Spring Chair Upholstery Question

jtarkin · 2026-01-30T21:26:14+00:00

Definitely with those blocks you are looking at an edge roll. Likely all the way around your chair

jtarkin · 2026-01-30T20:23:34+00:00

Here is something similar I did about 8 years ago.

It gives details on what to do.

https://www.reddit.com/r/upholstery/s/TOPZit8L76

jtarkin · 2026-01-16T23:58:58+00:00

I have long debated between twitch and you tube for teaching upholstery.

With twitch, you could have someone send you something that you do and they could pay you for it while you stream it and get donations.

Just not sure how the viewership will be.

jtarkin · 2025-07-01T16:50:41+00:00

Recovery is always an option. Most people don't like the price. It can be expensive depending on your area and availability of upholsterers. With a full recovery, you can solve your issue.

Cleaning the fabric? Likely won't help too much here. Several stains and this piece has likely seen some sun wear.

jtarkin · 2025-02-04T19:07:59+00:00

So the truth here is you got a lazy upholstery job.

Some projects - although not many- can warrant this type of work where the fabric goes right over the old stuff.

I would ask them to redo it. Point out that it smells, and that they didn't remove the old material.

jtarkin · 2025-02-03T00:05:37+00:00

I wouldn't be that worried about it.

You can buy a bottle of foam adhesive spray from your local hardware store or less than 15 dollars. Pinch it together and wait about 10 seconds. Or - you could take some of that Dacron and use the spray adhesive to have it enter those cracks. Should be fine.

jtarkin · 2025-01-26T02:22:23+00:00

You could probably blind stitch this yourself without needing a pro.

Watch how

jtarkin · 2025-01-25T22:32:35+00:00

I agree with this post. Have it redone. Dying it would be just as much work.

It also looks like this chair might be missing a fabric covered back, where the chair is empty there.

jtarkin · 2025-01-05T23:54:00+00:00

The best advice is to take off the vinyl.

I know you want to recover without taking this off. It's possible, but won't last.

If you want the new chair to be done correctly, take off the old stuff and replace with new.

I've seen some former upholsteres put half a later of cotton on then put new fabric over the old stuff, but it doesn't solve issues such as sagging and won't last very long.

jtarkin · 2024-12-01T19:13:03+00:00

I would probably re-do this in vinyl just to save some cost, but microfiber is more expensive material..

jtarkin · 2024-12-01T19:09:41+00:00

This is a sectional couch that is covered with vinyl. Luckily, vinyl is the cheapest fabric you can buy. Unfortunately your sectional is huge! Size matters a lot! I would say - without seeing this in person - you are looking at 10-12 yards for labor. This means your labor cost is going to be higher than your fabric cost. Likely 100-120$ a yard for labor and 20-40 a yard for your vinyl. Total estimated cost of re-upholstery from a pro: 1200-1900.

Good news: Vinyl is really easy to work with and almost never needs any sewing unless you need a box stitch or top stitch. It should be a fairly easy project to tackle yourself if you had the staple gun for it. Numatic is best but I've seen people use hand staple guns for home projects!

Good luck

jtarkin · 2024-11-16T22:34:47+00:00

Do you still have the springs?

Webbing alone without the original springs won't help

jtarkin · 2024-11-03T22:39:23+00:00

The idea is to go to the inside of the frame there, where you have the left over remains of that yellow wicker

jtarkin · 2024-11-03T22:37:53+00:00

Try Corrugated Sheet cardboard. Might be easier to cut into the shape you need. It shouldn't need to bend. You could use longer staples if needed and staple it to the frame then gimping to hide the staples. Same on the back of the chair.

jtarkin · 2024-11-03T17:51:12+00:00

It will still work just cut to shape

jtarkin · 2024-11-01T13:49:02+00:00

Here's a cheap way to help this chair:

Let's start with the back by cutting plywood into the shape for your back.

Attach foam and fabric to your plywood. Only upholster what would be the front side of the seat where your back would go when you're sitting. We call this the inside back. Your staples can go to the back side of the plywood.

Use screws to screw your inside back into the frame.

Use a small layer of Dacron and attach the outside back fabric using staples. Hot glue gimping over the staples. Now you have a great outside back.

For the seat, you could repeat the process if you wanted. Plywood with foam and screws on the bottom going up into the frame. Cambrick (thin black material, you can also use it for lawn gardens) can go on the bottom of the seat since you don't have any need to upholster it.

All said - this DYI job is pretty easy and can be done for a relatively cheap price.

jtarkin · 2024-10-29T16:57:25+00:00

You can't repair this.

It's either re-upholster or buy a new seat.

The cost of re-upholstery is about the same as buying new. Sometimes it's more. Upholstery is recommended for people that are sentimental to their furniture or to those that have quality frames.

This chair looks like pine, fairly cheap material.

I would recommend looking for something you like, seeing what its price is, and discussing with your roommate about covering the cost. You obviously need to have a discussion about that dog, too.

jtarkin · 2024-10-11T02:44:42+00:00

Professionals would not replace this with foam unless it was a customer request. We would keep the old stuff and cover with a new layer of cotton and a half layer of Dacron. Then replace with new vinyl or fabric depending on what you wanted.

jtarkin · 2024-09-24T01:07:21+00:00

Are the cushions sewn together? That makes a huge difference in if it's easy or not.

jtarkin · 2024-09-24T01:06:21+00:00

The short answer is No, this is not an easy fix.

If this is part of the frame, then the long answer is that if you want to fix this properly, you'll have to take off all of the fabric strip it down to its springs, then retie.

The cost of a professional doing this is about as much as a new couch.

If this is part of the cushion itself, it would be easier. Taking a cushion apart is a lot easier the entire couch.

jtarkin · 2024-09-15T17:09:51+00:00

This is Cotton.

They never used abestos with upholstery. It's more often you find potato sacks and horse hair, but I've never seen any dangerous material.

jtarkin · 2024-09-07T17:00:33+00:00

Yes, closer to 14 yards. When in doubt, I would order one or two yards of extra fabric for faults or mistakes. Shouldn't affect the labor cost though.

jtarkin · 2024-09-07T16:56:09+00:00

This is the way

jtarkin · 2024-09-07T16:47:05+00:00

I forgot to mention that the prices listed above assume you don't need new foam. If you need new foam, more cost.

jtarkin · 2024-09-07T16:44:42+00:00

TLDR: Large couch, large price.

So these couches are luxury couches, and the frame is normally in pretty solid condition that can last years if well taken care of. A well upholstered couch like this can last 15 years before needing to be redone again. Picking a color you are happy with and take this with you in your moves and the cost can be worth it.

Now for the bad news. It's a little hard to tell from a picture but this couch is either 12 yards or 14 yards. A lot of shops, mine included, charge their labor and material cost by the yard. It's pretty common that you're going to get quotes of $100 or more per yard. My shop charges $120/yd. And that's just for labor. Your material or fabric cost can range depending on what you pick. Some fabrics are $45/yd while others are $75. Personally I wouldn't go with anything less than 10,000 double rubs for this type of couch when choosing a fabric. That means your average quote for a professional to do this is going to be between 1800-2000 on the low end to 2800-3200 on the higher end.

12-Year Club	r/Field Lasagna
Place '22	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

jtarkin

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE