Solid Wood vs Metal Restaurant Chairs: Durability, Comfort and Cost
Solid wood and metal commercial dining chairs can both last for years in a busy restaurant; the difference is how they wear and what they take to maintain. Timber offers warmth and repairability but its joints can loosen; steel and aluminium frames resist racking and stack well but can chip, dent or feel cold.
Key takeaways
- EN 16139 tests the finished chair, not the material: its Level 1 covers cafés, restaurants and bars, Level 2 harsher settings.
- Timber chairs usually wear at the joints; metal chairs at welds, feet and the finish.
- Mild steel is about eleven times denser than beech, and aluminium nearly four times, so metal chairs rely on hollow sections to stay light.
- Comfort depends more on seat shape and padding than on frame material.
- Cost is driven by process (joinery and hand finishing, or welding and powder coating), quantity and how well the chair packs for freight.
Frame material is usually the first decision in a seating specification, and it shapes almost everything after it: the look of the room, how the chairs feel to sit on, how staff move them at close, how they fail and what they cost to keep in service. Solid timber and metal each suit different venues, and some of the most practical restaurant chairs combine the two. This guide compares durability, weight, comfort, maintenance and the factors that drive cost, then sets out which material suits which type of venue.
Solid wood vs metal commercial dining chairs compared
Neither material is better across the board. The table summarises the main trade-offs; the sections below explain each one.
| Factor | Solid timber (beech, oak) | Steel frame | Aluminium frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| Look and feel | Warm, traditional, tactile | Industrial or slim and modern | Light, modern, café and terrace styles |
| Material density | About 675–710 kg/m³ | About 7,850 kg/m³ (mild steel) | About 2,700 kg/m³ |
| Typical wear points | Glued joints, stretchers, seat fixings | Welds, feet, finish chips | Welds, feet, finish chips |
| Repair | Joints can be re-glued, surfaces refinished | Re-welding and re-coating are specialist jobs | Re-welding and re-coating are specialist jobs |
| Stacking | Some designs stack, many do not | Many designs stack | Many designs stack |
| Finish | Stained to an approved sample | Powder-coated to any RAL colour | Powder-coated to any RAL colour |
| Corrosion | Not applicable; beech is non-durable if wet | Rusts where coating is breached | Does not rust like steel; still needs a sound finish |
| Best suited to | Restaurants, pubs, hotel dining | Busy cafés, canteens, industrial interiors | Cafés, high-turnover venues, covered terraces |
How durable are wood and metal restaurant chairs?
Durability depends on design and build quality more than on material. EN 16139, the European standard for the strength, durability and safety of non-domestic seating, sets Level 1 for general use, including cafés, restaurants, canteens and bars, and Level 2 for extreme use such as night-clubs and transport terminals. It applies to adult users of up to 110 kg and replaced the earlier EN 15373 and EN 13761 (SGS). FIRA International, a UKAS-accredited test house, also lists contract seating requirements for users up to 200 kg (FIRA International). A timber chair and a metal chair can both pass; ask any supplier what evidence exists for the exact model.
How timber chairs wear
Timber chairs usually fail at the joints. Every time a guest leans back on two legs, the joints between back legs, seat rails and stretchers are racked, and glue lines gradually work loose. Moisture adds to the problem: The Wood Database notes that European beech moves considerably in service, although it bends superbly with steam, which is why it is the classic bentwood timber (The Wood Database). English oak is rated as having very good resistance to decay (The Wood Database), but on an indoor chair what matters more is joint design. Look for corner blocks, through-tenons or dowels, and stretchers that brace the legs.
The upside is that timber is forgiving. A loose joint can be re-glued, a worn seat can be sanded and re-stained, and a dent in oak is less visible than a chip in a coloured powder coat.
How metal chairs wear
A welded steel or aluminium frame does not rack the way a glued timber frame does, which is why metal frames suit high-turnover venues. The weak points move elsewhere: welds at the back legs, the feet and glides, and the finish. Powder coating is hard-wearing, but a chip on a steel chair exposes metal that will rust in a damp kitchen corridor or near a terrace door. Aluminium does not rust in the same way, but chipped coating still looks tired. Specify replaceable feet and keep some touch-up paint matched to the RAL colour.
Weight and handling
Material density explains why metal chairs are built differently from timber ones. The Engineering ToolBox gives about 7,850 kg/m³ for carbon steel and 2,712 kg/m³ for pure aluminium (The Engineering ToolBox), against roughly 710 kg/m³ for European beech and 675 kg/m³ for English oak. A solid steel chair would be impossibly heavy, so metal chairs use hollow tube, thin sheet or extrusions; timber chairs use solid sections.
The result is that chair weight depends far more on design than on material. A slim aluminium café chair can weigh less than a solid oak dining chair, while a heavy-gauge steel industrial chair can weigh more. Weight matters for staff who lift chairs onto tables at close or restack them for events, and for guests pulling chairs out on carpet. Ask for the net weight per chair on the specification and handle the sample before you approve it.
Comfort
Frame material affects comfort less than people expect. Seat height, depth, back angle and padding do most of the work, so a well-shaped metal chair with a timber or upholstered seat can be more comfortable than a poorly proportioned timber one. Two material differences do matter. Bare metal feels cold to the touch in winter, which is one reason many metal chairs get timber seats or seat pads. Timber also has a little natural give that some guests notice over a long meal. For upholstered seats, name your fire standard (for example BS 5852 Crib 5 or BS EN 1021-1/2) and Calder & Oak confirms a compliant foam, interliner and fabric build in writing with the quotation; confirm the requirement with your fire risk assessor.
What drives the cost?
Prices vary too much by design to quote meaningfully here, but the cost drivers are predictable:
- Labour and process. Solid timber chairs involve machining, joinery, sanding and multi-stage staining and lacquering. Metal chairs involve tube cutting, bending, welding and powder coating, which suit repeat production of one design.
- Quantity. Made-to-order chairs usually have a minimum order of around 20–50 pieces per design, and set-up costs are spread across the run.
- Finish complexity. A standard RAL colour or a stain matched to your sample is part of the normal process; mixed materials, two-tone finishes and upholstery add steps.
- Freight volume. Chairs that stack or knock down pack more densely in a container, which lowers freight cost per chair on a sea shipment.
- Life in service. A chair that can be re-glued and refinished, or one that stays tight for longer, may cost less over its life than a lower purchase price suggests.
Hybrids: metal frames with timber seats
Some contract chairs combine the two: a welded steel frame for strength, with a timber seat and back for warmth, or a bentwood frame with metal reinforcing brackets. These designs often suit venues that want the look of timber with fewer loose joints. The stackable metal café chair and the oak wishbone dining chair sit at either end of the range; hybrid designs fall between them. If stacking is a priority, see our guide to stackable vs non-stacking restaurant chairs.
Which material suits your venue?
- Fine dining and hotel restaurants: solid timber or upholstered timber frames, where look and comfort over a long meal matter most.
- Gastropubs: timber for warmth, with hard-wearing finishes and well-braced joints; metal-framed stools at the bar.
- Busy cafés and canteens: steel or aluminium frames, often stackable, with timber or moulded seats.
- Covered terraces and garden rooms: aluminium frames, specified as outdoor furniture where they will be exposed to weather.
- Mixed-use rooms: one frame family in two materials, so the room reads as one design.
For the wider buying decision, including dimensions, upholstery and stacking, read how to choose restaurant chairs.
Planning a fit-out?
Compare timber and metal chairs for your room
Send your floor plan and a short brief on look, use and cover numbers. We return a written specification and quotation for timber, metal or hybrid frames, followed by a pre-production sample in your chosen stain or RAL colour.
Frequently asked questions
Are metal restaurant chairs more durable than wooden ones?
Not automatically. Both can be built for heavy commercial use, and EN 16139 tests the finished chair rather than the material. Metal frames resist joints working loose, while timber chairs are easier to repair and refinish. Judge the specific design, its joints and any test evidence for that model.
Which is lighter, a wooden or an aluminium chair?
Aluminium is far denser than beech or oak, but chairs are made from hollow tube or extrusions rather than solid bar, so a well-designed aluminium chair can be very light. Compare the net weight per chair on the specification rather than assuming by material.
Do metal chairs scratch restaurant floors?
Any chair can mark a floor if its feet are bare or worn. Specify glides or ferrules suited to your floor finish, whether timber, tile, vinyl or concrete, and plan to replace them as they wear. This applies to timber chairs too.
Can wooden restaurant chairs be used outdoors?
Most indoor timber chairs are not intended for outdoor use, and beech in particular is classed as non-durable. Outdoor seating is covered by a different standard, BS EN 581, so specify terrace chairs separately with materials and finishes suited to UK weather.
What colours are available for metal and wooden chairs?
On made-to-order chairs from Calder & Oak, metal frames are powder-coated to any RAL colour and timber is stained to an approved sample. You see the actual finish on the pre-production sample before production begins.
Sources
- A New EN Standard for Non-Domestic Seating (EN 16139:2013), SafeGuardS 075/13, SGS (accessed 28 October 2026)
- Seating Testing, FIRA International (accessed 28 October 2026)
- European Beech, The Wood Database (accessed 28 October 2026)
- English Oak, The Wood Database (accessed 28 October 2026)
- Metals and Alloys: Densities, The Engineering ToolBox (accessed 28 October 2026)