Chair Layout Part 2 - Installing Chairs

Setting up the chairs:

Typical rental chairs are 1 ½ feet wide by 1 ½ feet long. A chair row plus a walking aisle between the chair rows should be a minimum of three feet. This will allow a 1 ½ foot walking aisle. Any less than this and it becomes difficult for your guests to move in and out of the rows of seats (especially with other guests seated). Any more than this and the seating in the room will not be maximized – even a one inch increase in the walking aisle will decrease your room's capacity by one or two rows (this is 60 to 120 chairs less in a room with four blocks of chairs that are 15 seats wide each).

Supervisor's Responsibility:

Once you have a drawing to work from and a crew to help, you are ready to start the chair installation. Find the center of the room and measure out a center aisle (a 6 foot aisle is a typical size). If you have a large procession (more than 2 abreast) moving up the center aisle, you may need a wider aisle.

Start at the front of the room and tape two strings on the floor (Gaffer's tape is the best to use because it holds well and releases without leaving behind adhesive) to show where the left and right sides of the center aisle will be. Your set-up crew will use these guide strings to keep the chairs straight and the aisle a consistent width. Lay another string down across the front of the room showing where the first row of chairs will start. Many event venues will stipulate minimum aisle widths to comply with local fire codes (or their organization's safety office recommendations). These must be adhered to as the installation progresses, and the guide strings will keep your crew on track.

Lay out the first row of chairs to the left and right of the center aisle. This will show you where the next aisle string should be placed. Then just measure six feet over from that string and place your second aisle string. You will now have 3 aisles laid out. Continue with this process until you have the entire front of the room laid out. Now there is plenty of work for your crew.

The best way to lay chairs out in a perfectly straight row is by using a string. When the row string is pulled tight between two weights it always forms a straight line. A brick works well as a weight, but any weight will do - we have used chrome stanchions and even folding chairs. It is a good idea to make your crew (and anyone else in the space) aware of the strings so they will not get kicked loose.

Measure from the back leg of the chair in the previous row 3 feet to where the next row will be placed. This measurement is taken at the far left and right of the chair row to be set up. A string is then run the entire length of the chairs and wrapped around a heavy weighted object (such as a brick). The string should be pulled tight and placed at the three-foot measurements taken.


Crew's Responsibility:

Once the row string is in place, the crew can begin placing the chairs in front of the string with the back feet of the chairs almost touching the string. The feet cannot touch the row string or the whole line of chairs will be off. Any time a chair touches any layout string it will be pushed out of alignment, so watch your crew to make sure. When the chairs are placed at the aisles, they should not be over the aisle strings. Once the row is complete along the entire length of string, it is an easy matter to move the weights and string back three feet to be ready for the next row of chairs.

HINT: Instead of having to measure each row with a ruler, two pieces of wood can be cut to three feet (one for each person measuring). The wood should be placed against the back foot of the previously completed row. Then the string with weights should be moved just behind the wood to prepare it for the new row.

Pull the string tight to make sure it is straight. The person measuring should take care not to move the previously placed chair. Even if the chair were moved only a quarter inch – the row of chairs would be off by an inch after four rows were set up, then two inches after eight rows, and so on...


Install chairs faster:

Setting up chairs is not “rocket science”, however, there are procedures that can be used to minimize wasting time. This will benefit you by allowing you to finish setting up when the installation time allotted is small. It will also save money on labor when you are paying a crew to set up chairs.

All chairs to be set up should be on “dollies” (4 wheeled carts). It will then be an easy matter to roll large amounts of chairs into a room in a short amount of time. As installation progresses from one row to the next, the dolly with chairs can be easily moved along.

While your crew is setting up, they should keep the chair dolly close to them at all times. This will cut down on unnecessary walking and allow them to set the chairs up faster with less effort.

Watch your crew as they work and offer suggestions to minimize unnecessary movements. They will appreciate you making their job easier and you will be building a better crew. After a while, you may be able to delegate one of your responsibilities to a high performing installer, such as laying out the guide strings. They may then become a trainer for new chair installers.


How many people are needed to install chairs?

Figure on an inexperienced chair installer setting up about 100 chairs per hour (this includes moving dollies around to get them positioned for set-up). If you have to set up 1000 chairs, it will take 10 people one hour (or 5 people 2 hours). The numbers above assume the chairs are in the room at the time of set-up and the crew is run by an experienced supervisor (who also lays out the strings).

The less experienced the crew (or supervisor), the more time or installers are needed to complete the chair set-up. Always have more people than you need – it is better to finish early. Having extra crew available will also be extremely helpful when someone calls out sick at the last minute.

After working with the same crew for several jobs, you will be better able to better estimate set-up times with them. They should also get faster with experience.





         






Mark Saponaro Email me
camelotspecialevents.com