Home Theater Seats FAQs

A. Yes, we can help you with everything from picking out the seating arrangement, projectors, speakers etc. We can even draw a complete diagram with placement and wiring details.

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Q. What kind of configurations are available for theater seating?

A. You will need to view the PDF spec sheet to what pieces can be ordered for the particular model of interest. The top row of individual recliners will be of varying arms (2 arms, one arm, no arms etc.) You can take any of these and connect them anyway you want. The seating diagrams listed below the first row are for use as examples.

Q. How do I assemble my row of seats? Are they connected?

A. No, the seats do not actually connect to each other. They are positioned as you would with a typical sectional sofa.

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Q. Is there an option to connect the seats?

A. Yes, you can purchase a connector plate. The connector plates are made out of wood and have rubber padding on the bottom. These will prevent the seats from moving apart and prevent them from sliding on wood floors. Another easy method that would be just as affective would be to simply tie the bases together with straps. It will not take a whole lot of strength to keep them together as the lateral force typically causing the seats to move would be fairly small.

Q. Will the chairs move on carpet during normal use?

A. Not likely, the chairs are pretty heavy (app. 100lb). We have them in our showroom with ButtKicker installed and have not noticed them moving.

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Q. Will the chairs move on hardwood floors?

A. Yes, they will move just like any other chair, couch or furniture you place on hard floors. The fixes for this are very simple. Rubber cup under the feat has been a long standing solution. To keep the seats together you may want to tie them at the bases or use an optional connector plate.

Q. Are the Buttkickers worth the expense?

A. YES, we love the Buttkickers and the Sonic Immersion Technologies IBeam tactile transducers. We are also familiar with some of the other manufacturers products and yes some of those are also quite good but some of them are not worth the money spent either. A good tactile transducer will add another dimension to the home theater experience. It will scare you, it will make you laugh and it will heighten the dramatic experience. They are not annoying. If connected properly the transducer will only respond to subwoofer effect sounds. In this manner they will not be vibrating all the time. You might think well I have three 1000 watt subwoofers won't these do the same thing. No, they will only give you a headache. The tactile transducers take sound and convert it into vibration impact energy that a standard subwoofer can not produce.

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Q. Is Power Recline worth the expense?

A. Yes we think so. It positively locks the seat into a position which you can not do with a manual recliner. If we had to choose a Buttkicker over power recline we would however choose the ButtKicker.

Q. I see that some of the chairs do not have the factory installed Buttkicker option. Is there another solution?

A. Yes, we can offer the Sonic Immersion Technologies IBEAM Tactile Transducer that will fit in the smaller chairs.

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Q. How long does it take for my seats to arrive?

A. All furniture orders are custom built to order. The Manufacturing of the seats takes 4-6 weeks in average. Some times furniture ships as soon as 3 weeks and sometimes it takes as long as 8 weeks. Curbside shipping will take another 3-5 days and White Glove shipping is approximately another 2 weeks.

Q. How much do the seats weigh?

A. Each seat weighs anywhere from 80lbs to 120lbs depending on model and options purchased. The backs of the seats will weigh approximately 10lbs and the base will make up the remainder of the weight.

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Q. Are tools required to put the backs onto the recliner bases?

A. No Tools are not required. The backs have a track that slides into posts on the recliner base. There is a latch that automatically closes to hold them in place.

Q. What is curbside shipping?

A. A Freight carrier that makes residential deliveries will call to arrange an appointment to deliver the furniture. The freight carrier is only responsible for removing the furniture from their truck. Sometimes the freight carrier will bring the furniture into the garage for you but they are not obligated to do so. Customers are encouraged to rent or purchase a hand truck or furniture dolly so you may move the furniture more easily.

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Q. What is White Glove Delivery?

A. Typically a moving company like Bekins is hired for White Glove Deliveries. They will call to schedule an appointment. They will deliver, unpack, set-up the furniture and remove the trash. Disclaimer - Furniture moving companies have a high rate of employee turnover. For this reason the delivery personnel may have to study his project or need a little guidance. Also, White Glove delivery does not include any assembly that requires tools. Currently this would only matter with the 787 Aviator seats because they require tools to connect the chairs together. We recommend Curbside Delivery.

Q. How are the seats packaged for shipping?

A. Each single recliner will be package completely in a cardboard box. The backs of the recliners will be off of the base but they will be in the same box. Each piece will also be in a foam bag within the box. The boxes are approximately 40" cubed so they will not fit through most doorways.

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Q. How do we open the boxes to unpack the chairs?

A. Observe the marking on the boxes and make sure the box is correct side up. The chairs are packed with space between the inside of the box and the chair but we still do not recommend the cutting the box with a razor at this point. Open the top of the box and remove the recliner back. Because the base is heavy and the boxes stand about 3 feet tall we do not recommend trying to lift the recliner out of the box. Make sure the base of the chair is sitting in the box with ample space around all sides. You will notice that the chair is on a cardboard base that keeps it off the bottom of the box. You can make a cut around the bottom of the box at app. 0.5" off the ground. Lift the box sides off of the bottom and you will now have easy access to pick up the chair.

Q. The box has obvious damage what do I do?

A. You do have the right to refuse delivery of an item that is obviously damaged. Please keep in mind though that the item may actually be OK so you may want to do a quick inspection prior to refusing delivery. Keep in mind that any item refused or not delivered will take another 4-6 weeks for redelivery as a new one will need to be ordered to replace the damaged seat. 99% of the seats damaged in shipping can be easily fixed in the field so please keep this in mind before you refuse a delivery. Repairs are fixed with factory parts shipped directly to you and we hire a local furniture repair company to fix the problem.

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Q. How are damage claims and repairs handled?

A. We require a photo for most claims and a written description of the problem (Email is fine) because we can not physically inspect your chair. We will order your replacement parts directly from Berkline and the will be delivered to the customer directly. The customer will be responsible for inspecting the replacement parts and making sure they are correct. We will hire a local furniture repair company to perform the repair. The customer will arrange for a time and date that is convenient. Sometimes the repair companies are able to fix the problem on location and sometimes they will need to take the chair with them for repair in their facility. In most cases we pay the repair company directly and there is no out of pocket expense to the customer. Sometimes the repair companies do need to be paid on the spot for the repair because their own policies. In these cases we will promptly reimburse you for the repairs. Typically repairs are completely handled in 2-3 weeks. We will continue to be your source for repair issues if they ever arise for years to come after your initial purchase.

Q. I received a tentative ship date. What does this mean?

A. When we place an order with Berkline we receive a tentative ship date on our order confirmation. We pass this date along to the customer as a tentative ship date. This date is subject to change which is beyond our control!! The customer will be notified by us of any scheduling changes we try to do this in a timely fashion but we don't always have the information in a timely fashion. If delivery time is of grave concern due to vacations or something of that nature please contact us and we will call in advance to check on your order.

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Q. Can I get my order faster by paying more?

A. Unfortunately not, some customer may be willing to pay an expedite fee but there is no way to make to the furniture move faster in production. Berkline does not have an express service that can be purchased. There is absolutely nothing that can be done to speed up delivery. We are sorry but no amount of money can change the delivery schedule.

Q. My furniture is coming to soon. Can I delay the delivery?

A. We must be notified within 2 weeks of the tentative ship date to make arrangements to delay your furniture. Inmost cases we can hold the furniture app. 2 weeks later than the previously scheduled ship date. We can not guarantee that the furniture will be held for a specific amount of time.

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Q. Can I cancel my order?

A. Yes and No. The order can be cancelled by the customer until it goes into production. Once the order is in production the order can not be canceled. Any order cancelled will be charged a 3% of the initial deposit paid for the furniture order. The reason we charge 3% is because when we process your credit card we are charged 3% for the transaction and that will not be refunded to us. Customers that pay with a check will receive a full refund of money paid to us.

Q. Can I return my order?

A. No, your order is a custom furniture order that does not come from stock. We can not take a return on any order for any reason. Customers should ask whatever questions necessary to ensure they are ordering what they need to order. Customers should visit showrooms like ours to ensure they are happy with the fit and finish of the product prior to ordering.

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Q. What are your payment policies?

A. Typically we collect 75% of the order total at the time the order is placed if the customer is paying with a credit card. If the customer is paying with a check 100% of the order total is due at the time of order placement. The 25% balance is collected when the order ships from the factory. We need to collect this much money initially because payment is required from us for the order at order placement as well. Our line of credit with Berkline is not large enough to cover all of our orders. Also, customers paying by check are eligible for a 3% discount on the furniture part of their order because we do not have to pay credit card processing fees on this money.

Q. What are your pricing policies?

A. We do price competitively and we do price match some quotes. If you are given a quote from your local furniture store that is near ours we suggest you make that purchase from your local store. In the long run it is always easier to work with a local company. In order for us to price match we need written price from a competitor. Please also be aware that our pricing is based on Credit Card Payments. Some of our competitors quote lower prices but charge a 3% fee when you want to pay with a credit card. We offer customer paying with a Check a 3% discount off of our quoted pricing. We believe our prices are very competitive. We do not provide written pricing because this has caused competitive pricing issues in the past with customers bringing our pricing into their local store to try and negotiate for a better price. This does not generally work with you local store. They just get upset at us!!

Q. Can I order spare parts for my chairs?

A. Yes, we can order spare parts for your chairs?

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Q. What exactly does my warranty cover? Can I have the fine print?

A. Please view the Berkline Warranty PDF