Church Pews

What makes Rugel church pews the best in the industrry?

For starters, practice. Rugel Church Furnishings has been building church pews since 1929. During that time they have learned a thing or two about building the best quality pews in the industry.

Rugel church pews are made of solid oak - not veneered particleboard, plywood or other laminated substitutes. The ends, supports, trim and accesories are all made of solid red oak lumber that is kiln dried to 7% moisture.

Why is a solid oak pew a better product than a veneered pew? The answer lies in the way veneers are applied and in the subsurface used. A veneer is a thin layer of real wood, typically glued to particleboard, plywood or some type of composite board. The veneer is glued to the broad surface of the end (and intermediate supports), as well as around the edges.

Here is where the problems can start.

• The banding around the edge is often at a different grain angle than the main surface of the pew end giving it a cheap appearance.
• Secondly, the banding often starts to pull away from the subsurface, or it can be chipped or scratched easily, revealing the subsurface-not a good look.
• Third, particleboard pews don't hold screws as well as solid wood. If you have ever been in a church where the pews squeak badly when people stand or sit, you can almost be guaranteed they are sitting on particleboard pews.

Beacuse of all these issues and others, we make our pews from solid oak.

Depending on the style, Rugel pew ends are two or three ply thick edge glued lumber. Rugel pew supports are two ply 1-1/2" thickness. This REAL oak is then planed and sanded and finally cut out on a computer controlled machine to give each piece the exact same profile. This computer control of the cutting process means that Rugel church pews fit as tightly as possible. And the tighter the parts fit, the stronger the pew is.

Intermediate supports are placed at least every six feet for the full length of the pew. Others save money by spacing supports farther apart, but this can lead to saggy pews with shorter lifesapns. By not having any span longer than 6ft, we insure our pews have the greatest strength, longevity and durability.

Seat Construction

Let's move on to the seat construction. For years, (back in the day as my kids like to say), pew seats were made of solid oak, maple or other lumber. When particleboard became popular, many pew companies started making their seats from this material because of the lower cost. Since you don't see the particleboard underneath the foam and fabric, why not, right? Well, it turns out that while particleboard does make for a less expensive pew seat, it doesn't really hold up very long. Screws wobble around in the wood/glue mixture and eventually start falling out or loosening. Over time, the pew starts to squeak and sag.

So what's the best way to make a pew seat? Well, for an upholstered seat, here is where a good quality plywood strikes the best balance between cost and performance.

If you choose an upholstered seat, we use 3/4" thick 7 ply West Coast quality plywood under the foam and fabric. We run a 1" x 2" SOLID OAK frame around the underneath side of this plywood to add strength and provide a solid wood surface for the screws to tap into. This framed construction also means that if you decide to change the appearance of your pews by recovering them, the job is made easier as you only have to remove the seat. Unlike other pews, you do not have to dissasemble the entire pew to remove the seat for reupholstery. Plywood under the seat really is the best combination of strength, durability and price, but we also offer solid wood seats under our padded seats, for those who don't mind spending a little extra.

Of course, if you choose an unhupholstered pew, then the seats will be made from real solid oak, again, no veneers!

Finish

What about the finish? It's awfully dissapointing to inspect your freshly installed pews only to find drips, runs, uneven stain application and other finish problems often common in cheaper pews.

 Our church pew finishing process sees each pew hand-rubbed with multiple coats of stain. Wood grain is filled, sanded and lacquered by hand to give you the smoothest, most beautiful church pew finish in the industry. Rugel church pews and church furniture are literally as smooth as glass and will hold up to decades of wear.

Delivery & Installation

Most pew manufacturers use the services of independent installers. These installers can be great, experienced and knowledgeable, but they can also be inexperienced and sloppy. Rugel pews are delivered on the factory truck and installed by Rugel employees. These guys know how to install pews. You would be surprised at how a quality, experienced installer is very often the difference between an acceptable pew job, and a perfect pew job. Our installers are also insured and take great care to treat your church with the respect due a House of Worship.