Honestly, there isn’t one fixed noise level for moving urban outdoor furniture chairs. The sound depends far more on how the chair is moved than on the fact that it’s outdoors. If you lift a light bistro chair or roll a well-designed chair with rubber casters across a smooth pavement, the noise is usually modest—roughly 45–60 dBA at about one metre, similar to normal conversation or a quiet office. If someone drags a metal or concrete chair across concrete or stone, the noise can climb quickly. Scraping legs and vibration through the pavement often push it into the 70–90 dBA range, with short, sharp peaks when a metal leg skips or a stack of chairs shifts. That’s noticeable and can be annoying in cafés, parks, plazas, and residential courtyards.
Material and surface matter a lot. Plastic and wood on concrete are usually less harsh than bare metal on stone; rubber feet, nylon glides, and casters reduce impact and scraping. Wet or gritty surfaces can make dragging louder, while grass, rubber pavers, and decking tend to soften the sound. The quietest approach is simple: lift rather than drag, move one chair at a time, use chairs with rubberised feet or large soft casters, and avoid moving stacks across hard paving during quiet hours. In practice, a well-handled urban outdoor chair can be a mild background sound; a dragged metal chair can be the loudest thing on the block.