PolyBrick® Seat Walls
Sedenie, ktoré je súčasťou záhrady, nie len do nej vložené
Vstavaná lavica sa neprevráti, nevyžaduje uskladnenie a je vždy tam, kde ju potrebujete. Múriky na sedenie z PolyBrick® sa skladajú nasucho, slúžia zároveň ako oporné alebo záhonové steny a vydržia desaťročia.
Prečo stavať sedenie natrvalo
Záhradný nábytok je vždy kompromis. Premiestňuje sa, skladá, prevracia, uskladňuje na zimu a každých pár rokov sa vymieňa. Murovaná lavica je jednoducho na mieste: netreba ju odkladať, posadí šesť ľudí rovnako ľahko ako dvoch a priestoru dodáva pocit premysleného dizajnu, nie len zariadenia.
Navyše sa dvojnásobne oplatí. Lavicový múrik okolo terasy zároveň drží jej okraj. Okolo ohniska vymedzuje priestor. Pozdĺž vyvýšeného záhona tvorí jeho stenu. Sedenie tak získate zo štruktúry, ktorú záhrada aj tak potrebuje – preto je vstavaná lavica štandardom v navrhovaných záhradách a raritou v bežných: zvyčajne si vyžaduje murára.
PolyBrick to mení. Tvarovky sa spájajú zaskočením, takže múrik postavíte nasucho za jedno popoludnie, pričom materiál nehnije, nehrdzavie, neodpadáva ani nevyžaduje škárovanie. Hotová lavica si nevyžaduje žiadnu údržbu.
Kde to funguje najlepšie
- Sedenie po obvode terasy a dláždenej plochy
- Okolie ohniska a záhradného krbu
- Zapustené sedacie zóny
- Okraje vyvýšených záhonov slúžiace zároveň ako lavice
- Ohraničenie jedálenského kúta
- Sedenie v átriu a malej záhrade
- Oporné a ohraničujúce múriky s lavicovým vrchom
- Komunitné, školské a verejné záhradné priestory
Stručný prehľad
| Montáž | Zaskočenie bez malty, bez kotiev, bez murára |
| Výška sedenia | Modulárne vrstvy. Postavte do pohodlnej výšky sedenia a zakryte vrchnou doskou |
| Dvojitá funkcia | Zároveň drží okraj terasy, vyvýšený záhon alebo výškový rozdiel terénu |
| Počasie | Neabsorbuje vlhkosť. Nedesiakuje dažďovú vodu, rýchlo schne a zostáva použiteľné |
| Materiál | 100% recyklovaný polypropylén, UV stabilizovaný, udržateľne vyrobený v EÚ |
| Tlakové zaťaženie | Testované na 150 ton/m² pri statickom zaťažení |
| Životnosť | 25 rokov so zárukou |
| Údržba | Žiadna. Bez ošetrovania, olejovanie, morenia ani zimného uskladnenia |
Správna výška sedenia
To je celé jadro veci. Lavicový múrik v nesprávnej výške je múrik, o ktorý sa ľudia opierajú, nie na ktorom sedia.
Cieľte na výšku sedadla jedálenského stoličky. Príliš nízko a vstávanie je namáhavé, najmä pre starších; príliš vysoko a nohy sa hojdajú vo vzduchu, čo je nepríjemné už po pár minútach. Oplatí sa sadnúť si na stoh tvaroviek v plánovanej výške ešte pred stavbou – z rovnakého dôvodu, pre ktorý si prejdete schody, kým ich navrhnete.
Takmer rovnako dôležitá je hĺbka. Lavica musí mať dostatok miesta od predu dozadu, aby sa na nej pohodlne usadilo celé stehno, inak ľudia len balansujú na okraji. Tam, kde múrik zároveň drží zeminu, je konštrukcia zvyčajne dostatočne hlboká; pri voľne stojacich múrikoch stavajte širšie ako na jednu vrstvu tvaroviek.
Nakoniec zakryte vrchom. Krycí prvok dáva čistý, pohodlný okraj bez škárovej línie na sedenie a práve on robí rozdiel medzi múrikom, na ktorom sa dá sedieť, a niečím, čo bolo ako sedenie zamýšľané.
Ako urobiť sedenie skutočne pohodlným
Niekoľko detailov odlišuje sedenie, ktoré sa používa, od sedenia, na ktoré sa len pozerá.
Otočte ho k výhľadu, nie k domu. Najpoužívanejšia lavica v každej záhrade je tá, ktorá smeruje k niečomu, na čo sa oplatí pozerať, na mieste, kde svieti večerné slnko.
Kde sa dá, zabudujte operadlo. Lavicový múrik pri vyvýšenom záhone, oplotení alebo svahu má prirodzené operadlo. Voľne stojaci múrik je lavica bez neho – na dvadsať minút v poriadku, na celý večer únavné.
Nechajte priestor na prechod. Sedenie okolo stola potrebuje za sebou miesto pre stoličky a ľudí; rad lavíc tesne pri stole je skôr dekoratívny ako funkčný.
Vankúše to zmenia. Vonkajšie vankúše premenia tvrdú lavicu na pohodlnú a keďže povrch neabsorbuje vlhkosť, rýchlo schne – takže ich po daždi môžete vrátiť von skôr.
How it goes together
- Set out the seating and check it against how the space is actually used: where the sun falls in the evening, where the table goes, where people walk through.
- Mock the height up before committing. Stack blocks loose, sit on them, and adjust. It takes five minutes and it is the difference between seating that gets used and seating that does not.
- Excavate along the line to firm subsoil, removing soft or made ground.
- Prepare the foundation: compacted and screeded dead level. The first course sets everything above it, and a seat wall that is not level will be visible along its whole length.
- Lay the first course and check level along the run and across the width.
- Build up in courses to your sitting height, staggering the joints between courses.
- Where the wall retains soil or a level change behind it, backfill with clean angular stone rather than the excavated soil, and drain the base of that stone.
- Cap the top course to give a clean, comfortable seat edge.
Seating that retains
The most useful seat walls are doing two jobs, and it is worth designing for both from the start.
A wall along the edge of a raised terrace holds the terrace up and gives you seating facing back into the garden. A wall around a sunken seating area retains the surrounding ground and encloses the space. A raised bed at seat height puts planting directly behind whoever is sitting, which is a very pleasant thing to sit in front of.
Where the wall is retaining anything, treat it as a retaining structure first and seating second: firm foundation, free-draining backfill, drainage at the base. The seating is what you get on top of doing that properly.
For anything more than a low retained height, or where the wall is holding back a significant bank, take engineering advice and have it designed.
Fire pit and dining surrounds
A ring or square of seating around a fire pit is one of the most-used structures anyone builds in a garden, and the geometry is worth thinking about.
Set the seating further back from the fire than feels right on paper; people move closer when it is cold and cannot move away when it is hot. Leave gaps in the run for getting in and out, rather than a continuous enclosure everyone has to climb over.
Keep the blockwork itself away from direct flame and heat. This is a plastic product: it should form the seating and the surround, with the fire itself contained in a proper firebowl, pit liner or masonry hearth with a sensible separation between the two.
Get it right first time
The one thing worth knowing: sit on it before you build it.
Seat height is a few centimetres either way, and those few centimetres decide whether the seating is comfortable for an evening or awkward after ten minutes. It is almost impossible to judge from a drawing and completely obvious the moment you sit down.
Because the blocks build dry, you can stack the height loose, sit on it, get up from it a few times, and adjust before anything is permanent. Nobody does this and everybody should. It is the single biggest determinant of whether the seating gets used.
Ask our engineer
Questions about seat heights, retaining a terrace edge or planning a seating layout? Ask below, or get in touch directly.
Common Questions
What height should a garden seat wall be?
Roughly the height of a dining chair seat. Too low and getting up is hard work, particularly for anyone older; too high and feet dangle, which is uncomfortable within minutes.
Because the blocks build dry, stack the height loose and sit on it before committing. Seat height is a few centimetres either way and those centimetres decide whether it gets used.
How deep does a seat wall need to be?
Enough front to back for a whole thigh to land, or people perch rather than sit. Where the wall also retains soil behind it, the structure is usually deep enough anyway.
Where it is freestanding, build it wider than a single block run and cap the top for a clean, comfortable edge with no joint line to sit on.
Can a seat wall also retain a raised terrace or bed?
That is the best use of one. A wall along a raised terrace holds the terrace and gives seating facing back into the garden, and a raised bed at seat height puts planting directly behind whoever is sitting.
Where the wall retains anything, treat it as a retaining structure first: firm foundation, free-draining backfill, drainage at the base. For anything more than a low retained height, take engineering advice.
Is it comfortable to sit on?
Capped and built to the right height and depth, yes, and outdoor cushions transform it further.
Because the surface is non-absorbent it does not soak up rain, so it dries quickly after a shower and cushions go back out sooner than they would on timber or stone.
Can I build seating around a fire pit?
Yes, and it is one of the most-used structures anyone builds in a garden. Set the seating further back than feels right on paper, since people move closer when cold and cannot move away when hot, and leave gaps for getting in and out.
Keep the blockwork away from direct flame and heat: this is a plastic product, so contain the fire in a proper firebowl, pit liner or masonry hearth with sensible separation.
Why build seating in rather than buying furniture?
Built-in seating does not blow over, need storing for winter or get replaced every few years, and it seats six as easily as two. It also earns its footprint twice, since a seat wall around a terrace is retaining the edge and a bed wall at seat height is doing both jobs at once.
Built-in seating is standard in designed gardens and rare in ordinary ones mainly because it usually means a bricklayer.
Does a seat wall need maintenance?
No. There is nothing to rot, rust, spall or repoint, no annual oiling or staining, and nothing to store over winter.
The material is UV stabilised recycled polypropylene and carries a 25 year warranty.
What foundation does a seat wall need?
Excavated to firm subsoil, compacted and screeded dead level. The first course sets everything above it, and a seat wall out of level is visible along its whole length.
What the foundation should consist of depends on the height and on whether the wall is retaining anything, so establish it for your site.
Should seating have a back?
Where you can, yes. A seat wall against a raised bed, a boundary wall or a bank has a natural backrest.
Freestanding it is a bench without one, which is fine for twenty minutes and tiring for a whole evening, so site the main seating where something can serve as a back.
