A furniture specification has one job: to make the product accountable. If two manufacturers can read the same specification and produce products that differ by 40% in cost, the specification is not finished.
This guide covers the fields that most often go missing, and the values that make a specification enforceable.
Board and substrate
- Board type — melamine-faced chipboard, MDF, plywood, or engineered core
- Thickness — 18 mm and 25 mm are common; state which applies to which component
- Emission class — E1 or E0 / low-emission board where indoor air quality is specified
- Moisture resistance — important in humid coastal environments such as Jeddah
- Edge banding — material, thickness (2 mm is a common project standard) and bonding method
Surface finishes
- Laminate or HPL: decor reference, finish (matte, textured, gloss) and manufacturer range
- Veneer: species, cut (crown, quarter), matching requirement and grain direction
- Lacquer: type (PU, NC), gloss level in units, and number of coats
- Metal: powder coat colour to RAL, film thickness, and pretreatment requirement
- Fabric: brand and reference, abrasion rating, and colour-fastness requirement
Hardware and mechanisms
Hardware is where cheap furniture becomes visible. Specify it by performance and, where the client demands it, by brand.
- Drawer runners: load rating, extension type, soft-close requirement
- Hinges: adjustment range and cycle rating
- Locks: master-key or central-locking requirement
- Task chair mechanism: synchronised tilt, tension adjustment, lock positions
- Gas lift: class 3 or class 4, with marking requirement
Seating specification
| Field | Typical project value |
|---|---|
| Seat height adjustment | 420–520 mm |
| Load rating | 120 kg standard, 150 kg for heavy-duty |
| Foam density | State seat and back density — often omitted and always consequential |
| Upholstery | Contract grade, with abrasion cycles stated |
| Back | Mesh, upholstered or moulded, with lumbar adjustment requirement |
| Warranty | State the period and what it covers — mechanism, foam, upholstery, structure |
| Compliance | State any certification the project requires |
Acoustic and performance requirements
Where a project specifies acoustic performance — screens, meeting room partitions, ceiling-height pods — the specification must state a rating and the test standard behind it. "Acoustic panel" without a rating is not a specification.
Tolerances and workmanship
- Dimensional tolerance: commonly ±2 mm on panel components
- Gap consistency between doors and drawers
- Joint lines on veneer and laminate — visible or hidden
- Colour consistency across a batch and between batches
- Flatness and levelness when assembled
What to attach to the specification
- The finish schedule with references for every material
- Layout and reflected ceiling drawings with power and data positions
- The BOQ or furniture schedule with quantities
- AV and IT brief for meeting and boardroom spaces
- Any local regulatory or client standard document that applies
A specification you can hold a supplier to
Write it so that an inspector could check it without asking the manufacturer what they meant. Every field that is left vague will be resolved by the manufacturer in the direction that costs less — not through dishonesty, but because an open field is an invitation to interpret.
If your project does not yet have a specification at this level of detail, we can help structure the requirement into one that manufacturers can quote against and that a consultant can review.