Value of oak church pews?

[Ryan]

My church is switching from using pews to chairs. We would like to sell the pews. Since the chance of finding another church nearby in need of the same size, type, and quantity of pews we have is very low, they will probably be sold as lumber.

I'm going to start contacting lumber places and woodworker clubs in the area. But I'd like to get an idea of what the pews are worth first.

There are around 20 of them, I think they are 17 feet long each. Solid oak, in good condition, but would probably need to be refinished before using in anything you would want to look nice. The buyer would have to pick them up; we are not able to deliver.

Any guesses?

Thanks,

-Ryan

[Charlie Self]

zirconx asks:

Actual length, thickness of the lumber, width, type of finish that will have to be removed for use in other applications, number of rosettes and brass dedication plates that will need removing.

And location. Worth more, sometimes a lot, in some areas than others.

Charlie Self "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." Redd Foxx

[Joe AutoDrill]

Check eBay and see if they are a hot commodity for someone doing some sort of home decoration, etc. You never know what people desire...

[J]

It will help if you make up a story. Say that they are the pews from the church where some celebrity was -- um... doing it. And that after finding this out the church ordered them burned.

Throw in some velvet ropes and a nun's habit with each one sold.

-j

[RonB]

Are these older pews with some 'classic' detail and trim or more modern? Around here the older pew's have about a 10 minute life span at estate and garage sales. Pretty popular for front porches, family rooms, hallways, etc. I have seen the shorter ones go at auction for $250 and up.

You might try ebay, local classifieds or an advertised sale.

[Joe AutoDrill]

[Andy Dingley]

Crude and brutal (and needs some woodworking).

Saw them down so that each end is separated by a two or three seat spacing. Sell the new "deacon's bench" to the decorator trade, sell the long leftovers as timber.

The price of a pew goes up the shorter it is. Lots of people want them, but the high-spenders are intimidated by something the normal size.

[WoodMangler]

You'll probably get a better price selling them whole. Not necessarily to churches, but to individuals. Consign them to a local antique shop. put a few on ebay. You might be surprised.

[GregP]

And then what did the church do, scatter the ashes over the pews ?

Short church pews/benches went quickly at auctions.

[George]

Running through my mind is the headline in the Detroit News when the old Gaiety Burlesque theater sold its seating to a storefront church. Over a picture of the members hauling out a row was the headline "BurleyPews."

W> > My church is switching from using pews to chairs. We would like to > > sell the pews.

[Phisherman]

Very difficult question. $200 is a bargain, but at an auction it might bring in $2000 or more. Maybe the church can give parishioners first choice? I'd be curious to know what the church got for these.

[Ryan]

We've got an offer of $50 each from a local custom lumber place. But after your comments I'm wondering if we should put an ad in the paper. It's kind of tough, after a sunday service in a few weeks they need to be GONE to make room for the chairs that will probably be here the next day.

They are only 11 feet long so that is more manageable than I thought.

They are from the 60's, and are not too fancy, but definately don't look like modern pews.

Thanks,

-Ryan

[Dave Hinz]

I asked some friends of ours about this last night, they did an ad in the paper with "freewill offering". Got 200 bucks each, on average. Try it - if the numbers aren't turning out, you can always defer to the dealer.

Yes, the logistics of storing a whole church worth of pews, when you don't have a church-sized space to store them in, can be a problem.

Well, you could sell them with the terms that they are to be removed between (date) and (other date). 50 bucks each seems low, but if there are any left over after you try to sell what you can, it's a decent bottom-end.

Dave Hinz