Alvas Ballet Barres

The diameter for Alvas wood ballet barres are 1-7/8”, + or – 1/8”. Wood will not be perfectly round.

Alvas ballet barres are hand-sanded smooth and ready to use.

Every square inch of our wood barres is inspected by hand. Splits, cracks and checks are cut out leaving beautiful straight grain lumber of the highest quality. Our barres are then sanded smooth and ready to use if the paint coating is not desired.

Adding a clear coat finish may be done, but is unnecessary. As the wood barre is used, the natural oils from hands cures the barre and give the barres a hand-rubbed look that is traditional and often preferred.

Our wood barres arrive ready to be stained, lacquered or painted, if desired. Some people paint a clear coat (or stain and then add a clear coat) on wood barres to achieve and maintain a look. If you choose to paint them, it should be done immediately after taking the barre out of the cardboard tube since the wood will be sanded and clean.

Traditionally, a ballet barre should be approximately waist height of the user.

However, the following statistics are very popular:

• Single Barre Height*:    32” – 46” from floor (waist level)
• Double Barre Height*:  32” – 34” lower barre; 44” – 46” from the floor for upper barre
• Distance from Wall to Barre:
  • Inside = 7-1/4” (approx)
  • Outside = 9” (approx)

* “Barre height” is the distance (height) between the floor and the barre, or  more simply, how high your barre is off of the ground.

“Barre height” is the distance (height) between the floor and the barre, or  more simply, how high your barre is off of the ground.

With any of Alvas Wall Mount Ballet Barre Adjustable Brackets, Alvas Freestanding Ballet Barre Frames or Alvas Floor Mount Stanchion, the height of your barre(s) can be adjusted – without uninstalling the Extension Units.

How to adjust the height of your ballet barre:

1. Grab the Barre next to where the Extension shoulders touch the wood.
2. Give the Barre an up and down wiggle, as needed, while loosening or tightening the Wingnut.
3. Then slide the Extension up or down the Channel to your desired height, and re-tighten the Wingnut.

Pro Tip:

The Extension Units can also be made so they do not adjust by hand by replacing the Large Wingnut with a Hex Nut on the Extension. Alvas Hex Nuts are perfect if you prefer to not have barre heights adjustable since the barres can be made “fixed” with this simple hex nut. The barre height can still be adjustable at a later time of your preference, but will prevent the public (or children) from adjusting the barre height indiscriminately.

Barre Length Tolerance: +/- 1/8″

Perfect straightness is difficult to obtain in a natural product like wood.

Step 1: Sight down barre to determine apex of the warp.

Step 2: Center the 4’ level on the apex and secure the level to the barre (using tape, tie, etc) as shown in the diagram.

Step 3: Attempt to slide the 3/16” drill bit into the gap.

Step 4: If the drill bit slides freely and completely through the gap, then the barre is beyond our warp tolerance. Immediately call Alvas for return instructions.

Like most items that receive heavy use we recommend cleaning your ballet barres daily. You can clean them with an all-natural wood cleaner such as, Seventh Generation, Honest, or Method. Simply spray the cloth with the cleaning product and wipe down the barre the same way you would clean a table. If you prefer to use cleaning wipes that is okay too!

Don’t worry about drying out your barres. During use, the natural oils from hands will create a warm patina around the barre helping prevent the barres from drying out.

Customer satisfaction is important to us. One way we demonstrate this is by sending product samples to ones who are interested in seeing the product before purchasing it. Contact us for details.

We also have a showroom in which our local customers may see our products in a larger scale. If you would like to visit our showroom, please contact us for an appointment.

Barre Wood Samples

Upon request, we will provide free ballet barre wood samples of Alvas Maple, Oak and Poplar wood. Contact us for more information. When contacting us, please provide the full mailing address, whose attention we should mail it to and which samples you would like.

Alvas Custom Ballet Barres are manufactured with the option of no holes or pre-drilled holes, spaced according to the customer’s specifications- Signed Diagram required. Pre-drilled holes are required to attach Alvas ballet barres to our wall mount brackets and floor mount stanchions.

Barre Length Tolerance: +/- 1/8″
Spacing Accuracy Tolerance: +/- 1/8″

Barre Length: 1′ – 16′
Diameter: 1 7/8″, +/- 1/8″
Max Span: 80″
Max Overhang: 20″
Min Overhang: 2″

The holes in Alvas Standard Barres are always separated by multiples of 16” to allow the mounting of every bracket directly into a wall stud- most wood wall studs are 16” apart. (If you are unsure of your stud spacing, we recommend using an electronic wood wall stud finder or consulting a contractor).

Holes are pre-drilled into the barres so that Alvas Fixed Brackets and Extensions* are ready for installation and actually screw into the rear side of the barre. This allows your hand or foot to slide across the barre without hitting the brackets.

* Extensions are used on Wall Mount Adjustable Brackets, Freestanding Frames and Floor Mount Stanchions.

Barre Length Tolerance: +/- 1/8″
Spacing Accuracy Tolerance: +/- 1/8″

Bracket Number & Spacing

4’ Barre: 2 brackets spaced 32” apart (8” overhang)
6’ Barre: 2 brackets spaced 48” apart (12” overhang)
7’ 10” Barre: 2 brackets spaced 64” apart (15” overhang)
10’ Barre: 2 brackets spaced 80” apart (20” overhang)
14’ Barre: 3 brackets spaced 64” apart (20” overhang)
16’ Barre: 3 brackets spaced 80” apart (16” overhang)

Alvas carries Maple, Oak and Poplar ballet barre wood.
Alternative types of wood may be special ordered with an additional set up fee.

Wood is a natural product so the grain and/or coloration of the wood can vary. Alvas cannot guarantee the grain color you receive.