Garden and park bench: features, types, GOST and recommendations

Favorite place of rest and walks for residentsmegacities are urban parks. An integral attribute of such recreation areas is the park bench. As a decorative element, benches were known back in the Middle Ages. True, they looked like protrusions from the turf along the wall or the fence of the gardens. Modern models are diverse, functional and very familiar in landscape design.

Bench

Actually, the bench is a piece of furniture,designed for sitting or lying. In any Russian hut, they were necessarily, usually attached to the wall. Separately standing benches were constructively very simple: well-worked boards lay between the two legs. The length and width were selected according to the size of the face. In the East, they did not know the benches, they were replaced by carpets spread out on the ground. Europeans used chests as a place to sit.

The park bench is a small bencharchitectural form and plays an important role in the design of the landscape. It serves not only as a cozy place for rest, but also sets the tone for the entire park complex. Improperly selected benches can bring disharmony into the overall ensemble of the garden. To maintain the style in one key, other necessary small architectural forms, urns, lanterns, etc., are also performed.

GOST requirements

GOST 19917-93 was adopted in October 1993 asinterstate (it was signed by eight countries, in the past union republics) standard for furniture for sitting and lying. GOST benches park or garden is primarily aimed at the safety of the product for a person. The document takes into account all the nuances of products for public places of use:

• dimensions;
• strength, including shock;
• durability;
• sustainability;
• ways of fastening supports;
• backrest angle;
• used dyes;
• The amount of harmful volatile chemicals released during the operation of the product is strictly limited.

The quality of materials used for making shops is regulated by the appropriate GOSTs.

Material

The frame of the most common benches is made ofprofile metal tube, aluminum or steel. The seat and the backrest are made from coniferous tree species, using a standard size bar of 80mm x 50mm, 60mm x 30mm and 100mm x 50mm. Such products are classified as budget, they are inexpensive and functional. Wood is necessarily treated with special impregnations, protecting against mechanical wear, environmental influences, insects and fire.

Bench park concrete, as a rule, monolithicwill serve more than a dozen years. They do not rot, they are not subject to corrosion. The weight of the product can be attributed to the dignity, it is rather problematic to carry it away. Modern processing facilities allow you to make concrete benches of original shapes and colors.

Benches in the park area, on boulevards oralleys of squares can become a real decoration of the landscape. Fancy forms of pillars, backs and armrests allow you to create or maintain any style, from classical to modern. They use artistic forging and casting. Correctly painted product will last more than one year, without requiring special care.

Very popular are woodenbenches. They are eco-friendly, have a fairly presentable appearance, create an atmosphere of coziness, perfectly fit into any landscape. The light weight makes them mobile. The disadvantages include the weak stability of the tree to the effects of unfavorable environments and mechanical effects (vandalism), the need for constant care of the product (tinting, minor repairs).

The combination of materials, like the shape of the benches themselves, is different:

• Support from aluminum. The seat is made of textiles, plastic, wood. Such shops are suitable for a countryside or small garden.
• Support from concrete. A good option for public places, the seat can be "warmed" with wood. Modern pigments allow you to experiment with the colors, adding benches of attractiveness and liveliness.
• Support from cast iron. Forged pretentious forms will be an ornament of any park.
• Support from the tree. Available, cheap, but short-lived material. Special treatment significantly increases the service life of such supports, but does not entirely exclude the destruction of fungus, decay or swelling of wood. Most often use wood of pine and larch, as the most resistant to the environment.

Modern technologies make it possible to use not only natural materials. Designers give vent to their imagination, decorating parks and gardens with benches of unusual shapes and bright colors from polymers.

Kinds

There are several types of park benches, the size and shape of which depends on their location:

• Parade - decorate the central or front entrance, feature - elegant and unusual shape;
• seasonal - folding mobile structures, light and very strong;
• water - are located near open water bodies, waterfalls and other similar objects, have increased resistance to moisture.

Regardless of location, the benches always support the general style of the park, emphasizing its individuality.

Appointment

In addition to the location, the park benches are classified for other purposes:

• Mobile. Made of light materials. The design makes it easy to move products to anywhere in the park. They are used to organize various outdoor activities. They are perfect for equipment of temporary recreation areas.
• Stationary. The most usual option is a fixed, as a rule, a capitally fixed element of the landscape. It does not provide for transportation through the territory of the park zone. It is made of stone, metal, wood or artificial materials.

Installation options

The installation of benches depends on the type of supports andthe surface on which the product will be installed. For example, the cast-iron bench support in the park zone can be attached to the surface using anchor nails. Especially often this technique is used when the park zone itself is already fully framed and it is impossible to conduct any excavation for concreting. In this case, supports are provided with holes for fixing. It happens that the rounded or artistically executed form of the supports does not allow the use of fasteners, then the bench is placed on a level platform.

On private plots the wooden supports of the shop simplyburied in the ground. Massive concrete benches are installed using the embedded parts of the foundation. For reliable fixation of the benches, the supports are lengthened (by welding or bolts) and concreted in pits with a depth of up to 50 cm. Such fixation eliminates the possibility of moving the product

Selection

Today, manufacturers offer a huge selection of park benches. When choosing a product, you should pay attention to the following points:

• purpose;
• the size;
• style;
• model (presence or absence of the backrest and armrests);
• intensity of operation;
• material.

Many companies offerindividual order. For example, plastic benches perfectly tolerate weather conditions, are easy to care for. They can be stylized as wood or metal, and there are almost no limits to the choice of shape and color. A good quality bench can be selected for any purpose in accordance with its financial capabilities.