will take up an average of 2.9 square feet (0.2 square meters) of space, depending on the model. A stack of eight chairs will take up approximately 4.3 square feet (0.39 square meters) of space.

This is important to consider before ordering chairs because you don’t want to end up with more chairs than you can safely store.

A Church Chair for Every Need and Every Budget