Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I begin?

A great place to start is to understand what it is that we provide please take a minute to read this quick overview.

How do I place an order?

For designs that are commonly ordered, please refer to our online store.


For ‘from scratch’ designs please gather any pertinent information as far as size, style, function, inspiration pics, and budget that can allow us to further understand your vision, and then send them to Paul@Philadelphiatablecompany.com. More info can be found HERE. 

What size should I go with?


If you are unsure on the size table to get, here are some key factors to consider:

  • At PTC we recommend that you have 36” of clearance surrounding all sides of the table to allow for loved ones to easily get in and out of their chair without having to squeeze.

  • How many people do you want to seat? For a general rule of thumb with rectangular tables you want around 24” of space per chair. For example an 8ft table would comfortably fit 8 people. 3 on both sides, 1 at each end.

  • For circular tables as a rule of thumb: 48” - 4 people, 60” - 6 to 8 people, 72” - 8 people

  • Still undecided? We recommend that you use painters tape to lay out the dimensions on the floor of the room the table will be going in. This gives you a visual idea of how much space the table will take up in the room. Additionally, feel free to reach out to contact us for advice.

Finishes: What the heck is the difference?

At Philadelphia Table Company we make it our goal to be as eco friendly as possible. At the end of the day we are guests on this beautiful planet, and as manufacturers it is our job to limit the footprint we leave behind for the future generations that follow. This means that we only work with water-based finishes and VOC-free penetrating oils.

  • Penetrating Oil- This is our gold standard finish. We work with solid wood, so let’s embrace the beauty. We use a high quality, tried and tested, penetrating oil that is completely food safe and zero VOC content. Wood is like a bunch of straws tied together and our goal is to prevent any foreign substances from getting inside those straws. What the penetrating oil does is fill these straws and then over a time period of about 30 days it fully cures and hardens inside the wood pores to not allow anything to pass through. Super durable after full cure time.

Pros: higher quality, long durability after full cure, maintains the natural feel and look of the wood, will slowly fade overtime but only needs to be “freshened” up with a maintenance oil making it easier to “spot” fix

Cons: dry to touch and able to use when delivered, but extra precautions need to be taken until full cure time is complete

  • Water-based Paints and Polys- These types of finishes work a little bit differently. Instead of “penetrating” the wood, they act as a film that sits overtop creating a barrier from any foreign substance.

Pros: maintains the true color of unfinished or stained wood, higher durability upon initial delivery

Cons: can chip and peel off in spots over time in the higher traffic areas, tough to “spot” fix

  • Coloring/Staining- Stains are pigmented dyes that penetrate the wood and enhance the natural oils and grains of each species of wood in different ways. While it hurts our souls as passionate wood workers to color wood, we understand that to obtain some colors, this is the only way. Hardwoods are easier to color and get a balanced look, while your softer woods such as pine and maple can turn out a little “blotchy” and look a more rustic. Here is a link to view our standard colors. 

Can you color-match?

Unfortunately, we do not offer direct color matching. Through are experiences this leads to a rabbit hole of back and forth communication, which in return bogs down the shop and delays our ability to get you your product and everyone else’s in a timely manner. There are too many factors that go into color matching that are tough to control. Type of color, topcoat, and lifespan of a piece directly affect the color tone. With that said, we can recommend a stain or finish that will think will closest match. 

What is all of this on my table?

With solid wood furniture there are many organic characteristics in the wood. It is important to understand that these aren’t “flaws” in your table, but more so unique characteristics to be celebrated! Here are some common characteristics that you may come across with your PTC piece…

  • Knots:  Knots are a common characteristic across many species of wood. At PTC we understand that they aren’t ideal for a table surface, as food particles and dust can get stuck inside. To address this, it is our standard to fill these with the highest quality epoxy systems on the market. Many times these will be filled with a black pigmented or clear epoxy. While these are unavoidable, the amount of them can be limited by selecting to upgrade to a premium cut of lumber.

  • Splits/Checks: Splits and checks unfortunately happen in about 10% of tables. This is a direct result of the expansion and contraction of the wood as it acclimates to the environment that it is in. While we do our best to avoid this by taking into account how tops are fastened to bases and filling any voids with epoxy, some factors are out of our control. When caring for solid wood furniture, we recommend that you keep the climate in your home as consistent as possible in relevance to humidity and temperature. Another key thing to note is that the splits and checks more commonly happen in the early years of your piece. This is in no relation to the craftsmanship as much as it relates to the changing of environment. Once the wood fully acclimates it is less likely to split or check. Some wood species that are common to check and split are white oak, red oak and ash. This is due to the composition of their grain pattern.

  • Worm holes/tracks:  It is important to remember that wood comes from live trees which are their own ecosystem. Worm holes develop from ambrosia beetles. They are commonly found in maple and walnut and can leave pin holes and small tracks throughout the wood, but most of the time in the sap wood found on live edge pieces. While we try to source lumber with limited amount of worm holes, sometimes it is just another characteristic to celebrate making your furniture a uniquely one of a kind piece.

  • Sapwood: Sapwood is a softer, lighter colored part of the wood usually found near the live edges of lumber. It is most notably seen in walnut. We do our best to avoid pieces containing sapwood, but the best way to avoid it is to upgrade to a premium cut of the desired lumber.

How do I care for my table?

This one is a bit more detailed and we have a dedicated page for that. Follow the link here. 

Do you delivery?

Yes, all items with delivery locations within 2.5hrs of Philadelphia are eligible for our standard white glove delivery. Pricing varies based upon location and complexity of the install. Pricing will be included in the quote for custom orders and we have flat rate pricing by location for items purchased in our online store.

Please review our delivery policy here: Delivery Policies.