pew padding

Steveo,

You know what they say..."the brain cannot take in what the seat cannot endure" or something like that.

We added padding to homemade pews with foam and vinyl covering and it worked great. In another church they simply used a cloth covering over the foam. I have seen a few churches that use the loose pads for seating and I guess that is the easiest solution to the problem, though they tend to wear more since they get moved, dropped and abused more than permanent padding does.

Hope that helps.....

 

Contact Heritage Baptist Church in Arlington, TX for information about pew padding. Several years ago they had a company that came in and padded the seats and backs of some pews and it seems that it was not that expensive and the look of the wood remained visible on the remainder of the pew. Don't know who they used but the pastor may be able to tell you.

 

I would pad the seats and the backs with permanent padding. It will be so much more comfortable and enjoyable and it will be fixed in place. We did that hear about 6 or 8 years ago, just before I came. It is great ...

 

A few years ago some money was given to the church to put carpet on the floor. Since it was not enough to do the floor, the person agreed to use the money to pad some pews.They used the commercial grade level loop carpet (a nice red) and after padding the seats,tailor fitted the carpet over the seats and up the backs. It is quite effective and very servicable re cleaning and wearability. Perhaps a carpet company can help you with this.

 

Have you considered chairs? You can get them very inexpensive with a complete 10 year warranty, pew racks and cup holders for about $45 each. Very nice, had them in our last church. Huge selcetion of colors as well. Try this link church chairs

 

Take out pews and add chairs. You can move and stack chairs.

 

I would also advise against removeable padding. An older church, pretty much my second home church where my mom, grandma, great grandparents, and great-great grandparents came from in Hubbard, Texas, added this type of "padding" several years ago.

I can say from experience that it causes quit a bit of "slippage" if you move your bottom during services. Have you ever fallen off of a pew during church and taken the padding with you?

Permanent is the only way to go...trust me...and my sore bottom.

 

Most upholstery shops can fashion pads in this manner. The cost depends on the quality of fabric and density of foam. Whatever you decide, get the very best that money can buy. Pews take a lot of wear, and you don't want to redo them after a few years. My additional advice is to jump on any rips and tears as soon as they happen. Ripped pads wear out ten times faster than intact ones.