Lab casework — the fixed and mobile cabinetry, benches, and shelving built into a laboratory — is a long-lead, high-cost line item that most institutions specify and purchase only once every few decades per room. Getting the material, standard, and spec section wrong is expensive to fix after installation. This guide covers what a lab manager, procurement officer, or research-facilities administrator needs to evaluate before committing to a casework purchase: the material standards that actually govern quality, how casework is written into a construction specification, and what to check when comparing vendors.
What Is Lab Casework?
“Lab casework” (sometimes searched as “casework lab”) refers to the built-in and mobile storage and work-surface furniture manufactured to laboratory-grade performance requirements, as distinct from office or residential cabinetry. It typically includes base cabinets, wall cabinets, tall/storage cabinets, open shelving, fume hood enclosures, and the substructure supporting countertops and sinks. What separates it from ordinary furniture is that it is built and tested against chemical-resistance, load-bearing, and moisture-resistance criteria appropriate to the hazards present in the space — not just aesthetics.
Casework decisions typically get made during new construction or renovation of a laboratory facility and are coordinated with mechanical, plumbing, and electrical rough-in — see CASRAI’s guide to fume hood installation requirements for how casework and utility rough-in are sequenced on a renovation or new-build project.
The Standards That Govern Lab Casework
The primary reference body for laboratory furniture in North America is the Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association (SEFA), an international not-for-profit trade association founded in 1988. SEFA develops “Laboratory Grade” performance standards for furniture and equipment through its member committees. As of November 2025, SEFA rebranded what were previously called “Recommended Practices” as “SEFA Standards,” but the numbering and scope carried forward.
For casework specifically, SEFA publishes a family of material-specific standards under the SEFA 8 series, each covering the construction, chemical-resistance testing, and performance requirements for a different casework material:
- SEFA 8-W — Lab Grade Wood Casework Standard. Traditional appearance, lower first cost, generally lower chemical resistance than metal or phenolic; common in teaching labs and offices adjacent to wet labs.
- SEFA 8-M — Lab Grade Metal Casework Standard. Steel or stainless construction; higher chemical and moisture resistance, common in wet chemistry and clinical labs, and typically the easiest material to keep compliant with fire-code and cleanability requirements.
- SEFA 8-PL — Lab Grade Plastic Laminate Casework Standard. A cost-effective middle ground between wood and metal, widely used where budget matters more than maximum chemical resistance.
- SEFA 8-P — Lab Grade Polypropylene Casework Standard. High resistance to acids, bases, and solvents; standard choice for aggressive-chemical wet labs and some clinical/pathology settings.
- SEFA 8-PH — Lab Grade Phenolic Casework Standard. Very high chemical and moisture resistance with a hard, non-porous surface; often specified for the most chemically demanding research environments.
Related SEFA standards worth knowing when evaluating a casework package as a whole: SEFA 3 (work surfaces — countertop material performance, separate from the cabinet body), SEFA 7 (lab-grade fixtures), SEFA 2 (installation standard), SEFA 5 (scope of work — used to divide responsibility between trades), and SEFA 1 (laboratory fume hood standard, relevant wherever casework integrates a hood enclosure — see CASRAI’s guide to fume hood certification and inspection). SEFA standards are published for free download directly from SEFA, which makes them a useful, citable reference to put directly into a bid package rather than relying on a vendor’s own description of “lab grade.”
The Lab Casework Spec Section
In a construction specification organized to the Construction Specifications Institute’s MasterFormat numbering — the convention used on the great majority of U.S. institutional building projects — laboratory casework is typically written under Division 12, Furnishings, within the Specialty Casework subgroup, commonly as a section titled “Laboratory Casework.” Larger projects frequently split this into separate three-part sections by material (metal laboratory casework, wood laboratory casework, phenolic laboratory casework, and so on) because each material has a distinct SEFA 8 reference standard, distinct submittal requirements, and distinct quality-assurance testing.
A well-written lab casework spec section should require, at minimum:
- The specific SEFA 8 variant the casework must meet (8-W, 8-M, 8-PL, 8-P, or 8-PH) — not a generic “SEFA compliant” claim, which does not specify a material or test method.
- Submittal requirements: shop drawings, material and finish samples, and (for larger or first-time projects) a physical mockup for owner review before full fabrication begins.
- Load and dimensional criteria appropriate to the intended use — shelf and drawer load ratings, counter height (including any accessible-height counters required for ADA-compliant workstations), and clearances around fixed equipment.
- Reference to SEFA 2 for installation quality, and clear assignment of which party (general contractor, casework fabricator/installer, or equipment vendor) is responsible for final leveling, seismic anchoring where required, and utility coordination.
- Warranty terms stated as a specific duration and scope, not just “standard manufacturer warranty.”
Naming these roles and requirements explicitly in the spec — rather than assuming they are implied by “SEFA compliant casework” — is what prevents change orders and finger-pointing between the general contractor, the casework fabricator, and the mechanical trades once installation begins.
Casework in Lab Design: Fixed vs. Flexible
How casework is specified depends heavily on what kind of lab it serves. A wet lab handling hazardous chemistry generally needs fixed, chemical-resistant casework (commonly SEFA 8-M, 8-P, or 8-PH) integrated tightly with fume hood placement, plumbed services, and code-required safety fixtures. A dry lab — computational, electronics, or instrumentation-focused work with no significant chemical exposure — can often use flexible, mobile casework and adjustable shelving instead, which lowers cost and makes the space easier to reconfigure as instrumentation changes. CASRAI’s guides to laboratory design for compliance and safety and wet lab vs. dry lab space planning cover this distinction in more depth for anyone scoping a new facility or renovation before casework gets specified.
Because casework is typically a long-lead item — often eight to sixteen weeks from order to delivery depending on material and customization — it needs to be ordered against a construction schedule early, before the exact final equipment layout may be fully settled. Building in adjustment allowances (utility knockouts sized generously, modular units that can be reconfigured) reduces the cost of late layout changes.
Evaluating Casework Vendors and Suppliers
Because casework quality is difficult to assess from a catalog photo, procurement evaluation should focus on verifiable, documented capability rather than marketing claims:
- Which SEFA 8 variant(s) the vendor manufactures to, and whether they can provide the underlying test documentation (chemical-resistance test results, load test data) rather than just asserting “SEFA compliant.”
- Reference installations of comparable scope — a vendor who has fabricated casework for a similar-sized wet lab or clinical facility is a lower-risk choice than one whose comparable work is in office furniture.
- Lead time and current backlog, stated in writing against your project schedule, not a generic “typically X weeks” figure.
- Field service and installation capability in your region, including whether installation is performed by the manufacturer’s own crews, a licensed dealer/installer, or a general subcontractor unfamiliar with SEFA 2 installation requirements.
- Warranty and parts availability, particularly for replacement hardware (hinges, drawer slides, laminate edge repairs) years after initial installation.
- Public-sector procurement vehicles, if applicable — some institutions can purchase off an existing state, GSA, or cooperative-purchasing contract rather than running a full competitive solicitation; confirm eligibility before assuming this shortcut is available.
The live market for laboratory casework includes both large national manufacturers and regional casework fabricators; CASRAI does not rank or endorse specific vendors, and a buyer should verify current SEFA-standard compliance and reference installations directly with any vendor under consideration rather than relying on a vendor’s own marketing copy.
Procurement Process Considerations
For institutions purchasing casework with federal award funds, the procurement itself is subject to the competitive-procurement requirements at 2 CFR §§200.317–200.327 — see CASRAI’s guide to 2 CFR 200 procurement standards for the applicable method thresholds and documentation requirements. A sole-source justification may be appropriate only where a specific SEFA 8 material or a matching-existing-installation requirement genuinely limits the field to one qualified vendor — that limitation should be documented, not assumed. Because casework is long-lead, build procurement lead time into the overall project schedule well before the point where a delayed order becomes the critical path.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is lab casework?
Lab casework is the fixed and mobile cabinetry, storage units, and work-surface substructure built to laboratory-grade performance standards (chemical resistance, load capacity, moisture resistance) rather than standard office or residential furniture specifications. It includes base and wall cabinets, tall storage units, open shelving, and the support structure for countertops and sinks.
What is the spec section for lab casework?
In CSI MasterFormat-organized specifications, laboratory casework is typically written under Division 12 (Furnishings), in the Specialty Casework subgroup, commonly titled “Laboratory Casework” — often split into separate sections by material (metal, wood, phenolic, plastic laminate, polypropylene) since each has its own SEFA 8 reference standard and submittal requirements.
What standard applies to lab casework?
The Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association (SEFA) publishes the SEFA 8 series of material-specific casework standards — SEFA 8-W (wood), 8-M (metal), 8-PL (plastic laminate), 8-P (polypropylene), and 8-PH (phenolic) — along with related standards for work surfaces (SEFA 3), fixtures (SEFA 7), and installation (SEFA 2).
How does lab design affect casework choice?
Wet labs handling hazardous chemistry generally require fixed, chemical-resistant casework (typically metal, polypropylene, or phenolic) integrated with fume hoods and plumbed services. Dry labs with no significant chemical exposure can often use flexible, mobile casework and adjustable shelving, which costs less and is easier to reconfigure as equipment changes.
Who installs lab casework?
Installation is typically performed by the casework manufacturer’s own crew, a licensed dealer/installer, or a general contractor’s subcontractor, depending on how the project is structured. The spec section should name this responsibility explicitly and reference SEFA 2 (the SEFA installation standard) so installation quality has a documented benchmark.
What’s the difference between metal, wood, phenolic, plastic laminate, and polypropylene casework?
They trade off cost, chemical resistance, and appearance. Wood is lowest-cost with the least chemical resistance; metal offers strong chemical and moisture resistance at moderate cost; plastic laminate is a budget-friendly middle option; polypropylene offers high resistance to acids, bases, and solvents; and phenolic offers the highest overall chemical and moisture resistance with a hard, non-porous surface. Each is governed by its own SEFA 8 sub-standard.
