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?
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!
or call us now. We’d love to hear about what you have in the works!
V Scott Beddome
262-527-8969 cell