Picnic Table Buyers Guide 2024

March 21 2024

How to choose the right commercial picnic tables for your venue?

There are so many picnic tables and benches on the market, how do you find a hardwearing product to fit your budget?

Woodberry has been supplying picnic tables to hospitality venues for over 15 years, so we’d thought we’d put together a buying guide to help advise what to look for from a picnic table.

Whether you are looking for a budget version to last 1-2 years or a hardwearing picnic table that will last 5-25 years, we advise that you consider 3 key elements of a wooden picnic table.

Thickness of the timber
Wood preserve treatment
Heavy duty fixings

Be wary of cheap, thin planked picnic tables that are designed for domestic use. They just won’t stand up to the rigours of frequent hospitality.

Or your might choose recycled plastic picnic tables, these are maintenance free and long lasting but cost more than wooden tables.

As always, talk to our friendly team about what is best for your requirements on 01926 889922.

1) Thickness of the timber

When choosing a picnic table, you should look for as thick a timber as you can afford.

The thicker the timber the more robust and longer wearing the picnic table will be.

Woodberry Budget Picnic Tables have a timber thickness of 26mm, the Standard Picnic Tables are 33mm.

Anything less than this will prove bouncy and unstable, especially for heavier customers. And you’ll be more liable to breakages.

Also, consider the seat bench depth to ensure there is a comfortable seat for your customers; the narrower depth, the weaker the seat and more uncomfortable the sitting experience.

Picnic Tables Range

2) Wood Preserve Treatment

Tanalised vs Immersion treatment.

Tanalised or Pressure treatment – If the timber says it is tanalised or pressure treated this means the wood fibres will not be as strong and the timber is liable to splits and cracks. Pressure treatment involves the wood being pumped with wood preservative under high vacuum pressure.

Immersion treatment is the best wood protection treatment. This involves the timber being dipped in spirit-based wood preserve. Immersion treatment does not involve any pressure and does not weaken the wood fibres.

We recommend picnic tables are treated with spirit-based wood preserve at least once a year.

Commercial Budget Picnic Benches and Tables

budget commercial picnic bench and table round 8 seater

3) Heavy duty fixings

In order for picnic tables to remain solid and not go loose or rocky, you should look for heavy duty fixings.

We recommend approx.8mm bolts with a wider head. All Woodberry picnic tables have these robust fixings.

Other providers supplying domestic standard picnic tables will use allen key fixings which are not robust enough for high frequency hospitality use.

Recycled Plastic Picnic Tables - what to look for

Recycled Plastic Picnic Tables are heavy duty, maintenance free and weatherproof.

But there are still some elements to look out for when choosing a recycled plastic table.

Recycled Plastic does tend to warp and sag over time causing tables and benches to bow.

We reinforce our A-frame picnic tables with steel table and seat supports to that the plastic does not sag over time. These recycled plastic A-frames come with a 25-year structural guarantee!

Recycled Plastic Picnic Tables