Folding chairs are the answer when space, stairs or transport are tight: they fold flat, stack against a wall and come out fast for a meeting, a hall function or a pop-up event. Hire firms stock steel frames with padded or plastic seats, white folding chairs and timber ones for a garden look. You can hire folding chairs and tables together for one simple booking. Send your numbers, venue and date once, and independent hire firms near you quote you directly. It is free, with no obligation to accept.
Types of folding chairs for hire
- Padded steel: a metal frame with a cushioned seat and back, comfortable for long meetings and conferences
- Plastic seat on a steel frame: light, easy to clean, good outdoors
- Heavy duty steel chairs with thicker tubing for heavier use
- Wooden folding chairs, natural or white, including slatted Wimbledon chairs for lawns
For formal rows in a conference centre, compare with conference chairs, which stack rather than fold.
When folding chairs make sense
Choose folding chairs when you need to move seating fast, for example from a ceremony to a dinner, or when a venue has narrow doors, a lift or stairs. Twenty folded chairs fit in a space that takes far fewer stacked plastic ones, so a single bakkie trip may do. In a hall, theatre rows need roughly 0.8 m² a chair including aisles. If you want trestle tables too, ask for a combined quote: a 1.8 m trestle seats 6 to 8 on folding chairs.
Delivery, care and common mistakes
Folding chairs usually arrive on a trolley or bundled in tens. Ask the firm to bring the chairs inside and lean them against a wall in tens, so they are easy to set out. Check that each chair locks fully open before anyone sits; a half-open chair can collapse. Watch fingers in the hinge when folding. Steel frames scratch wooden floors, so ask whether the chairs have rubber feet if the hall floor is polished. Don't leave padded chairs outside in rain or on wet grass overnight. Count chairs with the driver, and fold them back the way they came.
What affects the price
Padded and wooden folding chairs usually cost more than plastic seat ones. Quantity, distance, stairs and whether the firm sets out rows all affect the price. Ask each firm what kind of folding chair it supplies, for a photo if you are not sure, and whether tables and chairs can come in one delivery. Book early around school concerts, exams and year-end functions, when halls across town want the same stock.
What to include in your request
- Number of chairs and the type
- Venue, doors, stairs or a lift
- Tables as well, and their length
- Delivery or self-collection
- Date and how long you need them
Folding Chair Hire for different events
- Families and home celebrations: extra chairs for a lounge or patio party, a lobola or a family dinner at home
- Weddings and engagements: quick ceremony seating that moves to the reception while guests have drinks
- Funerals, memorials and unveilings: chairs that fit through a narrow gate and into a small yard or lounge
- Companies, conferences and functions: seating for a training day, an AGM or a staff briefing in a boardroom
- Churches and faith gatherings: extra chairs for a church hall service or a prayer meeting in a small room
- Schools, colleges and universities: seats for parents' evenings, exams and concerts in the school hall
- Municipalities, clubs and communities: chairs for a ward meeting, a club AGM or a market stall day
- Venues, caterers, decorators and planners: light seating for caterers and planners working upstairs or in tight venues
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to hire folding chairs or plastic chairs?
Can I hire folding chairs and tables together?
Are heavy duty folding chairs available?
Can I collect folding chairs myself?
Folding Chair Hire by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg