PolyBrick® siddekantsten
Siddepladser der er en del af haven – ikke bare sat ind i den
Integrerede siddepladser vælter ikke, kræver ingen opbevaring og er altid præcis der, du vil have dem. PolyBrick® siddemure monteres tørt, fungerer samtidig som støtte- eller plantestruktur og holder i årtier.
Hvorfor bygge siddepladser ind
Havemøbler er altid et kompromis. De flyttes rundt, stables, vælter i blæst, pakkes væk om vinteren og udskiftes med jævne mellemrum. En siddemur er bare der: den skal ikke ryddes væk, den kan rumme seks personer lige så let som to, og den giver et rum en fornemmelse af at være designet frem for blot møbleret.
Den tjener også sit fodaftryk dobbelt. En siddemur langs en terrasse holder kanten. Rundt om et ildsted definerer den rummet. Langs et hævet bed udgør den selve bedkanten. Du får siddeplads ud af en konstruktion, haven alligevel har brug for – og det er præcis derfor, integrerede siddepladser er standard i designede haver, men sjældne i almindelige: normalt kræver det en murer.
PolyBrick ændrer det. Blokkene klikker sammen uden mørtel, så muren rejses tørt på en eftermiddag, og materialet rådner ikke, ruster ikke, smuldrer ikke og kræver ingen omfugning. En siddemur i PolyBrick er vedligeholdelsesfri.
Hvor dette fungerer godt
- Perimeterseating langs terrasse og fliseareal
- Omgivelser til ildsted og udepejs
- Nedsænkede siddezoner
- Hævede bedkanter der også fungerer som bænk
- Afgrænsning af spisearealer
- Siddepladser i gårdrum og mindre haver
- Skel- og støttemure med siddekant øverst
- Fællesarealer, skolehaver og offentlige grønne rum
Kort oversigt
| Montage | Push-fit samling. Ingen mørtel, ingen beslag, ingen murer |
| Siddehøjde | Modulopbygget i skifter. Byg til behagelig siddehøjde og afslut med en topsten |
| Dobbelt funktion | Holder samtidig en terrassekant, et hævet bed eller en niveauændring |
| Vejrbestandighed | Ikke-absorberende. Suger ikke regnvand til sig, tørrer hurtigt og er klar til brug igen |
| Materiale | 100% genanvendt polypropylen, UV-stabiliseret, produceret i EU af genanvendt plast |
| Trykstyrke | Testet til 150 tonnes/m² under fast statisk belastning |
| Levetid | 25 års garanti |
| Vedligeholdelse | Ingen. Ingen behandling, oliering, bejdsning eller vinteroprydning |
Sådan får du siddehøjden rigtig
Det er hele opgaven. En siddemur i forkert højde er en mur, folk læner sig op ad frem for at sidde på.
Sigt efter omtrent samme højde som sædet på en spisestuestol. For lav, og det er besværligt at rejse sig – særligt for ældre; for høj, og benene hænger frit, hvilket bliver ubehageligt inden for få minutter. Det er umagen værd at sætte sig på en stak blokke i den planlagte højde, inden du bygger – af samme grund som man går en trappe igennem, inden man godkender den.
Dybden er næsten lige så vigtig. Et sæde skal have plads nok fra for til bag til, at hele låret hviler, ellers sidder folk på kanten. Hvor muren også holder jord bag sig, er konstruktionen som regel dyb nok i forvejen; er den fritstående, bør den bygges bredere end en enkelt blokrække.
Afslut med en topsten. En topafslutning giver en ren, behagelig kant uden fugelinjer at sidde på – og det er det, der gør forskellen mellem en mur man kan sidde på og noget, der er bygget som siddeplads.
Sådan gør du det behageligt at bruge
Nogle få detaljer adskiller siddepladser, der faktisk bruges, fra dem der bare kigges på.
Vend mod udsigten, ikke mod huset. Den mest brugte siddeplads i enhver have er den, der peger mod noget værd at se på, og som fanger aftensolen.
Byg en ryglæn ind, hvor det er muligt. En siddemur op mod et hævet bed, en skelafgrænsning eller en skråning har et naturligt ryglæn. Fritstående er det en bænk uden – fint i tyve minutter, trættende en hel aften.
Lad der være plads til at komme forbi. Seating rundt om et bord kræver plads bag til stole og folk, og en siddekant presset tæt mod et bord er dekorativ snarere end funktionel.
Hynder forvandler det. Udendørshynder gør et hårdt sæde behageligt, og fordi overfladen ikke absorberer vand, tørrer den hurtigt – så hynderne kan lægges ud igen kort efter regn.
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.
