What’s the real cost of New Bleachers?

What’s in your specifications makes a big difference in annual costs!

Most new-bleacher specifications don’t address the number ONE cause of bleacher malfunction -- SAGGING.

How to tell if your bleachers are sagging

Sagging is causing a problem with your bleachers IF:

• the rows appear to be unevenly spaced
• the bleachers are hard to open and close
• the rows are rubbing and binding
• motors are burning out
• drive rollers are delaminating, and/or marking the floor

Bleachers will sag from end-to-end

The bleachers shown above are sagging on the ends. In the bleacher industry, this is known as “frowning.” This condition is especially prevalent in new bleacher sections that are made with wide (up to 26 ft) spans with only two support columns.

Some of the rows have large gaps, and other rows fit tightly together. This is an indication of sagging toward the front.

Bleachers will sag down in front

The bleachers shown above are sagging on the ends. In the bleacher industry, this is known as “frowning.” This condition is especially prevalent in new bleacher sections that are made with wide (up to 26 ft) spans with only two support columns. This end view of bleachers shows how the cantilever arm is bent downward. These have sagged downward to such an extent that they will not close correctly. Note that row 1 on the far end is not flush with the closed rows above.

Bleachers can sag for a lot of reasons, including simply from their own weight. But real reason that most telescopic bleachers sag, is because students climb on the bleachers in the closed or partially open position, bending the cantilever arms that support the bleacher rows.

In the closed position, a foot level aisle is an attractive nuisance, because it resembles a ladder and so is an “invitation” to climb.

The top two rows are the “best seats in the house,” people like to sit there, whether the bleachers are open or closed. However, if the bleachers are closed, they are not designed to carry the additional weight of spectators (live load). They are only designed to be strong enough to hold up their own weight (dead load).

When individuals climb or sit on bleachers that are closed or partially open, the arms will bend. The bleachers will sag.

Bleachers that sag cost more.

Sagging problems require on-going, repetitive repairs. Sagging bleachers have to be adjusted and repaired annually, just so they will open and close properly -- this is part of the actual cost of the bleachers.

Also contributing to the actual overall cost of bleachers, is the extra time and effort on the part of the maintenance staff that is required by sagging bleachers.

These bleachers are sagging so badly that they will not close. The first row is making contact with the row above, instead of sliding beneath row 2. The bleachers shown above were virtually new -- they were installed less than 3 years ago.

A closer view of new, sagging bleachers that will not close.

The only way these sagging bleachers will close is by using a metal pipe to lift up the second row, so the first row can slide underneath. Not bad for bleachers that are just a few years old!

Why do the specifications allow sagging? Codes and standards such as NFPA 102, ICC 300, IBC, etc. set the “design criteria” for telescopic bleachers. They specify the minimum allowable (not necessarily what you really need) -- only the minimum required by law for safety. The exact wording that covers this can be seen in NFPA 102 (1995 Edition). “Standard for Grandstands, Folding and Telescopic Seating, Tents and Membrane Structures” Section 5-2.6 states “All design criteria shall be met when the seating is in each configuration intended for occupancy.” In other words, telescopic bleachers are only “intended for occupancy” in the full open and locked position. They are not “intended for occupancy” in the closed or partially open position. How do I get bleachers that don’t sag?

Click here to download a copy of NFPA 102 (1995 edition). This has a comparison with the design criteria for Evergreen Bleachers™.

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New Evergreen Bleachers™ don’t sag. They are designed for reality. That’s why Evergreen Bleachers exceed code standards such as the NFPA 102 and others. Unlike the NFPA 102, which is applicable only when the bleachers are in the full open position. It states “All design criteria shall be met when the seating is in each configuration intended for occupancy. ”

Evergreen Bleachers’ Design Criteria added a couple of words:

These two words show that Evergreen Bleachers are designed to bear the live and dead loads in ANY configuration. The bleachers are not going to sag -- not from their own weight, not if kids climb on them.

The reason that Evergreen Bleachers meet a higher standard (and a more rigorous design criteria) is because Evergreen Bleachers are reinforced with the patented Century Design® “no-sag” system. Century Design is so named, because when it is installed on new or existing bleachers, it allows the bleachers to last for 100 years, or for the life of the building where they are installed.

It’s not an empty claim. To prove that Evergreen Bleachers are “made to last and last” we provide a letter from a structural engineer that the Century Design no-sag system works.

In fact, we are so confident that these bleachers will never sag, that we back our bleachers with a 20-year warranty.

Bleacherman installers and technicians pose on closed bleachers to make a point -- Evergreen Bleachers with the patented Century Design® no-sag system won’t sag, even with three quarters of a ton of live load, unintended for occupancy.  When we say “no sag,” we mean no sag.