Guides / Specification sheet

Writing a specification sheet for restaurant dining tables that a factory cannot misread

In short: A specification sheet fails when it leaves a number to be assumed. The seat height, the table underside, the foam density, the fabric abrasion figure and the carton marking all have to be numbers on the page.

Lead time

45–70 days door to door

Sampling

15 days, no sampling fee

MOQ

6 pcs per model

Load rating

150 kg whole-chair static

Custom sizes

No upcharge, no tooling fee

The numbers that must appear

For restaurant dining tables, the sheet needs: overall dimensions, seat height, finished surface height and the underside height beneath it, frame material and section, foam density, fabric or leather reference with an abrasion figure, finish type and sheen, and carton marking. Anything written as 'standard' will be whatever the factory had in stock.

The target specification for a restaurant is 750 mm finished height, loose or fixed top. If your sheet does not state it, you have not specified it — you have described it.

Drawings beat descriptions

Send a drawing with dimensions on it, even a rough one. A dimensioned sketch removes the argument that follows a delivery in which the seat height is 20 mm out. Photographs and adjectives do not.

Mark the critical dimensions — the ones that cannot move — separately from the ones that can. A factory will protect the ones you mark and interpret the rest.

Approval, revision and change control

Every revision gets a number and a date, and production starts against a named revision. Without that, the third email in a thread becomes the specification, and nobody can prove which one was agreed.

One round of revision at sampling is normal and should be free. A second round is also normal; a fifth means the sheet was not finished before the sample was ordered, and the calendar is being spent on specification work that should have happened first.

Inspection before shipment

Inspection should cover four things: dimensions against the drawing, the finish under raking light rather than from a metre away, the joint tightness on a random unit, and the carton marking against the packing list. Photograph each one. An inspection report without photographs is a report of an opinion.

The check that gets skipped is the carton count against the order. It is also the one that produces the shortfall claim, three weeks later, when the container is already at destination.

Why the specification, not the price, is the decision

Two quotations for restaurant dining tables are only comparable when they answer the same written specification. Once they do, the remaining difference is construction and material grade — which is exactly the difference that shows up in year two, in a room full of guests, with no spare chairs.

The cheapest reliable path is to fix the specification, fix the drawing, and then compare. It takes one extra week at the start and removes most of the reasons a project has to buy the same furniture twice.

Packing, freight terms and the small print

Export packing for restaurant dining tables means corner protection on every carton, a moisture barrier inside, and the model and quantity marked outside. Terms are normally FOB Shenzhen or Guangzhou; CIF and door delivery are quoted on request, and the freight is quoted separately so that it stays visible rather than being buried in the unit price.

Ask which port and which forwarder before you sign. A factory that quotes FOB without naming the port has not yet checked whether your container can be loaded there.

Where this fits on our own range

Our rectangular restaurant tables, custom dining tables and walnut dining tables are built to the same drawing discipline, so the numbers above apply there without translation. These are the pages the same workshop builds to, so the dimensions, finishes and load ratings discussed above apply directly rather than in principle.

Two models built to the specification discussed above are the JP-T116 dining table and the JP-T121 dining table; both are quoted against your drawing rather than a stock size.

Frequently asked questions

Can the dimensions be changed?

Yes. Every model can be re-dimensioned, and the price basis does not change. The requirement is that the final dimensions are confirmed on the drawing before production, because a custom size is a new structure.

What load rating should I ask for?

Ask for a whole-chair static load rating that applies the load to the seat and back assembly together, not a seat-only figure. The target for restaurant use is 150 kg.

What is the lead time for restaurant dining tables?

Sampling takes about 15 days and production 15–30 days after the approved sample, so plan on 45–70 days from drawing approval to a container at your door, including transit and customs.

Sources and further reading

restaurant furniture products — foshanrestaurant.com
send your floor plan — foshanrestaurant.com