The Posture People guide to Castors and Glides

When you are ordering a chair with us, the more information you can give us about your working environment, the easier it is for us to find you your perfect chair.

One thing to consider is the type of flooring that you have in your workspace. Our chairs can be specified with a range of ‘feet’ to make sure that you stay safe and comfortable whilst you work. These vary from castors (wheels), glides (a flat foot) dependent on the height of the chair and the environment that you are working in i.e on a hard floor, or a soft floor such as carpet.

There’s a few types of castors and gliders so you should consider these things before buying:

• How much weight your chair can hold
• The type of flooring your chair will be moving across
• How will the chair be used

We’ve made this guide to castors & glides to help you make an informed decision when choosing what ‘feet’ your chair will need.

Castors

Castors can come in different sizes. The standard size for castors is 2”-2’5. Larger castor sizes are a good option if you’re looking for better durability. Larger wheels work well on thick carpets as they create less resistance when rolling.

Pros

• Mobility: Castors make rolling around on your chair much easier compared to glides
• Speed: Castors don’t drag on flooring they roll, making moving around much smoother and faster

Cons

• Not self-levelling
• Can be noisy when used on hard flooring

Brake-loaded castors can be wheeled freely until weight is applied. This locks the wheel until the weight is lifted.

Interval break-loaded castors are partially braked consistently to make mounting the chair safer on hard floor surfaces. The wheel will lock completely when weight is applied.

Free-wheeling castors are break-free for ease of movement suiting most office environments where people are working at a normal height.

If you have carpet, choose castors for soft floor which means the castor won’t have a rubber overlay that will ‘drag’ on the carpet.

If you have a hard floor such as wood, choose hard floor castors so that the rubber overlay will protect the floor from scratches and wear.

Glides

Glides are flat disks that are usually fitted on higher chairs and stools to ensure that the chair does not slip away when you mount the chair. You might find that glides are also a better choice for chairs that don’t require much movement such as meeting room chairs.

Types of gliders

Nylon or plastic- These gliders are perfect for carpeted flooring or tiles. The plastic material glides smoothly over a carpeted surface without snagging.

Metal- Metal glides should be used when a chair needs to hold a heavier amount of weight.

Fitting types

• Self-adhesive
• Screw on
• Nail on

Pros

• Protects the floor from being scuffed and damaged
• Helps to keep the chair in place
• Glides are self-levelling
• Good at keeping stability
• Easy and inexpensive to replace
• Little to no noise made when moving around
• Simple to apply

Cons

• The chair doesn’t move when weight is applied so if you need to move the chair once you are sat down, you’ll have to get up to move it.

Office chairs

 Now you’ve had a chance to look at the difference between castors and glides, you can decide which ones are most suitable for your chair. Here are some office chairs we offer that give you the option of adding castors or glides.

Environment

Both castors and glides can be made in specialist materials to make them suitable for the requirements for your environment such as a cleanroom or static dissipative floor.

For more advice, please leave us a message below or call 0330 332 0880 to speak to a member of the team