Manufacture and Placement of Church Pews Best Handled by Experts

Most pastors or priests would agree that the most important aspect of a church is the level of understanding achieved by a congregation of the sermon of God’s word from the pulpit. There are many elements that go into this delivery, but certainly a central aspect is the sanctuary, its arrangement and its furnishings. Every part of a sanctuary should serve to enhance the church’s fundamental mission, and of prime importance within the sanctuary is the construction and arrangement of its church pews.

When Santa Cruz Catholic Church of Buda, Texas went to build their new sanctuary, they wanted church pews which would be beautiful and fit into the design scheme and last for the life of the church

After seeing 5 different presentations, they chose Imperial Woodworks of Waco, Texas, a specialist in the manufacture and installation of church pews for 46 years. The company showed them what they needed, at a price they could afford, and who had the most expertise. “They had everything that we wanted,” says Paul Curtin, Building Committee Chairman for the church. “We also knew they knew what they were doing, because they had been around long enough that they had built the pews for our previous building.”

Although a church pew is essentially an elongated wooden bench, anyone engaged in the building of a sanctuary will tell you, numerous questions can arise right at the outset. What wood or woods will last the longest? How are church pews best made comfortable? What happens if a beam or other architectural necessity ends up being placed where a pew is supposed to go?

There is a science to design and placement of church furniture and that science begins with structural integrity. It might be assumed that solid wood, being the traditional seating material, would be the ultimate in pew end design. But solid wood has many detriments. More modern advances have brought ends to be manufactured of plywood and MDF (medium-density fiberboard) with veneers of hardwood.

Curtin and his committee found the newer ends to be superior in design as well as structure. “If you do go with solid wood, you’ve got to pay more money to get select oak with beautiful grain. But if you use these materials and put a veneer on it, you can afford to have a very beautiful grain. So the appearance in the end is better, and at a lower price.”

Hiring experts in church furniture placement also benefited the Church when they needed to make a last-minute fundamental change in seating layout—changing the spacing between rows from 36 inches to 38 ½. “The manufacturer had to re-lay it out again, and they were very cooperative on that point,” says Curtain.

Another late change to the flooring required the church furniture manufacture to fly in special drill bits to drill through the material. “They did it, and they didn’t complain to us at all. They did a great job, and we were very happy with it.”

It takes the right furnishings to create the ideal sanctuary, and assistance from an expert in the manufacture and placement of church pews will ensure the building is completed on time and the message from the pulpit is heard.

John Hancock
jlhancock@imperialww.com
Phone: (800) 234-6624
Fax: (254) 741-0736
http://www.imperialww.com