Outdoor Seating
HERMEQ supplies outdoor benches, seats and picnic benches for public spaces, commercial grounds and private gardens, in galvanised steel, recycled plastic and treated timber. The heavy duty recycled plastic benches and picnic tables are popular with schools, colleges and commercial premises because they need no painting or treatment and stay outside all year round. The slatted steel benches and seats are built for parks, streets and other busy public areas. The wooden benches and picnic benches suit gardens, courtyards and staff break areas. Every bench is delivered nationwide.
Park benches, seats and picnic benches
The range divides by form: a bench without a back suits short stays and steady turnover, a seat with a backrest suits people who sit for longer, and a picnic bench puts a table in front of the seating, with capacity running from two-seater benches up to picnic benches that seat six.
Slatted steel benches
A backless slatted bench in galvanised steel is the standard public bench for streets, parks and school grounds. Because it has no back, it can be sat on from either side and placed in the middle of a space as easily as along an edge. The slatted steel bench suits city pathways, shopping centres and the approach to business buildings, while the outdoor slatted bench and the 1.8m backless slatted bench are full length benches for schools, parks, playgrounds and workplaces.
Steel seats with a backrest
Where people sit for longer, such as beside a play area, in a town square or along a park path, a seat with a backrest is the more comfortable choice. The slatted steel seat with a backrest uses the same slatted design as the backless benches, so the two can be mixed in one scheme and still look consistent.
Short backless benches for waiting areas
At bus stops, under canopies and along walkways, people usually perch or lean for a few minutes while they wait. The 1m backless bench is sized for these spots and takes up little room in a shelter or on a pavement. It also suits market places and other pedestrian zones where space is tight.
Wooden benches
A treated wooden bench suits gardens, courtyards and staff areas where a traditional timber look is wanted.
Recycled plastic benches
The recycled plastic bench is the usual pick for school grounds, campuses and commercial premises, where seating is used hard by large numbers of people.
Picnic benches and picnic tables
A picnic bench combines a table with seating and is the right choice wherever people eat, work or gather outdoors, from staff break areas to school dining spaces. The wooden picnic bench is the traditional timber option. In recycled plastic, the recycled plastic picnic bench and the recycled plastic picnic table both follow the classic rectangular layout, and the table comes in a choice of colours to suit a school or company scheme. The steel picnic table is a modern slatted design in galvanised steel for retail areas, business parks and schools.
Weatherproof outdoor benches in steel, recycled plastic or timber
All three materials in the range are made to stay outside all year, and the choice between them comes down to how hard the seating will be used, how much upkeep the site can give it and the look the setting calls for.
Galvanised steel is the heavy duty option. The zinc coating protects the mild steel from rust, the fully welded frames have no bolted joints to work loose, and the slatted tops let rain run straight off, so the benches need little more than an occasional clean. That makes steel the first choice for town centres, streets, shopping areas and parks with high footfall, where seating is in constant use and rarely looked after. HERMEQ manufactures its steel benches, seats and picnic table in the UK, with the steel processed in-house.
Recycled plastic does not rot, splinter or need painting, and the benches and picnic tables made from it are maintenance-free: they are washed down when dirty and otherwise left alone. Schools, colleges and commercial grounds choose it where seating takes heavy use from large numbers of people and nobody is available to treat or repaint it.
Treated timber gives the warmest, most traditional look and suits gardens, courtyards, staff areas and seasonal seating. The preservative treatment protects the wood against the weather, and a fresh coat of preservative from time to time keeps the timber in good condition through years outdoors.
Bolt down, concrete in or freestanding benches
The fixing depends on the surface the bench stands on and how likely it is to be moved, misused or taken. Concrete in is the choice for grass, gravel and other open ground: holes are dug, the legs are set into a cast concrete footing and the bench becomes part of the ground, which makes it the most secure option in unsupervised public spaces. Bolt down suits existing hard surfaces such as concrete, paving on a solid bed and tarmac, where the feet are fixed with anchor bolts and no digging is needed, and it is the simpler option if the bench may need to be lifted and relocated later.
Freestanding, or stand-alone, seating is right where benches and tables have to move for mowing, events or a change of layout, or where the ground cannot be dug or drilled, such as over buried services or on a waterproofed roof terrace. The outdoor slatted bench and the 1.8m backless slatted bench are each made in bolt down and concrete in versions, selected on the product page. For seating that must stay movable, the timber and recycled plastic models are the ones to consider, kept to supervised or enclosed areas where there is little risk of them being carried off.
Public benches for schools, parks and town centres
Schools and colleges
School seating is planned around supervision, so benches and picnic tables go where staff on duty can see them, along the edges of playgrounds and away from the main running and ball game areas. Picnic benches grouped near the dining hall take the overflow at lunch in good weather and give teachers a space for outdoor lessons, and fixed benches stay where they were put.
Parks and playgrounds
In a park the benches belong where people naturally stop: beside play areas so parents and carers can watch, at path junctions and at viewpoints. Setting each bench back from the path edge leaves the route clear for pushchairs and cyclists, and placing litter and recycling bins within reach of each group of seats keeps rubbish off the grass.
Town centres, retail areas and business parks
On streets and in shopping areas the first concern is walking routes, so benches sit back from the kerb and out of the line people walk, leaving the full pavement width for pushchairs and wheelchairs. Grouping benches with street planters and the rest of the street furniture gives a scheme a planned, consistent look.
Workplaces and staff break areas
Staff need somewhere to sit for a full break, so picnic tables do most of the work in these areas, with benches added along building walls.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need permission to put a bench in a public place?
Yes. Pavements, verges, parks and other public land are owned or managed by someone, usually the local council or highway authority, and a bench cannot be installed there without their agreement. Many councils have their own process for donated and memorial benches, covering location, design and upkeep. On private land the landowner's consent is the starting point, and sites with planning conditions may also need the planning authority's view.
What is the difference between a park bench and a park seat?
In the trade, a bench has no backrest and a seat has one. Buyers often use the two words for the same thing, which is why HERMEQ lists the Slatted Steel Bench and the Slatted Steel Seat With Backrest as separate products.
What size are outdoor benches and picnic benches?
The steel benches in the range run from 1m to 1.8m long, and each product page gives the full dimensions for its model. When planning a layout, allow clear space around each bench for people to sit down and stand up, and around picnic benches for people to step over the seats.
Can steel benches be supplied in a colour?
Yes. The outdoor slatted bench, both backless slatted benches and the steel picnic table are available galvanised only or galvanised with a colour finish, applied by HERMEQ's in-house powder coating. Galvanised alone weathers to a matt grey, while the colour coat goes over the galvanising so a bench can match nearby railings, bins or a corporate colour scheme.
What kind of base does an outdoor bench need?
Every bench needs firm, level ground that drains well, whatever its fixing. On grass, a paved or concrete pad under and in front of the bench stops the turf wearing into a muddy patch where feet rest, and it gives a bolt down bench a surface to fix into. For a concrete in bench, the footings are cast in firm ground below the topsoil and the bench is set level before the concrete goes off.