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Making FF&E, Material and Finish Selections

The term FF&E is an acronym for Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment.

Furniture is movable items such as tables and chairs. Fixtures are the immovable items such as cabinets. Equipment is a machine such as a water-heater or air conditioner. All are used to make a house or other space suitable for living and/or working.

Materials and Finishes, are generally talked about in one of two ways; products and construction materials. Every product you choose while developing your project plan will be made of a specific material with specific finish options.

People sometimes use the terms Material and Finish, interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Material is what a raw component is actually made of, while the term Finish describes the sheen, color, and texture.

For example, people often talk about paint as if it is a finish, which it is, but only in the context of being applied to another product, like drywall (sheet rock). However, nowadays the paint itself comes in countless finish combinations when considering available colors, texture additives (like popcorn), and sheen such as gloss, semi-gloss and flat.

Manufacturers differentiate their product lines by generally providing better materials, finishes and options in higher priced products.

The same is true in construction. The qualities of products on the market today generally fit into many different categories: Economy, Basic, Common, Deluxe, Luxury, and Custom – or other similar words. Companies can use different words to describe the same quality level, even among manufacturers of similar products.

There are incalculable combinations of Material, Finish and product combinations. There are so many, there is no way to cover all of them, but don’t let that overwhelm you.

Construction Conductor explains how you can use that to your advantage in Who Selects What.

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