Boardroom and meeting table sizing: length, width, clearances and cables

At a glance

Millimetres. No standard or regulation we read gives a size for a meeting table: every figure is practice, or arithmetic from the example values stated; the Approved Document M rows are from the England edition named in the notice. Confirm with the partner workshop, the AV designer and a mock-up.

Length from the number of seats

Length follows from how many seats go along a long side: L = seats a side x pitch. Our boardroom guide says every seat needs 60 to 75 cm of table edge, and our boardroom table page 70 to 75 cm. Three columns cover that: 600 mm is tight (laptops, elbows touching), 700 mm a standard working figure and 750 mm generous. The table counts a head seat at each end as sharing the corner, so it adds no length: a 12-seat table is five a side plus two heads. That agrees with our live pages (12 seats on about 360 cm, 20 on about 700 cm).

The head seat takes space from the corner. A person at the head of the table needs a work zone about 700 mm wide and 450 mm deep, and so does the first person along each side. At the corner the two zones overlap by 450 minus half of (width minus 700): 200 mm on a 1,200 mm wide table, 150 on 1,300, 50 on 1,500, and none from 1,600. Where the overlap matters (laptops and paper at both seats), lengthen the table by up to 450 mm at each end, or give the head seat a narrower zone. Ask the client how the head seats are used before choosing.

Width, and what goes down the middle

Width is two work zones and a middle: W = 2 x 450 + the middle. The middle holds the cable zone, power and data modules, water, a small display or menu cards. A table 1,300 mm wide leaves 400 mm, which is enough for a cable trough about 300 mm wide under the top, keeping 500 mm of clear knee space from each edge. Our boardroom product page gives widths of 120 to 160 cm; the arithmetic agrees, with 1,100 to 1,200 mm for a compact table.

Seat the table at a standard table height of 720 to 760 mm (see table heights) and keep the central trough, any beam and the legs out of the 450 mm knee zones. A deep central beam is fine; a deep apron at the edge is not, because the underside there needs about 200 mm of thigh room above the seat.

Rectangular, boat, racetrack and round

Shape changes sightlines, not the seat count, so the pitch still sets the length. For 12 seats at 700 mm: a rectangle is 3,500 x 1,300. A boat keeps the 3,500 length, narrows to about 900 at the ends and swells to 1,500 at the middle: each curved side is about 3,570 along the edge, so five seats still fit, and the bow opens the view down the table. A racetrack with straight sides and semicircular ends needs 12 seats spaced round an edge of 8,400, which gives straight sides of about 2,160 and an overall length of about 3,460. A round table needs about 2,670 across for 12, which is too wide to reach across, so a round table works best for smaller groups.

The boat and racetrack widths here are drawing examples. The workshop's templates, the maximum single-piece length, the way the curve is cut and joined and any veneer matching across the sections decide the real figures.

Clearances round the table, and the room it needs

Work outwards from the table edge with the same datums as the restaurant seating sheet: the sitting zone (A), from the table edge to the back of an occupied chair, about 500 mm for a boardroom chair 600 wide with a 480 mm seat; the pull-out (B), 300 to 450 mm to stand up; and the passage (C), the clear width left for people to walk behind the chairs. Name the datum on the drawing: "1,400 to the wall" means something different from the table edge and from the chair back.

The 1,200 mm is the unobstructed width Approved Document M volume 2 (2015 edition incorporating the 2020 and 2024 amendments; England) gives for corridors and passageways, with passing places of 1,800 x 1,800 where narrower than 1,800 (paragraph 3.14(b) and (c), printed p. 31). Whether a passage behind meeting chairs is one is for the access consultant, and the volume gives no table size or clearance to a meeting table. It also asks that people with hearing impairments can take part in meetings with good sight lines (4.9) and that provision for a hearing enhancement system is installed in rooms designed for meetings (4.36(b), p. 46): for the AV designer, and a reason to keep the sightlines drawn on a boat or racetrack table. Add the room to the table with the net floor areas below.

The floor areas are for the table, the chairs and a 900 mm passage all round, and exclude the credenza, screens, doors and the way in. Add them on the plan.

Power, data and AV, and a table made in sections

Modules on the pitch. A flush power and data module at every seat position on the centre line serves the two opposite diners (one each side), so the module pitch is the seat pitch: 700 mm in the drawing, five modules for ten side seats, with the head seats fed from the ends or a floor box. The cable zone is the 400 mm middle, with a trough below, and cables reach the table through a hollow leg or a floor box. The module type, the cable and trough sizes, the access hatch and any screen lift are for the AV integrator, the electrician and the workshop to agree on a coordinated drawing before the top is cut. Electrical safety and certification are the installer's; this sheet gives no electrical figure.

Sections. A top of this length is made in sections that meet at joints. Put each joint between two modules, never through one: in the drawing a 3,500 mm top is 1,400, 700 and 1,400 with the joints at 1,400 and 2,100 mm. Our live pages say tables over 2,800 mm are built in sections and joined on site; the maximum single-piece length, the joint type and the tolerance on the joint are for the partner workshop. Each section must also reach the room. A flat section carried on edge, 1,400 mm long and packed to 100 mm thick, needs about 570 mm clear at a square corner (the corner test on the delivery access sheet, which also covers door widths and the tip-up), so survey the route before fixing the section lengths. See also furniture tolerances for joint steps and gaps.

Boardroom table [boat-shaped]: [3,500] mm long, [900] mm wide at the ends and [1,500] mm at the widest, for [12] seats at [700] mm of table edge per seat, with a head seat at each end [sharing the corner / with a full work zone]. Overall height [740] mm to the top surface from finished floor level. Finished sizes to the shop drawing [ref], tolerance [ ] mm. Knee clearance [450] mm each side kept free of beams and trough. Size and chair confirmed on a mock-up [yes / no].

Power and data modules [type, flush] at [700] mm centres on the table centre line, [5] in total, one for each pair of opposite seats; head seats [fed from the ends / floor box]. Cable zone [400] mm wide with a trough [300] mm wide x [160] mm deep below, access panel [size, position] as the coordinated drawing [ref]. Cable entry [hollow leg / floor box]. Wiring and certification by [electrician]; AV equipment and screen lift by [AV integrator], to the schedule [ref].

Top made in [3] sections [1,400 / 700 / 1,400] mm, joined with [method] so that the joint step does not exceed [ ] mm, joints not passing through any module or cut-out. Sections to pass the route and corners in the delivery survey [ref]. Assembled and levelled on site by [ ], with the veneer match across joints as the shop drawing [ref]. Room clearances: [900] mm passage behind the chairs, [1,400] mm from table edge to wall, datum the table edge.

Standards and sources

• Approved Document M, Volume 2 (2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments; England): 3.14(b), (c), 4.9 and 4.36(b) read; no meeting table size or clearance is given.
• BS EN 527-1:2011, BS EN 15372, BS EN 1335, BS 8300-2:2018: BSI listing: EN 527-1 excludes other tables in the office area; EN 15372 is strength, durability and safety of non-domestic tables. Texts not read; confirm the current editions.

Questions we are asked

What size boardroom table do I need for 12 people?

At a standard 700 mm of table edge per seat, five seats a side plus a head seat at each end need a table about 3,500 mm long, and 1,300 to 1,500 mm wide. At a tight 600 mm it is 3,000 mm, and at a generous 750 mm 3,750 mm. Our product page gives about 360 cm for 12.

How much space does each person need at a conference table?

About 600 mm of table edge at the least, 700 mm as a standard working figure and 750 mm generous, and about 450 mm of depth for a laptop, notepad and glass. These are practice figures: no standard gives a space per person for a meeting table.

How much clearance do you need behind boardroom chairs?

About 800 to 950 mm from the table edge to a wall where nobody passes behind (a 500 mm sitting zone plus 300 to 450 mm to stand), and about 1,400 mm where people pass comfortably behind seated people. If the passage is a route for a wheelchair user, Approved Document M asks for 1,200 mm unobstructed in corridors and passageways: ask the access consultant whether it applies.

How wide should a boardroom table be?

Two 450 mm work zones plus a middle: 1,100 to 1,200 mm for a compact table, 1,300 to 1,500 mm as usual, with room for a cable zone. From 1,600 mm the head seat no longer overlaps the corner seats, but the table is wide to talk and reach across.

Is a boat-shaped table longer than a rectangular one?

No: for the same seats at the same pitch it is about the same length, because the curved sides are only slightly longer than the chord. It is wider at the middle and narrower at the ends, which opens sightlines.

How many power outlets does a meeting table need?

A common layout is one flush power and data module for each pair of opposite seats, on the seat pitch, so 700 mm centres at 700 mm pitch. That is practice: the AV integrator and electrician fix the number, the type and the wiring.

Which British Standard sets the size of a meeting table?

None that we found. BS EN 527-1 gives dimensions for office work tables and desks and, per its scope, not for other tables in the office area. BS EN 15372 covers the strength, durability and safety of non-domestic tables. The size is a design decision.