Locker Room and Changing Room Benches for Gym, Pool and School Projects: Five Sourcing Routes for FF&E Contractors
Five sourcing routes for changing room benches in steel, compact laminate, timber, locker-matched units and built-in joinery, and what to put in the schedule so quotations can be compared line by line.
A changing room bench is a small item that carries a large share of the use of the room: people sit on it, change shoes, put bags on it and, in wet areas, sit on it wet. On a gym, pool or school schedule it may be bought with the lockers, and it has to match the lockers in material, finish and fixing. A schedule line that reads “bench, 1.8 m, 60 no.” leaves the material, the fixing and the matching to the maker, and every maker answers them differently.
This guide sorts the supply side into five sourcing routes so a project team can send one brief to the right makers and compare the answers fairly. It is not a ranking. No factory is named or scored here, and no claim is made about the strength, water resistance or service life of any product. The designer and the operator decide what each room needs. For the lockers that sit beside the benches, see our page on office storage, filing and lockers and our FBM Sourcing guides to locker manufacturers for gyms, schools and offices, compact laminate, steel and plastic lockers for wet areas and end-of-trip facilities furniture.
What should a changing room bench brief state?
State at least the following, copied from the room plans, the locker layout and the item list.
- Item code and quantity: one code per bench type, with the quantity per room and per building.
- Bench type: freestanding, fixed to the floor, fixed to the wall, bolted to a locker bank, or a bench with a back rail, hooks, shelf or shoe rack, as the plan shows.
- Dimensions: length, depth and seat height as drawn, and the clear space the plan keeps in front of the lockers.
- Wet or dry room: whether the bench stands in a wet area, a dry area or a transition zone, so the maker proposes materials for those conditions.
- Seat and frame: the seat material and the frame material, with the finish and colour reference for each item code.
- Edges and corners: edge detail and corner radius as drawn, for the rooms where children or large groups use the bench.
- Fixing and substrate: the floor or wall the bench is fixed to, such as tile over screed or blockwork, and the fixing detail for each model.
- Matching: the locker material and colour code the bench has to match, and who supplies the lockers.
- Accessories: hooks, rails, shelves and shoe racks, listed per item code.
- Packing and marking: benches marked by room and item code, with fixings packed with each bench or listed as separate parts.
Five sourcing routes for locker room and changing room benches
1. Steel and stainless steel bench makers
These makers fabricate frames in steel or stainless steel with slatted, perforated or panel seats, powder coated or finished as the specification names. Ask for the frame drawing, the finish description, the seat description, the fixing detail and a finished sample. This route suits rooms where a metal frame matches metal lockers.
2. Compact laminate and plastic bench makers
Makers of compact laminate and plastic panels produce benches from solid panels or slatted seats on metal or panel frames, sold for wet areas. Ask for the panel description, the colour reference, the edge detail, the fixing detail and a finished sample. This route suits pool and shower areas, and it should be briefed together with the lockers. See our FBM Sourcing comparison of compact laminate, steel and plastic lockers for the material question.
3. Timber and timber-composite bench makers
Timber workshops build slatted benches in hardwood or in timber-composite boards on metal frames. Ask for the species or board description, the finish, the frame description, the fixing detail and a finished sample, and ask what timber legality documents the maker can provide for the species offered. This route suits dry changing rooms and entrance areas where a warmer look is wanted.
4. Locker makers with matching benches
Some locker makers supply benches and locker banks as one system, in the same material and finish. Ask which bench types exist for the locker range offered, how a bench is fixed to the bank or to the floor and whether the bench is quoted as its own line. This route suits projects where match and fixing matter more than choice of bench.
5. Joinery fabricators for built-in benches
Joinery workshops build benches with hooks, shoe storage and bag shelves into the room, to the plans, in panel materials with the finish the operator names. Ask for the fabrication drawings, the material and edge description, the hardware description and the fixing detail. See our page on fixed furniture and joinery for how these packages are specified.
How to compare changing room bench quotations
- What is included: bench, fixings, hooks, rails and shelves shown as separate lines with the unit of measure stated.
- Item match: each line tied to an item code and a room, so a missing bench type shows up before the order.
- Materials: seat, frame and finish described on every line, so a cheaper line is read against what it contains.
- Fixing: which fixing is included for each bench and what the site contractor must provide.
- Matching: the locker colour code each bench is quoted against.
- Packing: whether fixings travel with each bench and how benches are marked by room.
- Exclusions and substitutions: any change of material, finish or fixing the maker proposes.
A quotation that is cheaper on one line may be thinner on another. Read the descriptions side by side before reading the totals.
Send your changing room schedule
Send the room plans, item list and quantities. Our team will review them and get back to you.
Wet rooms and dry rooms are different briefs
A bench in a pool or shower area stands in water, soap and cleaning chemicals, and a bench in a dry changing room does not. Write the condition of each room into the brief, and ask each maker to say which materials it proposes for that condition and what its instructions say about cleaning. The designer or the operator decides what the room needs, and the maker answers for the model it offers.
Ask also how the bench meets the floor. A bench fixed to a wet floor needs a fixing that the waterproofing contractor has agreed, and a freestanding bench needs feet that suit the floor finish. Put the fixing detail in the drawing, and send the drawing to the contractor who is responsible for the floor before production.
Matching benches to lockers
Benches and lockers are seen together, so a difference in colour or edge shows. If the benches and lockers come from different makers, ask both for the same finish reference and approve the two samples side by side. If they come from one maker, ask for the bench to be quoted on its own line, so that the quotation can be compared with others.
Agree the clear space in front of the lockers on the plan. A bench that is a few centimetres deeper than the plan leaves less room to open a locker door, so ask each maker to confirm the bench depth against the plan before production, and keep the confirmation with the quotation.
Rules and evidence
The rules that apply to changing room benches depend on the destination, the building and the materials. Name the requirement in the specification and ask each factory what evidence it can provide for the exact model offered. Our United States, Canada and Australia and New Zealand compliance pages explain how we approach the main rules. Your specifier or certifier decides what applies to your project.
Samples, approval and delivery
Approve a finished sample of each bench type, with its finish and fixings, not a photograph, before bulk production, and record the approval in writing against the item code. Place it beside the other pieces of the room set so finish, height and edge are seen together. Keep the approved sample as the reference for the bulk order. Our guide to samples, finishes and approvals sets out the approval sequence.
On delivery, check a sample of cartons against the order: item code, size, finish, hardware and quantity of each part. Note any difference in writing on the day with photographs, so the maker can respond while the evidence is fresh. Before shipment our own team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a QC report with photos and video.
What to send us
Send the room plans with bench positions, the locker layout, the item list with quantities, the finish selections and the project location. Tell us which rooms are wet and who supplies the lockers. FBM Furniture works with companies only: Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers. For a general checklist, see our FF&E schedule checklist.
Frequently asked questions
What should a changing room bench specification include?
Give the room plans with positions, the item codes and quantities, the bench type, the dimensions, the seat and frame materials and finishes, whether each room is wet or dry, the fixing detail, the locker finish to match, the accessories and the packing by room.
Should benches be quoted with the lockers?
Either route can work. Ask the maker of the lockers to quote the bench on its own line, or brief a bench maker with the locker colour code. In both cases, keep each bench type on its own line so that it can be checked item by item.
Who decides how a bench is fixed to a wet floor?
The project team decides, with the contractor responsible for the floor and its waterproofing. Ask each maker for the fixing detail of its model and send it to that contractor before production.
Can the same bench serve a wet room and a dry room?
It can be quoted for both, but the briefs differ. Write the condition of each room into the schedule and ask each maker to name the materials it proposes for each.
How is FBM Furniture paid, and who inspects?
For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.
Send your changing room schedule
Send the room plans, item list and quantities. Our team will review them and get back to you.