Church Pews: Restore or Replace? Cost.

Church seating is a very important part of every liturgical interior decorative project. The budget, modern function and design aesthetics make for a complex mix of considerations. Thus, the disposition of your existing church pews can be a formidable task. Are they worth keeping or should you purchase new? How much would each option cost?

 

How do we determine the value of our existing pews?

 

First, take a look at the pew structure and architecture.

 

How have they been built? How much is solid wood? What components are veneer (if any)? How are the seats attached to the ends? Are they routed into a groove in the end or merely butt up to it sitting on a "cleat"? Are the seats curved or flat? Are they comfortable? What is the thickness of the seats? (Greater than 3/4 of an inch?) Is there a stretcher on the underside of the seat that runs the length of the seat as a means of shoring it up? In general, how has the pews structure fared over time? Are there places where a common problem has failed and been repaired repeatedly over many years?



The more solid wood the greater the value. All solid wood church pews are nearly always worth restoration or refinishing. Pews of similar structure purchased new would cost over $300 per lineal foot (and up). Many pews have all solid wood with exception to the seat backs that are often veneer. These backs -in particular on curved pews- can split horizontally and pinch clothing. Most can be repaired in a cost efficient manner.

 

The architecture of your existing pews may have significant value. If they are original, then their shapes may be echoed in other places in the sanctuary and thus they are complimentary to the design and era of the building. Removing them would be to lose what is considered a "contributing" historic or architectural element. Many churches have had pews originally custom designed and may be one of a kind or unique. Look at the pew ends- then look around the nave. Do they fit?

 

Now take a look at the finish.

 

Most old church pews have multiple coats if finish. These "re-coats" have been applied over soiled, greasy existing finish. As such, they don't adhere properly to the finish beneath and scratch easily and stick to our bodies on hot humid days. (That's why re-coating or "refinishing" as some call it should never be anything but a stop gap option). They also visually exaggerate even minor scratches and can make many think the only solution is pew replacement. It's important to know that these topcoats can be rinsed off easily with a docile rinse material and the balance of original finish has been protecting the solid wood beneath to your benefit for all these years. Don't let scratches scare you if you have solid wood pews.

 

But even with solid wood pews an overly aggressive restoration process can do more damage than good. Thick chemical paste strippers and harsh high pressure water blasting can be permanently damaging to solid wood. Moisture retained in the solid wood and then stained and finished will cause surface finishes to cloud and/or lift as the buildings interior humidity's change with the seasons. Water rinsing is just plain toxic to veneers as adhesives will delaminate and lift in the dry winter forced air heat. This is a common problem found with production style church pew refinishers who rely primarily on quickness of process as opposed to quality.

 

Determine whether or not church pews have a place in the modern liturgy.

 

While some very prominent projects have replaced their church pews with new chairs- the majority of renovation projects have yet to embrace the idea. Budgets, practicality and in some cases just plain romance cause most churches to re-use most of their good quality existing pews. But with a nod toward the future- they are adding individual flexible seating in the areas where there is a multi-function purpose such as around the Baptismal Font, in or adjacent to newly created gathering areas and in choral areas. Many times existing church pews are shortened in length as part of a restoration project to provide wheelchair or handicap spaces. In short, your existing pews are still a viable option without inhibiting liturgical function.



How much will church pew restoration or refinishing cost? 



The refinishing of good quality existing church pews, in general, is about one third the cost of purchasing similarly structured new pews. On a per lineal foot basis church pew restoration and/or refinishing cost starts at $120 per foot and can range up to $200 per foot. The variables are project specific. How much of the site work will church volunteers or a local general contractor perform? Must the pews be taken off site to provide for other trades to gain access to the floors, ceiling, etc? Can the church provide a space for the work? How much in church pew repairs are needed?

 

With photos and the total lineal feet of pews emailed to us we can provide a solid bid for your fundraising and/or budgeting purposes. 



Comparing the cost of pew restoration or refinishing to purchasing new pews is an apples to oranges proposition. Most new pew budgets end up having to make severe compromises in quality. New pews offer mostly chipboard substructures with razor thin veneers. Fabrics and upholstery have replaced solid wood. It is now more expensive to restore existing structurally significant solid wood pews than it is to replace with all new chairs or “disposable” upholstered pews. So the value a church community places on the existing pews needs to be strong.

 

Other Things to Consider



Is the existing row spacing too close?

 

How many rows or seats will be lost if spacing is increased? Generally, a 28'' distance from top rail to top rail is considered too close. 31" is a minimum. 34" is common and 36" is considered a maximum.



What about the bookracks?

 

Should they be replaced with carts in the entry or gathering area for each parishioner to pick up the hymnals as they enter and return as they leave? Can they be simply touched-up to save cost? Should hat clips and pencil holders be abandoned?



The kneelers? Old wood to restore?

 

Many committees have an affinity for the old wood kneelers. Repairing them, adding new cushions/pads and touching them up will cost the same as replacement with new aluminum types. But would the new metal kneelers clash? 



Should cushions be added to your existing seats?

 

Cushions cost about $25 per foot. Padding pews can negatively affect the acoustics of the room. But if this is necessary, consider removable pads. Seat pads can be made to match the form of curved seat pews. Be sure the pad foam is compressed with the fabric prior to attaching the fabric to the curved lauan (plywood) bottom. Avoid permanently attaching foam and fabric directly to pews- future pew restoration will much be easier.

 

As a priority, the church pews and wood architectural elements can be placed low in the order of importance. Committees will spend many hours discussing the church decorative color scheme or new carpet style. Given the mass and volume of the pews and their visual impact, it is important to be sure the overall design of the pew finish and other architectural wood elements be complimentary and harmonious with the balance of your project.



And of course- we'd like to help! Please feel free to call or email us at

woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com .

V. Scott Beddome
262-527-8969
 Click below to go to our home page.

http://churchpewrestoration.com

And see our other Public projects at:


http://woodworkrestoration.com
 


(Originally published in Environment & Art, Liturgical Training Publications, 1996. Revised 2021)

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Church Pew Refinishing Bid/Estimate: What We Will Need.

Yes it would be nice if we could just toss out a church pew refinishing or restoration bid proposal estimate in a sentence or two. Who has time for details? But that wouldn't serve YOU well. Tossing out a number for fundraising without having just a bit of basic and easily gathered information could result in trouble down the road. What if, for instance, the pews aren't worthy of investment? You fund raise only to find out later you should have bought new pews. Or what about the project circumstances? Will the pews need to be removed from the site? Stored? Can the church save money by doing some of the work with volunteers?

Church Pew Refurbishing

Church Pew Refurbishing

So your assignment to get a pew refinishing bid is a bit more than you thought. It's OK. It's not really THAT much.

First, we need photos. Include a wide shot of the interior, an exterior shot (or website link) to see the period/era, a photo of the pew underside looking up toward the end (to see how it is constructed) and general pew shots of ends and any particular damage that is typical. 

Then we need numbers. How many pews how long? We need to calculate the total number of lineal feet as "per lineal foot" cost is the format for our bid.

Finally, it's helpful if you can briefly describe the project circumstances. Is the project imminent? Or are you just needing a bid for fundraising? What is the full scope? Will the pews need to be removed during the work? Or is this just floors/carpet and pews only? If the budget is tight- does the church have a crew of volunteers that can do general on-site labor (removing hymnals/bookracks/kneelers, taking the pews up from the floor, loading to the trucks for shipping and vice versa upon return)? Or would you prefer that WE include all? 

Having this info gathered and ready will help us move along your quest for a credible bid estimate proposal quickly.

Questions? Email us at:

woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com

It's also OK to call me right now. Good luck on your project!

Scott Beddome

262-527-8969 cell

http://churchpewrefinishing.com

http://churchpewrestoration.com 

http://woodworkrestoration.com

Church Pew Refinishing/Restoration is a Specialty Trade.

Hiring a company to refinish, restore or modify existing church pews is likely a once in a lifetime experience for those tasked with the assignment.

In the course of the nearly 30 years of talking with church business administrators, priests, pastors, lay committee members or volunteers, there’s one story that  often comes up.

“We called the local furniture stripper and when we talked to them about our pews- we got worried- so we kept looking.”

Those were the lucky ones.

I've heard many horror stories about the difficulties encountered when a church would mistakenly contract with a well-intentioned local who has never taken on a pew project before. Most of the time they find that the local furniture shop is unsure about how they would go about doing the work or how long it would take. This tends to create a lack of faith in their ability to execute the project in a timely and professional fashion.

And rightly so.

Furniture “stripping and refinishing” is a completely different trade. The equipment, process, scale and sequence of execution of their local furniture work is designed around dressers, wardrobes, tables, chairs and treadle sewing machines. The average church pew doesn't fit in the dip tanks they soak furniture in or on the “flow over” tables they use to strip finish. (And THAT harsh process is tremendously damaging to old wood- even solid wood).  The awkwardness of the church pew size leaves them cussing and cursing as they attempt to handle the sometimes very heavy load. Most use high pressure water to blast off paste style strippers making quite a mess when the confines of their small booths are extended.

furniture companies can't refinish church pews

furniture companies can't refinish church pews

Furniture refinishers also don’t have an idea of the scale of the project. Thus they tend to price church pew refinishing/restoration in the same manner as they would furniture. They have no sense of an efficient process or sequence choosing to piecemeal the work over a long duration of time. Often they wildly overbid the work or, worse, underbid. Nothing is worse than a person who is working on your church pew project who about halfway through realizes he isn’t going to make any money. The quality takes a dive as he rushes to find a way to seek more payment. Then local politics enters and you have a mental mess that needs to be managed.

Also, furniture isn’t a church pew. Most furniture won’t be subject to the rough wear a church pew gets over many years. Thus the finishes tend to be sprayed on and surface oriented and are easily rubbed off the pew top rails and ends. I’ve written specifications for work on public projects (courthouses, state capitals, etc) and the “hand touch” areas of public buildings (ie stairway handrails) always require special treatment that is compatible with hand wear. There is no “lifetime guaranteed” surface finish that actually will last a lifetime. Best recent reference is the “baked on polyurethane” finishes of the 1970’s. Most strippers have a very difficult time removing them but hand rubbing on the top rails? The finish disappears. Hand oils are potent! It’s also why simply re-coating pews with a cleaning and light sanding deteriorates in just a few years.

There’s a layer of grease on the seats and top rails that has to be cleaned out for subsequent new finishes to properly adhere.

A mere topcoat over that unstable substrate is more likely to stick to YOU then the wood below. It’s particularly noticeable on the hot summer days when you have to peel yourself up off a “re-coated” (some call it “refinished”) pew at the end of a service.

Church Pew Refinishing done wrong

Church Pew Refinishing done wrong

Even the sanding and staining steps differ for furniture shops. The damage the harsh processes cause often require an inordinate amount of sanding- rough, medium, fine, superfine- to restore a smooth feel. Then they almost always “paint” on a highly opaque stain to even further cover the damage up. The result is a two dimensional flat aesthetic that looks “stripped and refinished” and not even “like new” as they promote. Wood should always have a rich, warm and resonant look. The grain- particularly in a church- should not be covered over by thick finish. The intimate tactile aspects of wood help to remind us of the power of the Lord. (I know- that's a bit heavy...)

If you want your church pew refinishing/restoration project to be done well in a timely and professional manner- it’s important you contract with a company who has done this many, many times before.

That, we hope, would be us! God bless you! Call anytime.

V. Scott Beddome

262.527.8969 cell

email:

woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com

Church Pew Restoration .com

http://woodworkrestoration.com

A Rep of a Rep of a Rep: Who's 'reppin who?

Just a quick warning. There are a lot of "we do it all" church suppliers and contractors out there. All of them will tell you, "We can do that AND that AND that and THAT."

What they really mean to say is, "We know someone who does that and we can call them and tell them about you and make a hefty commission from it."

church decoration jack of all trades

church decoration jack of all trades

So what happens? The person you first talked to tells you you'll get a call from another person who will tell you another person- his manager or area sales rep- will call you who will then have yet another actual manager of the work meet with you who will then hire unskilled labor to perform the work.

It's a nice way to meet a lot of people!

We suggest you consider holding out for a person who actually does the work. There are really only a few of us. And contacting and contracting with them directly is much more likely to result in a fair price for good work.

Good luck on your project!

Scott Beddome

262-527-8969 cell

Email:  woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com

http://churchpewrefinishing.com

http://churchpewrestoration.com

http://woodworkrestoration.com

Church Pew Refinishing: What NOT to do!

Is it "refinishing" or actually  "re-coating"?

Over the years church pews get very greasy. You can see it in particular on the top rails and seats. Hand oils are very pungent. They can rub off every type of finish known to man. Once that has been done then those same hands grind black, dirty grease deep into the wood grain. That’s not a substrate that more top coats of finish will properly adhere to. A light sanding doesn’t remove it. It takes just plain good old elbow grease to get it out using mild solvents to assist. A new top coat sitting on greasy soiled finish is more likely to stick to YOU than the finish below. That explains why pews will feel sticky on hot humid summer days. 

Minwax

stain has wax in it. It always has. (Thus the name.) Even with the addition of

Japan Dryers

it takes at least a full day in air conditioned spaces and sometimes two or three days to dry in humid air. There are pew refinishing companies who use Minwax as a top coat over existing soiled finish. Worse yet they are spraying it INSIDE the church. 

Over time hand wear will destroy this weak finish easily. You’ll be lucky to get 5 years out of it. I’ve seen it, stripped it off (it rinses off like water on a duck’s back), and listened to the stories about how the budget was tight etc.

It’s best to wait until the church can afford to do the church pew refinishing in a durable manner than to do this deeply flawed compromise. In my humble opinion, it’s simply 100% wasted money.

And, of course, we’d love to help you do your project well.

Email

or call us today. (Don’t worry. I promise! I’m not always this grumpy!)

V Scott Beddome

262-527-8969 cell

http://churchpewrestoration.com

http://woodworkrestoration.com

About Church Decoration/Renovation/Restoration Companies

About Church Decoration Contractors

About Church Decoration Contractors

The best artisans in the country generally do not work under church decoration companies. Why? There are a number of reasons. First, some background.

After hundreds of residential woodwork refinishing projects we began taking commercial real estate apartment projects. Milwaukee’s east side has dozens of 1920’-30’s Tudor style old wood laden buildings. The hallways were lined with old quarter sawn oak woodwork, doors and frames. The units always featured leaded glass oak buffets and beamed dining room ceilings. We did a ton of that work. Problem was real estate investors are horrifically cheap. So when we had the opportunity to work with the a big nationally known church decorative company on a church renovation project we jumped at the chance. To a young, inexperienced kid (of sorts) they were impressive! Big full color photos of massive historic places we could only dream of working in. We were awestruck.

The reality turned out to be a bit different. Unlike standard general contractors, church renovation companies take a much bigger percentage than the typical 15% addition to our price. It tends to be more like nearly double. Thus the price we charged for the work was nearly doubled to attain the margin they sought causing them to need us to be very, very thrifty on our price. In the beginning it was a recipe for doing a lot of work for nearly nothing.

We worked for several of the best known church restoration companies in the country. Some were fairer than others. As a rule it seems that the smaller they are- the more likely they are to be fair. Beyond that- none had any real loyalties to the subcontractors who worked under them. If difficulties came up we were expected to take the heat if we wished to continue to get work from them. It was frustrating to also not be able to talk with the clients directly about our work such that the communication, expectations/goals and outcomes are clearly understood.

As time passed we became better at our work and secured many notable national historic preservation wood restoration public projects. On many of them we assisted the architects in writing the specifications for the work and then went on to perform it. We learned that having control over our own efforts was more likely to result in good work.

That’s why the best trades people in the country are not likely to be working with church decorative companies. Their experiences are similar to our own. I can think of dozens of examples in marble, terrazzo, plaster, mural restoration, stained glass and so on. ALL the people I’ve come to see regularly at the major preservation projects around the country are independent. The only contractors that are willing to work under church interior design/decorative companies are those that NEED the work, are willing to work cheap and don’t mind having no control over the quality of the outcome.

Is that who you want for YOUR project?

Church decoration/restoration and interior design companies charge premium prices for mid-line, mediocre subcontractors.

I understand that the ease of having a project be all inclusive is attractive. But spending the extra time to investigate who will perform your work under a church decorator and WHO ELSE may be out there is likely to be time well spent.

For the old wood or church pew restoration/refinishing- call us! Directly!  :)  

Thanks!

Scott Beddome

262-527-8969 cell

Email us!

http://churchpewrefinishing.com

http://churchpewrestoration.com

http://woodworkrestoration.com

Church Pew Restoration/Refinishing at Sacred Heart Church Gettysburg, SD

Church Pew Refurbishing

Church Pew Refurbishing

This past summer Sacred Heart Parish began a major remodel of our 60 year-old church.  The year before we had completed a new parish hall and spacious lobby to serve both the church and new hall.  As part of this remodel we wanted to refinish our oak pews which were showing signs of 60 years of wear-and-tear.  

Church Pew Refinishing

Church Pew Refinishing

We researched several companies and based on recommendations chose Woodwork Restoration of Wisconsin.  Scott was excellent to work with by phone, email and also on on-site visit prior to the work being done. 

Sanctuary Furnishings Refinishing

Sanctuary Furnishings Refinishing

The work was done in a timely fashion.  I and my parishioners are delighted with how good the pews look after being refinished.  He and his crew also finished a new pulpit, celebrant's chair and new baptistery to match the 42 pews and 7 sanctuary chairs and a credence table. 

Now all the church furnishings in the church have the same look.

Baptismal Font Finishing

Baptismal Font Finishing

Since the work was done in Gettysburg -- parishioners would stop by the work site to observe the progress.  Scott and his crew were always most cordial.  

I highly recommend Scott and Woodwork Restoration of Wisconsin for your next project.

Fr. Jerry Kopel, Pastor

Sacred Heart Church

Gettysburg, SD

Do you need church pew refinishing? 

Call us!

Scott Beddome

262-527-8969

Email: woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com  

http://churchpewrestoration.com  

http://woodworkrestoration.com

St John, WI Church Pew Refinishing Rescue!

We're human. We make mistakes. My mistake was to not visit St John Church when I had the chance. St John's mistake was to let the painters ALSO include the church pew restoration/refinishing as part of THEIR work for the church interior project. So when they told me of their decision I made sure they knew that my door would always be open.  "Painters PAINT church pews," I said. "If it doesn't work out, It's OK to call me."

Here are photos of how the pews looked BEFORE the work began.

church pew refinishing before

church pew refinishing before

pew refinishing before

pew refinishing before

pew refurbishing before

pew refurbishing before

pew refurbishing before

pew refurbishing before

The good news was that the structural integrity of the pews was excellent. They were all solid wood and the thickness was substantial. These were the kind of church pews that are worthy of investment. The bad news is that they had just plain NEVER been refinished- EVER. Take a look at the gray grease on the seats and the top of the ends. That's years of hand rubbed oils that had penetrated deep into the grain. There was very little finish on the seats.

Enter the painters. (Da dum dum dummmmmmmmmmmm - cymbal crash).

After 12 days of work they had only removed the finish from 8 pews. They were a "hot sanded mess." Notice the cross grain sander marks in this picture.

church pew bad sanding

church pew bad sanding

Then they prepared a stained pew sample that looked like this:

bad church pew refinishing restoration refurbishing

bad church pew refinishing restoration refurbishing

After which they decided that wasn't very good and then decided they would sand it off.

church pew refinishing bad sample

church pew refinishing bad sample

At that point- we got the call. We completed the work in 12 days. 

Church Pew Restoration .com

Church Pew Restoration .com

Church Pew Refinishing Sample

Church Pew Refinishing Sample

Church Pew Refinishing

Church Pew Refinishing

The carpet in the photos is the FORMER carpet. No- we wouldn't suggest matching the pews to the exact carpet color. The new carpet has grays with a slight touch of the new pew color mixed in. Hopefully we'll get pix in the future.

To be honest this is a circumstance we would generally run away from fast. It was the wonderful folks who just oozed friendliness that made us jump and help.

Just because things aren't perfect doesn't ALWAYS mean you should shy away. Sometimes very good things come from mistakes.

The

letter of appreciation

we received after this work gave us goosebumps. This is one we won't ever forget.

For YOUR project. Call us. Remind me to stop by. And DON'T hire painters to refinish the pews! :)

Scott

262-527-8969

Email: woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com  

http://churchpewrestoration.com  

http://woodworkrestoration.com

Pew Refinishing: The Most Cost Efficient Way

The old model of a church pew refinishing company was regionally based revolving around a warehouse in a fixed location and the area surrounding it. Church pew restoration and refinishing projects, thus, were limited to the distance from the shop that was near enough to be cost efficient for the contractor. This business model was (is) heavily laden with the overhead of monthly warehouse, utility, insurance and full time employee costs. When the shop is empty the expense has to be amortized or added in to the pew restoration bids of potential clients. Beyond that, each year shipping expenses increase. The average cost to refinish a church pew has skyrocketed from what was once about $60 per lineal foot to between $120 and $200 per foot for the few contractors who are still around. Recent economic times have filtered out many of these "fat" structures leaving just those who do church pew refinishing as an "aside" or "also"service they provide along with pew manufacturing and/or other similar liturgical contract trades. There are few companies left that are exclusively providing church pew refurbishing.

Church Pew Restoration .com comes to you. The reasons are endless but the most important of which is price. Budget is ALWAYS an important matter when it comes to church renovation, preservation or restoration projects. So providing the most economically efficient manner that the work can be achieved is more important now than ever before. So called "fat" contractor structures have priced themselves out of the market. The result is more church committees are choosing to abandon high quality solid wood pews for cheap foam and fabric new alternatives.

But there are many other great reasons for having your work done close to home.
 

 

A hardy group of volunteers had the site work done at St John Church in Duluth, MN in about 4 hours. They also helped load the pews for shipment to the local warehouse.

 That saved about $14,000 off the pew refinishing price. 

 


There can also be cost savings when the church volunteer community does the on-site portion of the work and/or provides the space for the work to be done. If the church has helpers who can remove the book racks, take the pews up from the floor anchoring and disassemble (if needed) a savings of $20 per foot can be had. If the church has a parishioner who has an unused warehouse space where the work can be done nearby and the ability to transport the pews to that space there are many more thousands of dollars of savings.

Church Pew Restoration .com's core business is the stripping (rinsing), repairing, sanding, staining and finishing of church pews. The degree to which we only do THAT work is the more cost efficient manner for the work to be done. THAT'S the way to maximize your budget and find the greatest savings.

Another benefit of having us come to you is that you are able to keep track of the progress of the work on a daily basis. You are completely in touch with the day-to-day execution. It's a much more comforting circumstance than to watch your pews head out on a truck to a far off land and then have to take the contractors word for it on progress or color match. Many church renovation projects have been surprised by the way the pews look in the church upon completion verses the color sample that was approved. By then it's too late to make a change.

Of course Church Pew Restoration .com is happy to do the "full monty." Many times the church wants to have us to "handle it all." About half our projects are "turn key."

For your church pew refinishing project consider having us come to your town. Call us today for a list of previous projects where this cost efficient way of pew restoration has worked well.

Thanks!

V Scott Beddome
262-527-8969
 

Email: woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com 

http://churchpewrestoration.com



 

 

Re-configuring the Church Pew Layout

Re-using your existing pews in a more contemporary layout may be easier than you think. Here are a couple projects we completed recently that might give you some ideas.

THIS is the standard rectangular typical layout of many older liturgical spaces. The long middle aisle flanks rows of pews set at a perfect 90 degree angle that all faces the altar and pulpit at one end of the sanctuary.

Typical old Church Pew Layout
Typical old Church Pew Layout

Using the original existing good quality solid wood church pews you can re-configure the layout to be more reflective of the current worship goal of bringing people closer to the action and closer to each other. This creates a better feeling of community.

This is the new plan for the modified church pew layout at St Richard Church in Chicago, Illinois.

New Church Pew Layout
New Church Pew Layout

Here are couple photos of St Richard's pew layout after we completed our work.

Changing the Church Pew Layout
Changing the Church Pew Layout
Re-configuring the Church Pew Layout
Re-configuring the Church Pew Layout

Another example is St Mary Church in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. St Mary started out with the first layout we showed above and, similar to St Richard, decided to attach the former wall mount pews to the ends of the former center aisle pews. Here is an amateurish cell phone video of that how that turned out:

We hope this helps YOU in in your quest for a better worship experience using your good quality existing church pews.

And, of course, we'd like to help. Call or

email

us anytime.

Scott Beddome

262-527-8969 cell

http://churchpewrefinishing.com

http://churchpewrestoration.com 

Woodwork Restoration .com

Solid Wood Church Pews Are Very, Very Rare!

Out if the dozen or so church pew refinishing and restoration inquiries I receive each week about ONE of them is a worthy project. Why? Well that's going to take a couple paragraphs to explain.

Church pews generally have an original finish life of about 40 years. After that the ground in grease, worn pew top rails and general appearance begs improvement. So then comes the question, "Should we buy new or refinish/restore?"

40 years ago was the mid 1960's. That's when the quality of manufactured church pews began to drop off precipitously (ok... fast). Solid wood materials and trade labor started to become scarce and/or expensive. Not only that but technologies also began to find ways to more efficiently use the dwindling wood resources. The answer? Veneer. Very thin veneer. Another answer? Foam and fabric. Upholstering church pews began to replace solid wood formats. OR- thin veneers (1/32") over plywood began to simulate solid wood. The point is that now many of the church pews folks are considering refinishing aren't projects that can be done well and last another 40+ years. Take a look at other articles on this blog to get the details but suffice it to say- if you have all solid wood church pews you are VERY lucky. New pews of exactly similar structure would run $200-$300 per lineal foot. It's not complicated math that shows the value of what you have. Church pew refinishing and restoration runs from $60 per foot to $100 per foot (depending on the amount of site work the church can self preform). Now that IS the same price as cheaply made new church pews. Let's call them "disposable" church pews. They aren't likely to have pews ends. They lack solid wood other than a top rail piece or a seat front rail. They are fabric and foam. They are IMHO- bleck!

Before you consider throwing away great church pews or if there's any consideration of doing such on the planning committee/etc- send us some photos. We'll be happy to help you discern good from bad. The bleck from the choice. Here are links to other articles that will help:

Church Pews: Restore or Replace:

/churchpewrefinishing/2012/11/church-pews-restore-or-replace-cost.html 

Bid Estimate/What We Will Need:

/churchpewrefinishing/2013/03/church-pew-refinishing-bidestimate-what.html

Of course I'm always willing to talk with you. Feel free to call us at 262-527-8969 .

Or email to woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com . 

Thanks!

Scott Beddome

http://churchpewrefinishing.com

http:churchpewrestoration.com

http://woodworkrestoration.com   

 

Church Pew Refinishing/Restoration: The Money Shot.

 

 

Every profession has it's "money shot." The money shot is the simple essence of what makes it special or different. It's the core of the profession. The sole of the work. It's what everything else revolves around- without which- it just wouldn't matter. It's what makes this particular work worthy of attention. Valuable.

 

I've been over-thinking church pew refinishing for more than 30 years and the one thing that differentiates our way of doing things- the thing that gives it value- is in this video. It's the hard work of scrubbing out the grain without raising the grain. It's the tonality of the wood that still remains after that. It's the fact that we even do this. Most will soak in paste strippers and then blast with water- stripping out the aged patina. Or some companies don't even take the soiled finish off and yet they still call it "refinishing."

 

This is our idea of cool. Good old grunt work that results in deep rich finishes. This is the church pew refinishing money shot. Our heart. Our soul.

 

Blah blah blah.  :)

 

For YOUR project- call us. We're proud wood scrubbers!

 

Scott

262-527-8969

Email: woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com

http://churchpewrestoration.com      

http://woodworkrestoration.com

 

Church Pews: Upholstery Equals Cheap

YOU are likely reading this because you're trying to determine whether or not you should buy new pews or invest in a full stripping, reupholstering and refinishing.

As the recipient of dozens of photos of potential church pew refurbishing projects each week I've developed the ability to sniff out cheap pews that are unworthy of refinishing investment in a quick glance. The title of this piece is the short, quick answer. There IS a perfect corollary to the amount of foam and fabric and the value of your existing pews. The more solid wood you find- the greater the chances that investment in a full refinishing may be the best choice. The more fabric? Not so much.

There's a reason for this. The substructure required for upholstering a church pew isn't much. Beneath that outdated mauve fabric lies particle and press boards, angle brackets, cleats (at the pew ends beneath the seat) and stretchers that run the length. Many will use very thin veneers over plywood. Not quite Ikea cheap but many can be darn near close. Any hardwood you might find is likely just a top rail strip or seat front lip appendage designed to create the illusion of quality. Most of these cheap church pews don't even have ends.

You find other structural problems that church engineers and maintenance managers will wrestle with on an ongoing basis. I've heard many a story of the fight to keep together poorly constructed pews. It all reinforces the idea of spending a little more when the church is being built new on well built, mostly solid wood pews.

But what about the idea of having both solid wood pews AND upholstery? It IS possible. Just use removable pew seat cushions on your solidly constructed pews. This will allow for future refinishing way down the road (when your kids are having to address it) and limit the potential expense of having to buy all new pews once again.

Solid wood pews gain value as each day passes. Don't even CONSIDER tossing them out and replacing them with cheap upholstered pews. It would be like trashing an original Picasso and hanging a duck print (# 723 of 4,500) in it's place.

We're here to help you make that argument. Feel free to call anytime! 262-527-8969 cell

V Scott Beddome

Email: woodworkrestoration@hotmail.com

http://churchpewrestoration.com  

http://woodworkrestoration.com

Upholstering Solid Wood Church Pews

Be careful. If you have solid wood church pews- permanently upholstering them could be a big mistake. There is a better solution that will make (almost) everybody happy.

I understand. Once a church community gets the idea of a nicely padded seat beneath them as opposed to solid wood- the pressure can be deafening. And when they find that they can soften the underside of things up for what may seem to be a cheap price- it’s hard to stop the momentum. But stop you should-particularly if you plan for the future.

Upholstered Church Pew Photo
Upholstered Church Pew Photo

How will you fix this wear and tear without damaging the fabric?

Solid wood pews are very valuable. Yes- a select few manufacturers still make them but they cost an exorbitant amount. Just try to have a new church pew manufacturer make new pews of the same structure as your existing solid wood pews. They’ll work hard to talk you out of it. If, by chance, they actually bid it to you- you’ll find out the real value of what you have. New, all solid wood church pews cost upwards of $300. per foot! That's why most manufacturers will gently guide you away from them and into a much cheaper style that features pressboard seats hidden by foam, razor thin veneers, lots of upholstery and no pew ends. The value of your existing solid wood pews is why it’s important to seriously consider your upholstering options.

The worst thing you can do is to permanently affix foam and upholstery using the pews seat and back as the substructure. Yes- I know- it’s cheap! But consider a few things.

How will you refinish the wood portion of the pews when the finish fades? What damage will be done to the solid wood? Many companies use foam on just the seat and then glue carpeting to the seat backs up and over the top rail and then down the rear face (where the book racks are). When the upholstery is dated- how will you remove and replace the old fabric? Can you glue new fabric over old adhesive?

Church Pew Upholstery
Church Pew Upholstery

Poorly done work that won't last.

church pew re-upholstery
church pew re-upholstery

Carpet-like fabric glued to the seat back and around the top rail. Hand wear on the top rail comes fast and quickly looks dirty.

The best solution for padding the seats of solid wood pews is to add a removable upholstered seat pad.

Why? First of all- the pads can be replaced without refinishing the pews and the pews can be refinished without replacing the pads. That’s big! It beats the cost of doing both the pews refinishing AND the reupholstering at the same time. Secondly, it does almost no damage to your solid wood pews which- if refinished properly- can last a lifetime. (New cheap upholstered pews have a life of about ten years- uff!)

Be sure you get the seat pads that have a plywood base that is curved to match the curve of the seat. Also make sure that the fabric is compressed with the foam BEFORE attaching the fabric to the plywood so that you will get a taught fit that won’t dimple.

Church Pew Cushion Cross Section
Church Pew Cushion Cross Section

It’s going to be OK. You CAN add padding to solid wood church pews without breaking the bank or ruining valuable pews that can last a lifetime. 

We're happy to refer you to a good company for this work. (Wow! Honestly. There are a lot of bad ones!)

Just send us an

email.

Good luck on your project! 

V Scott Beddome

262-527-8969

http://www.churchpewrestoration.com  

http://woodworkrestoration.com

Church Pew Refinishing/Restoration: What’s the difference?

The task of hiring a company to handle the refinishing, restoration or refurbishing of the church pew portion of a church renovation project can be daunting. The companies that do the work come from different origins and thus the format used to complete the work differs from one to another. What seemed to be a simple task of finding someone to “do the pews” can end up being a much more lengthy study. We’re here to help shorten that up.

Nearly everyone who refinishes church pews came to that work as a tangent or offspring of other trades. Some were furniture refinishing shops, others are paint contractors and still others evolved from church furniture manufacturing. We, too, have come to church pew restoration/refinishing from a background in historic wood preservation. This explains the reason for the tremendous difference in process from one provider to another. Each has applied their former or related trade experience to their format for refurbishing church pews. It makes sense doesn’t it? A furniture restorer treats pews like he would a chair or desk or dresser. A painter “paints” the pews and sprays finish. A pew manufacturer divides up the work up into an assembly line and boasts of a “25 step process”. We apply preservation motifs and specifications for hand touch areas (stairway handrails etc) that we wrote for public projects (ie The Ohio State Supreme Court) to church pew refinishing/restoration. The decision about who to work with for your project requires you to first learn the differences but to also take into account the real world aspects of budget and narrow time frames for project execution. Whew! “What did I get myself into?”

As opposed to describing each process and its’ deficiencies or merits- it seems easier (and shorter) to describe the best method for church pew restoration/refinishing and our reasons why.

Church pews are functional seating. Call them long wood chairs. The wear and tear they get in an active church community is not unlike the seats on a bus or train. But unlike those spaces the aesthetic matters. Church pews are not solely functional. They are a contributing element to a church’s design and liturgy. How they look and feel matters as you worship.

Thus the process for church pew restoration/refinishing not only needs to result in durability- it also must take into account both the visual and tactile experience of the liturgical celebration. This is a sensibility that most pew contractors never consider given their history of working on mostly commercial or residential spaces. This is why we see heavily opaque paint-like stains and sprayed on surface finishes that are basically the same as what is to be removed. They don’t value the visual and the tactile. Thus you can’t see a resonant, warm, incandescent, aged wood finish that reflects the history of the worship space and you feel glassy, thick finish instead of God’s beautiful creation- the wood grain strata. The finish too should be compatible with the hand rubbed wear it will get over time and be able to be maintained with a lightly rubbed-on coat as opposed to waiting for the day when a complete “stripping and refinishing” will once again be needed. Think about it. How will you attend to scratches in the finish after a furniture manufacturer has delivered your “like new” existing pews to the church?

Poorly finished church pews
Poorly finished church pews

This is an example of pews that were "painted" by a furniture refinisher.

Given the volume and scale of the church pews in relation to the entire church interior- keeping in mind ALL these elements is the best way to insure the outcome of your long and much anticipated church renovation project will be favorable.

And, of course, we’d love to work with you!

Email

or call us now. We’d love to hear about what you have in the works!

V Scott Beddome

262-527-8969 cell

http://churchpewrestoration.com    

http://woodworkrestoration.com

V Scott Beddome Historic Preservation Resume

Historic Preservation Resume of

V. Scott Beddome

262.527.8969

Summary:

Extensive historic preservation history dating back 30 years. Interest began w/the purchase of an 1853 Greek Revival home,

The Quint House, in 1979. Wo

Worked with community to create the

Rural On The Crystal National Register Historic District

Began residential and commercial woodwork restoration contracting. Evolved to church and public project historic wood preservation projects culminating in the research and invited bidding for work on

The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

in 2003.

Woodwork Restoration of Wisconsin (1986 – current)

See

http://woodworkrestoration.com

See

http://churchpewrestoration.com

Public projects include:

Newly Completed Illinois State Supreme Court. (Photos soon!)

The Ohio State Supreme Court

2 year project included all restoration of all historic wood finishes in courtrooms, judge’s chambers, libraries and office and common spaces. Wrote specs for all work. Retention of existing historic patina and re-creation of matching finishes for new infill materials.

The St. Paul City Hall/Courthouse

$700K two year project. Wrote all specs and held contract for 600,000 sq ft of paneling featuring 40 different types of veneers. Council chambers, Mayor’s offices, courtrooms, judges chambers and multiple other public spaces. 

Wisconsin State Capitol Assembly Chamber

Worked extensively to create base specifications for this first step in the restoration of entire building. Held contract for work.

South Dakota State Capitol Senate and Assembly

Restoration and repair of C-curve roll top desks.

Federal Courthouse Atrium/Milwaukee

Other public projects include:

Marathon (WI) and Lawrence County(SD) Courthouses

Milwaukee Public Library

Church/Liturgical projects include:

Church projects began in 1986 with work under

The Conrad Schmitt Studios

Other subcontract work was performed under

The Studios of Potente

 Independent work followed with expansion into full decorative project management. Currently specializing in church pew restoration and refinishing.

St Paul Episcopal Church Main Entrance Door Restoration Milwaukee, WI 

Christ United Methodist Church Rochester, MN

St Josaphat Basilica/Milwaukee, WI..

Holy Name Cathedral/Chicago, IL

St Anthony Church Athens, WI

Full renovation/project management. Consultation. Design and Contracting.

St John’s Lutheran Church Sydney, OH

Altar, sanctuary furnishing, church pew and architectural woodwork restoration. Consultation for full project interior.

Other past church projects include:

St. John The Baptist Church, Union Grove, WI

St. Matthias Church, Milwaukee, WI

St. Mary Church, Elm Grove, WI

St. Joseph Church, Wauwatosa, WI

Divine Word Church (Techny), Northbrook, IL

Faith Hope & Charity Church, Winnetka, IL

Christ King Church, Edina, MN

St. Mary's Church, Appleton & Kaukauna, WI

Holy Name Church, Sheboygan, WI

SS Peter & Paul Mankato, MN

Bayshore Lutheran Church, Whitefish Bay, WI

Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee, WI

St. Patrick's Church, Stevensville, WI

St. Patrick Church, Elroy, Wi

St. Peter Church, Skokie, IL

Other Historic Preservation Info:

Articles published

in Archdiocese of Illinios

Environment & Art, Liturgical Training Publications, 1996. Revised 2012)

and Frank Lloyd Wright Newsletter Volume One Issue 2 (Dana Thomas House Wood Restoration critique).