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Published pricing · 2026
Every price we charge, on one page, with a calculator for your own sanctuary. No form to fill in first, and no sales visit required to find out whether you can afford it.
Pew work is priced per linear foot. Reupholstery runs $25–60. Refinishing runs $40–230. A 40-pew sanctuary is roughly 560 feet.
Doing both in one visit — which is what most churches actually need — lands a typical room between $41,000 and $84,000.
Work it out yourself
Put your own numbers in. Nothing is sent anywhere — this runs entirely in your browser and we never see it.
If you do not know your footage, enter the pew count and an average length and we will work it out.
A real range, not a teaser. The final number moves with what we find once the padding is off — and the condition report is how you find that out before you commit to anything.
The full price list
| Scope | Per linear foot |
|---|---|
| Seats onlyNew fabric and foam on the seat surface | $25–33 |
| Seats and backsThe most common scope | $33–45 |
| Fully wrappedSeat, back and end panels | $50–60 |
| KneelersRecovered and re-foamed | $12–22 |
| Lay-in cushionsMade to your pew profile, reversible | $20–38 |
| Scope | Per linear foot |
|---|---|
| Refresh — on siteDegrease, scuff, tone, two coats | $40–100 |
| Refinish — strip and recoatColor change, or a finish that has failed | $120–200 |
| Restore — fullStructural repair, splits, joinery, anchors | $100–230 |
| Pew ends onlyThe decorative wood, refreshed in place | $18–40 |
| Cap rails onlyWhere the wear actually is | $14–28 |
| Item | Typical |
|---|---|
| Entry or narthex doorStrip, repair, refinish, rehang. Per leaf. | $1,500–4,200 |
| Pulpit or lecternFull refinish | $900–2,600 |
| Altar or communion table | $1,100–3,400 |
| Communion or chancel railPer linear foot | $55–140 |
| Wainscoting and trimPer linear foot | $28–75 |
| Condition reportTwo hours, every pew graded, written | Free |
Reading other people's quotes
Search this and you will find $16 per foot on one site and $230 on another. Both are honest. They are describing completely different work, and almost nobody says which.
| If you see | What that price may represent | What to ask before you compare it to anything |
|---|---|---|
| $16–26 / ft | Often seat-only upholstery, or a lighter material specification | Ask for the foam density and ILD, the fabric manufacturer, and what labor is included. One number for the whole pew, or no number, is worth a second question. |
| $33–50 / ft | Typically seats and backs in a contract fabric | How many double rubs, and tested against which abradant? Is the stain treatment mill-applied or sprayed on? |
| $40–100 / ft | Usually an on-site wood refresh | What is done about the hand oil before the new coat goes on? A finish over an undegreased cap rail is the most common early failure we see described. |
| $120–230 / ft | Usually a full strip, or structural restoration | Is this on site or does it leave the building? Removal and re-anchoring is often a quarter of the total and it is frequently quoted separately. |
| $100–150 / ft | New pews at the lower end of the market | Ask whether the construction is solid wood, veneer over plywood, engineered board, or a mix, and how thick the veneer is. Confirm removal, freight, installation, anchoring and floor repair are included. |
| $200–500 / ft | New solid-wood pews | Does the number include removal, disposal, re-anchoring and floor repair? Ask; it often does not. And ask what happens to the memorial plates. |
Bringing the number down
Every church has a Saturday crew. Here is exactly what they can do on our job, what it saves, and the two things we will not let them touch.
| Your volunteers do | Saves about | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Clear the room | $2–4 / ft | Hymnals, cushions, kneeler pads, envelope holders, pencils — out and boxed by row before we arrive. Two hours for a dozen people. |
| Strip old upholstery | $5–9 / ft | Pull the old fabric and foam and the staples. Tedious, unskilled, and worth a lot per foot. We show the first pew and hand over the tools. |
| Wash down the wood | $3–6 / ft | The first pass of degreasing with the product we supply. Not the final pass — that is ours — but the first one is just elbow grease. |
| Provide a workspace | $1,500–4,000 | A fellowship hall or a member's shop for the bench work saves us renting space in your town for two weeks. |
| Put the room back | $1–2 / ft | Everything from the first row, back where it came from. |
On a 560-foot sanctuary, a willing Saturday crew can take $6,000 to $12,000 off the job. We will tell you which of these makes sense for your room, and we will not pretend a volunteer crew is a bad idea just to keep the footage.
Two things stay ours: anything with a blade or a chemical stripper, and anything that touches a floor anchor. Those are the parts of the job where an enthusiastic amateur costs more than they save, and where somebody gets hurt.
Paying for it
Seats first, backs the following year, wood the year after. Each phase is a complete job that stands on its own, and the per-foot price does not go up for coming back.
Most judicatories, dioceses and synods run a building loan fund at below-market rates for exactly this kind of capital work. It is usually one form and a vestry or board resolution.
A program of Partners for Sacred Places with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Matching grants of $50,000 to $500,000 for capital projects at historic houses of worship, any faith tradition, applications each year. If your sanctuary is on or eligible for a register, this is worth an afternoon. fundforsacredplaces.org
Cost questions
Because they are quoting different work and nobody says so. The $16–26 figures you will find are seat-only upholstery with budget foam. The $33–50 figures are seats and backs with commercial material. The $120–230 figures are wood refinishing, which is a different trade entirely and has nothing to do with fabric.
Comparing them is like comparing a tire price to a transmission price. Always ask which of the three a number refers to before you put it next to another number.
The total length of your pews, added up. Measure one pew end to end, multiply by the number of pews that length, and repeat for each different length. Most sanctuaries have two or three sizes.
A rough shortcut: a 40-pew sanctuary usually falls between 500 and 600 linear feet. Some companies say “running foot” — same thing, different word. If you would rather not measure, we do it for free as part of the condition report.
Substantially, yes. New pews of equal construction and wood species run $200–500 per linear foot. Full restoration of what you have runs $100–230, and a refresh runs $40–100.
And the replacement figure is understated, because it excludes removal, disposal, re-anchoring, and floor repair where the old anchors were. It also excludes the conversation about the brass memorial plates.
Five things, in order of how much they move the price. Carved or heavily molded pew ends, because those are hand work. A color change, which forces a full strip. Structural damage found once the padding is off. Kneelers, which are a separate assembly. And travel — though less than you would expect from us, since we are already out here.
For wood, yes, and it works fine. For fabric, no — dye lots shift and a sanctuary with two shades of the same color reads as a mistake permanently.
The better way to phase is by scope rather than by section: do seats-only for the whole room this year and add the backs later, rather than doing half the room completely.
No. The condition report is free, including the drive, anywhere in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico or Montana. Further than that we will talk about timing so we can pair it with another job in the area.
A deposit at scheduling to cover materials, the balance on completion after you have walked the room with us. We do not ask for the full amount up front, and you should be wary of anyone in this trade who does.
Fastest route: email four photos and your pew count to hello@bethelfinishworks.com and you will have a written range within two business days. Or book the condition report — a written three-tier budget plus the cost of doing nothing for five more years. Both free, both yours whether or not you hire us.