GP Contracts Wall Bed and Guest Bed Frequently Asked Questions

• Why choose GP Contracts?

• Unlike most other UK guest bed and wall bed suppliers, who simply import products designed for domestic use in other countries, or supply really basic, cheap, locally manufactured products, with no track record, GP Contracts have over 25 years' experience of designing and supplying heavy-duty, space-saving beds, specifically to provide rest facilities/overnight accommodation, in contract applications, where space is at a premium. All our products comply with current health and safety, manual handling and infection control requirements and are designed to give years of trouble-free service, even in the most gruelling of situations.
  
  Our products are additionally supported by a FREE in-house advisory service to help you select the right product for the job, a full five year guarantee and a comprehensive after-sales service, to help ensure that your beds continue to perform year-after-year. Back to top

• Will GP Contracts' products stand up to the kind of 'punishment' they can expect from heavy-duty contract applications?

• YES. There is nothing temporary, or makeshift about our space-saving guest beds and wall beds. They are designed to withstand years of regular use and will sleep even overweight adults (up to 200Kg), for extended periods, in total comfort. Our contract customers include hostels, colleges, the fire services, the MOD and the NHS.
  
  The secret is the heavy-duty, all-steel, welded-frame, epoxy-coated construction of our 'Glideaway'^® and 'Rollaway' Guest Beds and our 'Wiskaway'^® Wallbeds, combined with a unique, pre-tensioned, woven steel mesh base, which is guaranteed never to sag and allows air to circulate freely around the mattress and bedding. All our products are guaranteed for five years against defective materials and workmanship and will give many more years of trouble-free service.  Back to top

• Are GP Contracts' products safe and easy to operate?

• YES. Strong, yet lightweight, tubular steel construction, automatically opening and retracting legs (on most models) and the absence of sharp edges on our 'Glideaway', 'Rollaway' and 'Wiskaway' ranges and full counterbalancing on our 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds make for safe, smooth and easy operation. In addition, all our space-savers are supplied complete with permanently-fixed, laminated, step-by-step, operating instructions. Back to top

• Do GP Contracts' products comply with current health & safety, manual handling and infection control requirements?

• YES. All GP Contracts products comply fully with current health & safety, manual handling and infection control requirements. The heavy-duty epoxy-coated all-steel bed frames of our 'Glideaway' and 'Rollaway' Guest Beds and 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds can be cleaned and disinfected just like hospital beds. All our melamine-faced and plastic-laminate-faced wall bed housings can be wiped clean, as can the wipe-clean/'waterproof' covers on many of our mattresses. Back to top

• Do GP Contracts offer an after-sales service?

• YES. GP Contracts are able to offer a full nationwide after-sales service on their products and will additionally be pleased to quote for periodic maintenance/servicing visits. All our products are guaranteed for a full five years against defective materials and workmanship. Back to top

• Does GP Contracts offer an installation service?

• YES. GP Contracts will be pleased to quote for the supply and installation (where required) of their products. Our skilled fitters have extensive experience of working in various different situations, including, for instance, on active hospital wards and on major construction sites. Back to top

• What are 'Wiskaway'^® Wallbeds?

• 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds (the original Wentelbeds^®) are single and double beds, which are designed to be fixed in one location and pivot away flat against the wall, either on end ('Vertical') or sideways ('Horizontal'). 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds offer all the comfort, convenience and durability of good quality firm-based divan beds, but stow away fully made-up, when not required, freeing-up extra space in which to work, study, play, entertain or just stretch out!

          All 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds come with the following features:

• They will take a proper interior sprung mattress and standard bedding.

• They pivot away permanently made up, for REGULAR NIGHTLY USE.

• They are easy to handle and are ready to use in seconds.

• They have strong welded-steel frames with firm, non-sag woven steel mesh bases and a tough, easy-clean epoxy finish.

• They are supplied complete with flexible hook-on bedding retaining straps, to hold all the bedding - including the pillows - in place, when folded away.

• They are guaranteed for five years against defective materials and workmanship. Back to top

• What are 'Glideaway'^® and 'Rollaway' Guest Beds?

• Our 'Glideaway' and 'Rollaway' Guest Beds are single beds, which can be folded up when not in use and moved effortlessly, from one location to another, on heavy-duty hospital wheels. They share many features with our 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds, including the same heavy-duty, welded-frame, all-steel construction, tough epoxy finish, non-sag woven-steel mesh base and five year guarantee. Both beds are very easy to handle and are suitable for REGULAR NIGHTLY USE.

          The 'Glideaway' and 'Rollaway' differ as follows:

• The 'Glideaway' is equipped with automatically opening and retracting legs and comes complete with a lightweight, high-specification, wipe-clean/'waterproof' mattress. The 'Glideaway folds in half when not required, can be used virtually anywhere in a room and will fit into most spaces. Apart from a fitted sheet, it cannot however be left made-up when folded, although the XH version comes complete with a bedding tray and all models can be supplied with a flat-packed, self-assembly cabinet, with a shelf to store the bedding.

• The 'Rollaway' is basically a 'Horizontal' wall bed on wheels, will take a proper interior sprung mattress and can be folded up with all the bedding - including the pillows. The (manual) leg action on this model has been combined with a locking device, to ensure that the bed stays folded up during storage/transit. Unlike the 'Glideaway', the 'Rollaway' cannot be used anywhere in a room and is designed to be used with one long side against a wall. Back to top

• How comfortable are GP Contracts' space-savers?

• EXTREMELY. A firm, non-sag, woven-steel mesh base ensures proper anatomical support, similar to continental-style slatted beds, but many times stronger - (no wooden slats, or 'foundations' to break). To complement our 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds and 'Rollaway' Guest Bed, we offer a range of quality, interior sprung  mattresses, some with wipe-clean/'waterproof' covers and a De Luxe lightweight, wipe-clean/'waterproof' foam mattress. Alternatively, customers can supply their own mattresses. The 'Glideaway' comes complete with a lightweight, high-specification, wipe-clean/'waterproof' foam mattress. (All our mattresses are flame retardant to Ignition Source 5. Some models are available to Ignition Source 7). Back to top

• Are GP Contracts' space-savers easy and convenient to use?

• VERY. The welded, all-steel construction of our 'Wiskaway' Wallbed frames, makes for maximum strength. For ease of operation, our 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds feature automatic leg action and are additionally counterbalanced, by means of heavy-duty steel springs, or pneumatic cylinders, depending on the model. This makes lifting the beds up and down 'a piece of cake'. Since 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds can be stowed away fully made up, they can be 'down' and ready to use in literally seconds! Flexible bedding retaining straps, supplied with the beds, attach permanently to one end or side and are simply hooked across, before the bed is folded away, to hold the mattress and bedding, including the pillows, in place. Nothing could be simpler!
  
  Our 'Glideaway' and 'Rollaway' Guest Beds boast many of the features of our 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds and have been specifically designed, not just for strength and durability, but also for maximum ease of handling and flexibility of use.
  
  All our products are supplied complete with permanently attached, laminated, step-by-step operating instructions. Back to top

• Do GP Contracts' space-savers need special bedding?

• NO. Our 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds and 'Rollaway' Guest Bed are designed to be used and folded away, with a standard sized spring interior (or foam) mattress and either ordinary sheets and blankets, or fitted sheets and duvets. Our 'Vertical' 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds can additionally be used with a valance, a bedspread and a (wall mounted) headboard. Our 'Glideaway' Guest Bed will also take standard bedding (but cannot be left made-up, when folded). Back to top

• What sizes do GP Contracts' space-savers come in?

• Our 'Glideaway' and 'Rollaway' Guest Beds come in a variety of single sizes (please see product pages for details), whilst our 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds come in 'Horizontal' (sideways folding), or 'Vertical' versions, in a choice of standard single and double (not models 9000 and 10000) and in made-to-measure sizes (please see product pages for details). Back to top

• What finishes do GP Contracts' space-savers come in?

• Our 'Glideaway', 'Rollaway' and 'Wiskaway' 1000 and 2000 models come finished in a choice of sixteen tough, easy-clean, epoxy colours (see product pages for details).
  
  Our other 'Wiskaway' Wallbed models (those with integral housings) are available, with epoxy-coated frames and with housings in a wide choice of finishes, ranging from wipe-clean MFC and plastic laminates, to real veneers. In addition to a choice of standard finishes, special finishes can be supplied (e.g.: to match the decor/other furniture). Back to top

• How would one choose between GP Contracts' 'Glideaway'/'Rollaway' Guest Beds and 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds?

• Our 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds provide the ultimate solution in terms of safety, durability, comfort, convenience and space-efficiency, to providing rest/overnight facilities, in contract situations where space is at a premium, or where the room in question needs to have a second daytime function. This is because they are counterbalanced and can be folded away effortlessly, in just seconds, complete with all the bedding, including the pillows, for regular nightly use. They are also available in a range of double, as well as single sizes (except models 9000 and 10000).
  
  As our 'Wiskaway' Wallbeds are designed to be fixed permanently in position, however, they do not always fit into existing situations and are therefore more frequently specified for new-build and refurbishment projects.
  
  Our 'Glideaway' and 'Rollaway' Guest Beds only come in single sizes, but have the advantage that they can be folded up when not in use and moved easily from one location to another, or into storage. A fitted sheet can be left on the 'Glideaway' when it is folded up: the rest of the bedding has to be stored elsewhere, except on the 'Glideaway' XH, which has an integral bedding tray. The 'Rollaway', on the other hand, can be folded up and stored fully made-up. Because it is compact and extremely mobile, the 'Glideaway' will generally integrate well into most existing spaces, whilst the 'Rollaway' needs to be used with one long side against a wall. Back to top

• We are unsure which model is best suited to our needs. Can you provide further advice?

• YES. GP Contracts offers a FREE in-house consultancy service, to prospective customers and architects, to help determine the best model(s) and size(s) for the job in-hand and the available budget. On larger projects, we are also able to make site visits, to measure-up, attend design meetings, etc. Please contact us for further details. Back to top

• We cannot find exactly what we want on your website. Can you still help?

• QUITE POSSIBLY! In addition to the standard sizes featured on this website, we are able to offer most of our products in special made-to-measure sizes. Other modifications are also available on larger projects, to suit customers' requirements. Examples include extra high/low beds, beds to fit into odd shaped spaces, etc.
  
  We are also able to provide a larger range of wall beds, than is featured on this website. We have featured here, the models which have proved the most popular over the years, but we can supply others. We are also able to supply free-standing, all-steel divan bases and bunk beds, featuring the same heavy-duty, all-steel, welded-frame, epoxy-coated construction and non-sag, woven-steel mesh base, as our wall beds and guest beds. So, if you can't find what you're looking for on this website, do ask us! Please contact us for further details. Back to top