Importing Furnishings for your Fit-Out Project
Depending on the size of your project, your start-up costs can be reduced by importing furnishings yourself, but proceed with caution…
I’ll talk you through the process and point out potential problems.
Sure, you know that the vast majority of furniture for sale in Australia is manufactured offshore, but when does it make sense to import it yourself, and what are the risks?
In an ideal world, every project would have a budget generous enough to afford furnishings designed and made locally, but it’s been a while since Australia was considered a manufacturing nation. More often than not, the cost of filling your tenancy with local furnishings isn’t viable.
These days, buying imported furniture from local importers is relatively low risk. The larger suppliers have been around for a while and understand the value of a good reputation. They go to great lengths to source and warrant their products, often keeping large quantities in stock.
Depending on the size of your project, your start-up costs can be reduced further by importing furnishings yourself but proceed with caution. Offshore procurement is not a straightforward process, and you could face unforeseen taxes, increased lead times, quality issues, and integration problems with other components of the fit-out.
If it all sounds overwhelming or you’re pressed for time, it’s safer to keep it local or engage a professional.
For those of you keen to hear some insider tips, read on. I'll cover the following:
Selection, Design and Manufacture
Purchasing
Shipping and Customs
Receiving
Warranty
Selection, Design and Manufacture
Whether you're selecting from a catalogue or having your own designs manufactured, clarity is key.
There are likely to be language barriers, so make sure your requirements are clearly communicated. Engage an experienced designer to document custom joinery and furnishings in great detail. If you aren’t happy to accept whatever the manufacturer feels like offering, be specific about your needs. Construction methods, joining techniques, materials, finishes, units of measurement, and what’s considered acceptable to be exposed will vary between borders—don’t assume any detail is obvious.
Nominate seat heights, foot rail heights, overall chair widths, and the distance between table legs to ensure chairs fit properly. Specify timber finishes and the type of paint used for high-wear components. Send swatches to the supplier early to allow for finish matching, and ask them to send physical samples for your final approval.
Be cautious—cultural differences may cause a supplier to agree to all your requests, regardless of whether they can realistically meet them. Make sure you understand their capabilities and inspect their previous work if possible.
Often, the company you're dealing with will source the products rather than manufacture them directly. Ensure they’ve worked with their manufacturer before and check if they’ve supplied furniture to nearby establishments. It’d be well worth the drive to check out their work in person.
Finally, keep communication clear and be respectful. There are enough intolerant, reactive jerks in the world—don’t be one of them.
Purchasing
You’ll be parting with large sums of cash, which can be uncomfortable—especially if you're not sure where it’s going.
Generally, terms are 50% up front, with the remaining 50% due at the time of shipping. Best practice is to spend the extra time and money to inspect the items personally. If you're not sure what to look for, send someone who does.
Hot tip: Transfer a small amount of money to the supplier’s account before making the down payment. Once it clears, don’t change the account details.
I was involved in a project where my client transferred the down payment to the supplier, only to realise that hackers intercepted the email exchange and changed the recipient’s bank details. While the money was recovered, it was far from a good day at the office.
Keep clear communication with your supplier, call directly to confirm account details, and reduce risk by using a reputable foreign exchange service. They’ll charge a fee, but it’s generally cheaper than using a bank.
Shipping and Customs
It’s got to get here, and it’s coming by ship. Shipping can take weeks, with delays from holidays, bad weather, or busy ports. Set aside extra funds for shipping, customs, import duties, and taxes.
Insure the goods while in transit—it’s not expensive. Ensure your coverage includes all transport modes—sea, air, road, rail, and registered post—starting from the warehouse until the goods arrive at the final location. The basic coverage typically includes accidental damage, loss, and returned goods (e.g., if the ship returns to the departure port). Read your policy, and then have a friend double-check it for you.
Make sure you understand what the supplier is responsible for—this is crucial to avoid surprises, such as being left with a container sitting at a Chinese port while you sort out logistics.
Once the goods land in Australia, a clearance and logistics company will need to arrange Australian customs to clear the shipment for release from quarantine.
Pay special attention when importing timber components. Timber must be treated against pests, and you’ll need to prove it hasn’t been illegally logged. Additionally, some species aren’t allowed in the country at all. Ensure you have the necessary permits and certifications for timber species, as some may require specific export documentation or be prohibited altogether.
Receiving
Your shipment will likely come in one or two 40’ containers, so plan accordingly. Make sure to arrange the drop location well in advance and consider how the truck will access the site. Specify to the transport company which way you want the doors facing and whether the container will need to be offloaded from the rear or sides of the truck.
Unload the container as soon as possible to avoid excess holding fees from the transport company.
If your shopfitter or builder is responsible for unpacking, assembling, and arranging your imported products, ensure they are aware of this before they provide a price or schedule the build.
Defects and Warranty
It’s not as simple as having a sales rep drop by with a replacement for a chair that was faulty or broken in transit.
You’ll want to avoid relying on replacement warranties, as lead times and shipping costs will be hefty. Order a few extras to cover random breakages and discuss what your supplier will cover. Always aim for a refund on damaged or faulty goods, but be prepared for the fact that replacing or repairing items in Australia will cost significantly more.
If you're negotiating for cheaper products than what was originally quoted, keep in mind that you’re likely getting items from a cheaper manufacturer. You get what you pay for—everywhere.
I’m not trying to paint a negative picture of offshore manufacturers and suppliers—everyone is in business trying to make a buck. But, as with anywhere, some are less honest than others. Add in communication difficulties and the distance, and things can get a little hairy.
Navigate the links below for more blog posts related to design and construction, or email me if you're old school and prefer the personal touch.
Beer Glass Rinsers: What You Need to Know
Let’s talk beer glass rinsers. They aren’t new, but their installation seems to be causing headaches left and right. Here’s what you need to know to avoid unnecessary drama.
Beer, pretty popular and not going anywhere anytime soon, which means hospitality fit-out trades should probably get familiar with the equipment that comes with it.
Let’s talk beer glass rinsers. They aren’t new, but their installation seems to be causing headaches left and right. Here’s what you need to know to avoid unnecessary drama.
What’s a Beer Glass Rinser?
Think of it as a coffee milk jug rinser but with a chilled water feed. Its job?
Wetting the inside of a clean beer glass to improve the pour (depending on which beer nerd you ask).
Chilling the glass down without needing a fridge.
Simple enough in principle. But from a plumbing standpoint, it comes with some challenges—mainly around backflow prevention.
The Plumbing Risk
Most water outlets direct water downward, where it drains away. But beer glass rinsers shoot a jet of water upward into an inverted glass. The concern? Contaminated water could potentially backflow into the mains.
The risk might seem minor, but it’s enough to trigger regulatory requirements.
How to Prevent Backflow Issues
The solution is straightforward:
Install a backflow prevention device between the water chiller and the rinser.
Offset nearby taps from the rinser jet to further reduce risk.
Design Considerations
If you’re including beer glass rinsers in your fit-out, factor them into your preliminary hydraulics design. That way, your hydraulics engineer and plumbing inspector won’t be blindsided later.
Keep in mind that plumbing inspectors vary between councils, and not all will allow the same type of backflow device—some are stricter than others. Whoever’s managing consultants should make sure the preliminary hydraulics design gets in front of the relevant inspector early. Sorting this out upfront will help you avoid defects at plumbing inspection time.
Plan Ahead, Pour Smoothly
Like with any design decision, early planning and clear communication will save you from a world of trouble. Get it right from the start, and you’ll avoid unexpected problems coming to a head.
Yeah, I went there.
Navigate the links below for more blog posts related to design and construction, or email me if you're old school and prefer the personal touch.
Acoustic Treatment
You've been there - great spot, great food, great company, but you couldn't wait to get the shit out of there for concern that your ears were about to explode.
Join me as I grossly simplify some basic acoustic principles.
If You're Opening a Restaurant; Know This
It's true that acoustic treatment is not necessary for a restaurant, café or bar.
Nor is lighting, furniture or music… but having them is a damn sight more pleasant for your customers, and they're all more effective when considered during design.
You've been there.
Great spot, great food, great company, but you couldn't wait to get the shit out of there for concern that your ears were about to explode.
There's no shortage of hospitality venues like this on the Sunshine Coast, and it's a total bummer. Venues that would otherwise be epic are reduced to venues you have to endure.
Anyone with sensitive hearing, or that is hard of hearing, is going to dread returning which is not great when you're trying to retain customers in a competitive market.
What's All That Racket?
Every hospitality venue has fridges and loud patrons and music and extraction fans and coffee grinders and clumsy staff, but generally speaking, the volume of these noise sources isn't the problem - it's what happens to the sound after it's made that crumbles the cookie.
Having a lively, noisy venue isn't a bad thing, but the noises need to work together at an even volume, with no particular frequencies spiking and putting your customers on edge.
In order for the sounds in your venue to create atmosphere it's pretty likely you'll need to acoustically treat your space - and no, adding some rugs and cushions isn't going to cut it.
It's worth me pointing out the difference between sound proofing and acoustic treatment.
Sound proofing stops sound from leaving the space and makes for happy neighbours.
Acoustic treatment makes the sound within the space sound better and makes for happy patrons.
Soundproofing is a thing, and yeah, there's some overlap - but that's another post.
Today you're learning about acoustic treatment, so pipe down and listen up.
Why Do Some Spaces Sound Worse Than Others?
Hang with me as I grossly simplify some basic wave principles…
Sound waves travel within a medium, air in this case.
Vocal cords, motors, speakers and dropped cutlery vibrate causing the air around them to vibrate, causing your eardrum to vibrate, causing magical brain things inside your head that result in you perceiving sound.
Sound waves reflect well off flat, hard, dense things (like a concrete wall), are absorbed by soft, less dense things (like a mattress), and are diffused by irregular surfaced things (like a pile of rubble).
Here’s the analogy
Right - picture a toy boat in the middle of a pond.
Now picture a wave passing the boat, then hitting a solid wall - It will rock the boat, bounce back at a similar height in a similar shape and then rock the boat for a second time.
Now picture that same wave passing the boat and colliding with reeds and grasses, then rocks. It's going to rock the boat, shake the reeds and grasses (absorbing some of the wave's energy) then hit the rocks to come back much smaller and all wonky-looking and gently wobble the boat.
The wave is the sound in your space, the boat is your customer's ear, the wall is a wall and the reeds and rocks are the acoustic treatment.
Reverberations and echoes are sound waves that aren’t absorbed or diffused.
I'll leave the analogy there - just note that it was a really good one.
Correctly specified and installed acoustic treatment doesn’t simply absorb all the sound.
It will absorb and diffuse problematic frequencies to achieve a good balance between too live, and too lifeless.
The geometry of the space also has an impact, but it's probably best not to get into that today.
Just keep this mind, Captain Minimalism; If your space is made up of hard, smooth surfaces, sound will be reflected until it escapes or is absorbed.
This is known as a 'live' space and this sucks unless you're trying to build a reverb chamber.
Spot the acoustic treatment…
How Is Treatment Designed and Installed?
When budget permits, the best option is for your designer to work with an acoustic engineer on customised solutions.
The engineer will acoustically test the space with a heap of very unpleasant sound bursts to establish problematic frequencies in each of the areas. To lessen consultant costs, these tests should be coupled with the sound readings needed for Liquor Licensing.
The engineer will then specify commercially available systems that can be integrated into the design.
Commercial products are often unattractive, but a good designer will be able to integrate them, so they don't stick out, or design custom systems that become a feature.
The images below show a system I designed where double thickness acoustic batts were retained by black fabric and covered by spaced timber battens. Using the walls within this space as the primary location for treatment meant that we could retain the original, newly exposed plasterboard ceiling with very little reworking. As this system was clearly documented, it was priced and installed by the builder, requiring no specialty trades.
If your budget is tight, select an interior designer with experience in acoustic treatment. Though not as detailed as an engineer, they will have a good idea of the amount of treatment that is required.
Suppliers and installers of acoustic treatments will also be able to specify systems, but make sure they are involved early, and don't order products until you've spoken to your designer.
This option is far more likely to have a negative impact on the overall aesthetic of the space.
It is critical that the system works in with electrical, HVAC and joinery installations.
I can't overstate this - Acoustic treatment should be considered as part of the design - not as a patchy, expensive response to complaints from patrons.
My theory on conversation
I'm not going to pretend I have any understanding of the psychology behind this, but I've been a human for the majority of my life and have made an observation or two about a thing or two.
My theory…
Candid conversation is the backbone of a great night out with friends, until the dancefloor urges kick in - then communication gets all pre-verbal.
Candid conversation won't happen if you think that neighbouring tables can clearly hear your every word.
You subconsciously know that if you can hear what patrons at another table are saying, they too can hear you, ergo, when the space is too live, you're not relaxing into your conversation nor your company.
Ambient sounds should be heard - it's part of the eating out experience. But to create good ambience, those sounds should not be crystal clear, they should not be louder than your patron's preferred conversation volume, and they should certainly not bounce around the room until they finally are absorbed into the only absorptive medium on hand… your patron's bleeding eardrums.
Conclusion
Here's the takeaway…
If you're planning a fit-out and your designer or fit-out consultant isn't considering acoustics, ask them why not.
Acoustic treatment should be detailed during the design phase, so the solution is embedded within the greater fit-out design, working in with all other design elements.
You don't want to be adding a heap of panels after completion - they're going to cost more, do less and look shitty.
Adios.
Navigate the links below for more blog posts related to design and construction, or email me if you're old school and prefer the personal touch.