Imported vs American-Made Restaurant Seats: A Comparison

As a restaurant furniture manufacturer, we want to help you understand the variety of options available to you. When placing an order online for restaurant chairs or bar stools, you are seldom able to see and feel the finished product. Many other companies can be deceiving in their choice of words.

When you see "wood seats," you should ask yourself: Is this solid wood or plywood? A plywood seat is constructed of thin layers of wood to make a seat that looks "solid." How can this be durable?

Solid wood seats, on the other hand, are comprised solely of solid wood.

Solid wood vs plywood at a glance

	Solid wood seats	Plywood seats
Look	The true beauty of the wood with the grain	A flat look
Thickness	Thicker	Thinner
Durability	Will not crack. They will serve you longer, and your odds of changing seats every year decrease significantly.	Tend to crack over time

The most important things to remember are durability and looks. These parameters are the exact reason why solid wood seats are much superior to plywood. Check your vendor before purchasing and ask the right questions.

Better looking

Our solid wood seats not only look better but have many advantages over the competition's plywood seats.

Metal chair with a solid wood seat showing the natural wood grain — Solid wood seatNatural wood grain

Metal chair with a plywood seat with a flat look — Plywood seatFlat look

Thicker, natural solid wood

Our seats are thicker and made of natural solid wood rather than 5-8 thin sheets of plywood glued together in layers.

Saddle shaped, 0.8 inch thick solid wood seat — Solid wood seatSaddle shaped, 0.8″ thick solid wood

Round shaped, 0.5 to 0.6 inch plywood seat — Plywood seatRound shaped, 0.5″-0.6″ plywood

Hides scratches and dents

Solid wood allows wood stain to penetrate deep inside to reduce the appearance of scratches and dents. The glue used in plywood prohibits stain from absorbing past the first layer. As a result, plywood seats are more prone to show scratches and dents.

Cross-section of a solid wood seat with the stain penetrating deep into the wood — Solid wood seatStain penetrates deep into the wood

Cross-section of a plywood seat with the stain staying on the first layer — Plywood seatStain stays on the first layer

If you need further assistance, our sales professionals will be able to help you. Call us with any questions or concerns.

(888) 495-8884