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Frequently Asked Questions

 

If you cannot find your answer here, please contact us with your questions at 616-868-2273

Below are FAQ's, Frequently asked Question and their answers. Please scroll down and look over each question, to see if you can find your answer. 


Question 1: How comfortable are your chairs?
Question 2: How durable are your chairs?
Question 3: How do I determine the row length?
Question 4: I want steps or risers in my theater, so that the rows of seats will be at different height levels. Is a low back front row absolutely necessary? What should be heights of the risers?
Question 5: I am going to have more than one row of seats in my home theater. Should the first row of seating be made up of low back chairs?
Question 6: How do I pay?
Question 7: If I choose a theater chair with a back that reclines, or rocks backward, how much room do I need to have behind the chair, so that I will not hit the wall behind the chair when the chair's back moves backwards?
Question 8: What new colors can be ordered for new chairs with no extra charge? What are the standard colors that do not incur additional cost?
Question 9: Can I get physical swatches of the materials?
Question 10: What is the warranty on new chairs?
Question 11: What is the warranty on close out refurbished and used chairs?
Question 12: Do you deal with professional interior designers?
Question 13: What are home theater seats?
Question 14: What size should the home theater seats be?
Question 15: How do I dertermine legroom?
Question 16: How many chairs will fit in my room?
Question 17: What color home theater seats should I choose?
Question 18: How long will it take to get them?
Question 19: Which home theater chair upgrade, or features are most popular?
Question 20: Do I need risers?
Question 21: Do the chairs need to be bolted to the floor?
Question 22: What about used theater seats?
Question 23: How long will it take to get them?
Question 24: What are butt shakers, or bass kickers?
Question 25: How much do the home theater chairs cost?



Question 1:   How comfortable are your chairs? Return To Questions
Answer:   Very! All of the chairs that we sell have been engineered for comfort. We offer a large variety of shapes and sizes. These chairs are wildly popular due to their comfort and high quality! You are welcome to visit our showroom near Grand Rapids Michigan and sit in our chairs, please call us for more information: 616-868-2273

 
Question 2:   How durable are your chairs? Return To Questions
Answer:   The majority of what we sell are commercial grade chairs. They are built to withstand the general public, in other words, these chairs are built to withstand the sort of abuse seen in public theaters. In your home theater they will provide you with many years of ease and comfort.

 
Question 3:   How do I determine the row length? Return To Questions
Answer:   Most chair widths are given in center-to-center dimensions. So a chair "22 inches wide" is measured from the center of one armrest to the center of the other armrest. So you multiply the number of chairs times the width. So, 3 chairs at 22" center to center equals 66". That's fine, but that is not the total length. You now have to add the other half of the armrests, at the ends of the row. This is usually 4 inches. So in the example, 3 X 22" = 66" + 4" = 70" total. Note this quote: From the Richmond Times Dispatch Apr 16, 2005 BY CLARKE BUSTARD. "Seats in the historic movie palace in Carytown are 18 inches wide, the same as an economy-class seat in the Boeing MD-80 flown by American Airlines. And there's less legroom: 27½ inches from the back of a seat to the back of the seat in front of it at the theater, compared with 31 to 32 inches on the plane."… "To compare these dimensions with those of your body, sit down and measure the width of your lap and the distance between the back of your hips and the front of your knees. (Measurements in inches)."

 
Question 4:   I want steps or risers in my theater, so that the rows of seats will be at different height levels. Is a low back front row absolutely necessary? What should be heights of the risers? Return To Questions
Answer:   No, a low back front row is not absolutely necessary. Depending on the height of the risers, (12 inches between levels works nice) you can have high back chairs in the front and back rows. Click here to see the diagram at bottom of page.

Also see the answer to question number 20 below

 
Question 5:   I am going to have more than one row of seats in my home theater. Should the first row of seating be made up of low back chairs? Return To Questions
Answer:   If your theater room has a flat/ level floor, throughout the whole room, then yes, a front row of low back seats will offer a better view of the movie screen for the people sitting in the back rows.

Also see the answer to question number 20 below

 
Question 6:   How do I pay? Return To Questions
Answer:   We take Credit Cards, Checks, and Money Orders.

100% is due at the time of ordering. However, we can work with you for extremely large orders or if you have special needs, please call us: 616-868-2273

 
Question 7:   If I choose a theater chair with a back that reclines, or rocks backward, how much room do I need to have behind the chair, so that I will not hit the wall behind the chair when the chair's back moves backwards? Return To Questions
Answer:   This varies with each chair model. Please read the chairs description as found in the product details section of our website. Some chairs are wall huggers and only need an inch or two from the wall. Others may need quite a bit more space.

Click here to see the diagram at the bottom of the page for one example. 

 
Question 8:   What new colors can be ordered for new chairs with no extra charge? What are the standard colors that do not incur additional cost? Return To Questions
Answer:   See actual item descriptions on our web site pages. Most solid colors, black, red, green, blue etc. are considered standard colors and are available at no extra charge. Although lead times may increase.

 
Question 9:   Can I get physical swatches of the materials? Return To Questions
Answer:   We try to provide good pictures of the available material colors and patterns on our web site. If you require a physical material swatch sample, please contact us at 616-868-2273

 
Question 10:   What is the warranty on new chairs? Return To Questions
Answer:   View item description as found in the product details section of our website. Generally, all of our new chairs come with at least a 1-year warranty against manufacturing defects.

 
Question 11:   What is the warranty on close out refurbished and used chairs? Return To Questions
Answer:   All non-new chairs are sold on a "as-is' basis. That being said we do offer to take a picture of every closeout, refurbished and used chair you are interested in. As well as answer all of your questions, to your satisfaction. 

 
Question 12:   Do you deal with professional interior designers? Return To Questions
Answer:   Yes, we welcome interior designers. Please call us or email us if you would like to up an account or ask any questions. A customer service rep will be assigned to you. To contact one f our customer service reps, simply call our Toll-free number 616-868-2273 or email us! at charles@SeatsAndChairs.com and tell us how we can help you.

 
Question 13:   What are home theater seats? Return To Questions
Answer:   Home theater seats are chairs specifically engineered and designed for viewing movie in a personal home theater setting. Most home theater seats share these features:

A cup holder built into the chairs armrest.

A shared armrest between each seat.

For the real movie theater style chairs, a flip up seat cushion.
-or-
For the leather reclining lounger type home theater seating, a flip out foot rest. Additional upgrades like storage compartments, snack trays, and even electric motors to recline the chair are available, depending on the model.

 
Question 14:   What size should the home theater seats be? Return To Questions
Answer:   The most popular real movie theater chairs are 22 inches wide, from center of armrest to center of armrest, and the seat is usually about 20 to 22 inches deep, and 36 to 40 inches tall. This is larger than say, 30 years ago, when the average theater chair was only 18 or 19 inches wide.

The most popular recliner style home theater chair is 24 inches wide, for the actual individual seat cushion. Heights usually run about 40 inches tall.

 
Question 15:   How do I determine legroom? Return To Questions
Answer:   The critical dimension here is the back-to-back spacing. The minimum amount recommended is 38 inches. The wider you go, the more legroom, and the more comfort. Room size will affect this measurement.

 
Question 16:   How many chairs will fit in my room? Return To Questions
Answer:   Here are the basic things you need to take into consideration:

You want the person sitting in the front row, actually the person's head, to be 1 to 2 times the width of your screen, away from the screen. For example, say you have a 42-inch plasma television screen. You want the eye, or head of the person sitting in your front row of chairs to be 42 to 84 inches away. The closer to 84 inches the better. Say your screen in 100 inches wide. Then you want the eye of the person to be100 to 200 inches from the screen.

Another basic thing is your aisle widths. A doorway is 36 inches wide, so use that as a guide. Some people like wide, say 48-inch aisles, others don't mind a 20-inch aisle. Remember to allow room for doors to open, for stairs, and if you are using the recliners, allow room for the footrest.

All of these issues need to be taken into consideration. Then you can use that information to determine the maximum number of theater chairs that will fit in your room.


 
Question 17:   What color home theater seats should I choose? Return To Questions
Answer:   Since rooms can be redecorated, even years after the room was originally designed, the color black is a very popular choice. Remember these real movie cinema theatre chairs are commercial grade and have a life span of 25 to 30 years. Black goes with everything. Plus you can use accent pillows; fabric on end panels or armrests, even fabric on the headrest can be used to tie the chairs into the other colors into the room. The second most popular color is red. It is a traditional movie theater color. Bright, dramatic red stands out. Custom orders, or customers own material (COM) is not, as a rule, a problem, however the lead-time often increases dramatically.

 
Question 18:   How long will it take to get them? Return To Questions
Answer:   Home theater seats, even the large leather recliner loungers can be shipped using common shipping companies such as UPS or FedEx. To cross the USA, it takes about 6 business days. The in house turnaround time varies. In stock items usually ship out within 5 business days. Large orders can take longer. Leather chairs in stock ship out in 10 to 15 business days. Leather chairs not in stock usually take 4 to 8 weeks depending on the model, as they are 'made to order'. Call the customer service department of the home theater seating company and inquire.

 
Question 19:   Which home theater chair upgrade, or features are most popular? Return To Questions
Answer:   Lift up cup holder armrests on the real movie theater chairs is very popular. Real Tempur-Pedic memory cushions are available on some models. Also a rocking back makes the chair more comfortable. There are real movie theater chairs that have rocking back only, and then there is the true rocker, in other words with a true rocker, both the back and seat rock when you lean back in the chair. A silent gravity lift seat bottom prevents the need for maintenance or lubrication. Leather reclining loungers can have a power option added, so that at the touch of a button the chair reclines. Also look for a wall away feature, that means the chair can be set up close to a wall, and still fully recline without hitting the wall.

For more info, use the following resources:

Home Theater Seating Layout Tool
WallAway Feature
Power Recline Feature

 
Question 20:   Do I need risers? Return To Questions
Answer:   This concerns your line of sight. If you can get the bottom of your screen high enough off the floor, then no you do not need risers. Usually if your screen is 3 feet off the ground, that is enough. Riser height can vary from 4 inches to 12 inches per step. With 6 to 8 inches being the most popular height. However if you want tall chairs, say 40 or 42-inch tall chairs, then risers may be necessary.


 
Question 21:   Do the chairs need to be bolted to the floor? Return To Questions
Answer:   In a word yes. Real Movie Theater chairs are designed to be bolted to the floor, however, bases of plywood work fine too. Regarding the leather home theater reclining seats, these do not need to be bolted; rather they simply sit on the floor.

 
Question 22:   What about used theater seats? Return To Questions
Answer:   Used chairs are a viable option; they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. They also come in a wide variety of conditions. Questions to ask:

How old the chairs are? As real theater chairs have a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years, even a 10-year-old chair can have plenty of life left in them.

How and where the chairs were used? Churches do not allow food or drinks like movie cinemas do. The potential of church chairs (yes many churches use real movie theater chairs in them!) having little or no abuse is great.

Are the chairs in good shape? Any stains? Tears? Rust?

SeatsAndChairs.com prides itself in offering clean high quality used chairs in a variety of colors and sizes. Speaking of colors, this is also important to realize, used chairs only come in the color that they were received in. If the used chairs came out of theater with maroon upholstery, so that is all that is available. To change the color would incur more costs, that now, more than likely would negate the cost savings of buying new.

 
Question 23:   How long will it take to get them? Return To Questions
Answer:   Home theater seats, even the large leather recliner loungers can be shipped using common shipping companies such as UPS or FedEx. To cross the USA, it takes about 6 business days. The in house turnaround time varies. In stock items usually ship out within 5 business days. Large orders can take longer. Leather chairs in stock ship out in 10 to 15 business days. Leather chairs not in stock usually take 4 to 8 weeks depending on the model, as they are 'made to order'. Call the customer service department of the home theater seating company and inquire.

 
Question 24:   What are butt shakers, or bass kickers? Return To Questions
Answer:   They are electronic devices that are attached to the frame of the chair, or placed on the floor directly underneath the chair, and that you attach to your sound system. The Butt Shaker is a low frequency device that enables the person sitting in the chair to feel rather than hear the low end (bass) of movies and music. Not a vibrating massage chair, the Butt Shakers are musically accurate and respond precisely to the bass track of movies and music, or the .1 and LFE channels on 5.1 systems. Butt Shaker equipped chairs connect easily to any home theater system and can be installed by consumers and professionals. Unlike a subwoofer or speaker, the Butt Shaker doesn't make the room overly loud or carry the sound throughout the entire house or apartment complex. This isolation of the low end within the seating makes Butt Shaker equipped chairs a favorite of wives and neighbors. Designed by musicians and studio engineers, the Butt Shaker is musically accurate with a tight, on-the-beat response that is not just for movies and special effects, but is equally enjoyable with all types of music. It connects easily to and works well with most any sound system, from a CD player to a complete home theater system. Video games come alive when played in Butt Shaker enhanced seating and an unparalleled level of realism and excitement awaits gamers who use these chairs. These Butt Shakers have brought sound to life.


 
Question 25:   How much do the home theater chairs cost? Return To Questions
Answer:   Prices range from $99 each (+S/H) for a used chair up to $1,500 each chair (+S/H) for a new state-of-the-art leather recliner home theater chair, with all the bells and whistles. And practically any price in between. For example: the Elite or the Vegas home theater chairs at SeatsAndChairs.com run around $350 each (+S/H), and a row of 3 leather home theater chairs, such as the Orion 3, costs $1,399.00 (+S/H). So you can see the price range of home theater seats is great.

You can see the prices, and order online at http://www.SeatsAndChairs.com, or you can simply call toll-free at 1-800-632-7657.


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