Broken Upholstered Seat Repair with Pro Upholstery Tips - Furniture Restoration & How To
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- Опубліковано 13 чер 2024
- Learn how to remove and reinstall upholstery on a broken upholstered seat. It was a bit puzzling to find an upholstered chair seat with a broken board in it but once the dust cover was peeled back, wow, what a surprise! The material used to support the seat cushion should be strong but what I found was a material I've never seen before. It was broken in multiple pieces and I could snap off parts with my bare hands. It was a green board with loosely packed wood chips that failed to do the job it was supposed to do.
I started this furniture restoration project by removing the existing dust cover (black fabric on the underside of the seat cushion), the faux leather fabric, and the upholstery foam. I then reassembled the broken green board on a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to trace it out and make a replacement for the seat. I cut it out with a jigsaw and sanded the edges to round them over.
To put the seat cushion back together, I called in a pro to help me out. Kim Changnon is an Upholstery instructor with a UA-cam channel called @KimsUpholstery Kim also has a member site for online classes and resources kimsupholstery.com
9:48 Install the Foam - With Kim's help, I started by spraying adhesive on the plywood and the foam cushion to secure the foam in place. I then wrapped the existing foam around the sides and stapled it underneath with a pneumatic upholstery stapler.
10:52 Attach the Fabric - The next step was to reinstall the seat fabric. Kim coached me through marking the center on the seat cushion and the fabric to ensure the fabric would be centered on the seat. Once it was on, and in the right spot, I flipped it over and tacked it on with one staple in the middle of each side while guessing how much tension to put on the fabric. I then flipped the seat upright and Kim taught me how to check if the fabric has the right amount of tension on it.
13:06 Fabric Tension - As shown in the video, I swept my hands across the fabric from the outside to the middle. If it bunches in the middle, it's too loose. If the fabric isn't too loose, it might be too tight, in which case you will see some puckering at the edges. Kim described this as a process of trial and error where you simply remove a staple, change the tension and look at it again. Different fabrics behave different ways so the amount of tension required will change project by project. Once I understood the right amount of tension to use I installed staples all around the perimeter of the fabric on the seat.
13:58 Attach the Dust Cover - The black fabric on the underside of an upholstery seat is called a dust cover. This is a fabric that does't fray at the edges and covers up the plywood and staples from the upholstery fabric. It's simple to attach. You just roll the excess dust cover material underneath so you get a nice smooth edge and staple it on. I started by putting one staple in the middle of each side. Then I stapled the corners. Then the fun part... shooting a bunch of staples around the perimeter of the seat. I don't know why I like doing this so much, but it's fun when using a pneumatic stapler.
15:34 - Kim shared some tips and advice in this video including a suggestion to "take your time and be patient" as you learn upholstery skills. I appreciate the unique skills required for upholstery and I was happy to have the help from a professional. Please check out Kim's Upholstery on UA-cam and subscribe.
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This video is hosted by Scott Bennett, Owner of Wooden It Be Nice - Furniture Repair in Brooklin, Ontario, Canada. WoodenItBeNice.ca
#repair #upholstery #furniture - Навчання та стиль
Boy,-I was so excited about this video. I plan to look at her UA-cam channel.
Scott, this was wonderful. Carol from California
Glad you enjoyed it Carol. Thanks for sharing that! Scott
That trick for finding the right tautness on the fabric of pushing both hands together on it is super helpful I never would have thought of that.
Glad it was helpful! Kim is a great teacher. Scott
Kim is the best!
Upholstery and furniture really do go hand in hand, so I've had to learn both at the same time. It is a logical move to have an expert in upholstery on your channel. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing that. Scott
Outstanding. Not only did I learn something about upholstery but also answered a question I have about a current project.
That's great. I'm happy you found it helpful. Scott
I don't need to do any upholstery at the moment but you never know so it's good to know it's not impossible or beyond me and that good how-to information is available. Thanks.
Gland to hear you enjoyed gaining some new knowedge. Thanks for watching and I hope you become a subscriber. Scott
@@FixingFurniture umm, I have been for some time...?
Thanks again Scott. the 5K was over a period of 12-14 years I forgot to mention that. Thanks again for all that you do.
You're welcome. Thanks for being part of the community! Scott
Great timing! Just starting to reupholster a patio set. I subscribed tyvm!
Awesome! Thank you! Scott
Excellent info! I have a membership with Kim’s Upholstery! Thanks!
Thanks for subscribing Wendy and letting us know you're a member of Kim's Upholstery. Welcome! Scott
Hi Scott nicely done! my wife and i have been doing seats as you just did for years for a resort. (have done over 5,000 so far. and I do the stripping and she does the covering. and I get to replace broken wood all the time. I use 3/4 inch masonite. or pressboard depending on where you are from. and I also drill a 3/4 hole dead center of the wood to let air trapped in the foam or cushion have an escape route to relive the pressure it normally exerts on the staple joint area. And it also avoids unnecessary "sounds" also. And beleive it or not I have even had some of the 3/4 inch wood get broken??!! how and why they do it? I don't know. but it has happened Thanks for an interesting video and for sharing.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this Ellis. 5,000 chairs is a lot of work! I like your tip on drilling a hole for air to escape... I will do that going forward. Thanks for contributing to our furniture repair community! Scott
Very good and very informative. My son wants to try upholstery work and I will make sure he sees this and checks out Kim's site if he hasn't already.
That's great. Thanks for passing it along. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Scott
@bigdteakettle Thanks we would be happy to help your son learn upholstery.
Always good information and presentation
So nice of you. Thanks Joshua!
So helpful information.
Glad you think so! Cheers. Scott
4:10 Particle board is not lighter, it's actually heavier than plywood. They used it because it's extremely cheap compared to plywood or solid wood. It's also possible this got damp or wet at some point which significantly weakens it.
Thank you for the info Scott! Love your channel and just subscribed to Kim's. I'm ready to learn more!
Awesome! Thank you! Scott
Enjoyed seeing Kim from Kim’s Upholstery. You chose an excellent teacher to help with this project. Good job. Just found your channel and subscribed. Looking forward to your videos.
Yes, she's a wonderful teacher! Welcome to our channel LeAnn! Scott
Hallo Scot. About a month ago I wrote that the material from the chair you were repairing was called “Bison”. But I made a mistake. It is called “chip-board”. Sorry for the confusion. Keep well. Alessandro , Italy
Thank you! Scott
That Board is a Particle Board made of sugar cane. The reason it broked is humidity, from water or other liquid or from human bean.
Wow, interesting. Thank you for sharing that Ideiva! Scott
Hi,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I’m just wondering how do you attach the seat back to the chair since I didn’t see any hole made onto the plywood for them to attach back with the screws.
Thanks scott i really like your videos and how they progress... On a side note your tone and rhythm in speaking is very reliving try going to the audio books industry and you'll rock
Lol, thanks Mohamed!
I agree!
I not sure whether you found out what that board is, but it's a chipboard sheet, very common here in Brazil.
I have nothing to say really, but I appreciate your content, and wish to help with the yt-algorithms.
Thanks Marius. I'd love to hear your thoughts next time. Cheers. Scott
@@FixingFurniture I'll try to share my actual thoughts more often. My standard comment is to make sure I remember to comment on all videos from my favorite creators :)
Thanks Scott! If the seat needed to be screwed back on, when did you drill holes to reattach? Thanks!
Likely what happened to the seat of this chair is that it was made of particle board. if the humidity changes, as often happens in a dining room or kitchen, wood will expand or shrink. since this material has no structure to it, it just crumbles. I was able to tell that this was most likely what was used at the beginning when you first explained what the problem was. for furture business, the customer likely has three more just like that if they haven't yet will soon all have the same issue.
Thanks for sharing that Paul! Scott
This looks just like the seat i am planning to repair. My seat was broken and it had so many staples. I was trying to save the fabric, but that's not going to happen
that type of particle board was common back in the 80s and I remember working with it, if you got ANY moisture on it the particles delaminate because they absorb the moisture and expand breaking the bonds, and on the surface will show obvious raised deformations in seconds. Get he whole thing wet and the board will disintegrate. Definitely not supposed to be used for anything loadbearing like a seat or table top. Buried inside a kitchen cabinet where it won't get wet or is covered in a laminate to protect it but any water gets on the wood and boom, destroyed.
I bought an antique platform rocker that it turns out was padded with a combination of straw and what looked like post industrial fabric fibers (since there was a mixture of dyed fibers).
Hallo Scot. Great tutorial. Thank you. That material/board is called “Bison” in Southern Africa. In Italy it’s called “Truciolato” , shavings and saw dust glued together.
Oh, that's great! Thank you for identifying this material Alessandro. #Tip
@@FixingFurniture my pleasure. Thanks again for all your videos. Truly instructive.
Kim: “we’re all guilty of standing on our chairs sometimes”
Scott: “this interview is over.”
I took the seat off one of my dining chairs because I wanted to wash the fabric. Once removed from the chair, it took FOREVER to get all the staples out! Whoever put that seat cover on must have been told to use up surplus staples! They went way overboard!
Oh, that's not fun. I can see how it happens though - when you're got a pneumatic stapler, they're really fun and easy to use. Sounds like someone was having too much fun in their workshop! Cheers. Scott
👍👍👍
beautiful 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you! Cheers!
What was the name of the saw used to cut out the seat board?
Hi Scott....I have never seen that kind of chipboard before, pretty bad stuff, makes you wonder if that was a piece that didn't cook all the way through or if it's all made like that....great video...Take care...stay safe...
Thanks Martine. You stay safe too! Scott
I like your videos. Congratulations for this and the sharing of knowledges.
My English is not perfect and maybe I missed something. So, I would like to know if stapling the fabric perpendicular or parallel to the edge of the plywood provides more reliability in attaching the upholstery fabric to the chair?
It's better to staple it parallel to the edge. That way you have 2 parts of the staple to hold the fabric in two different spots versus a staple holding in line with the tension of the fabric. I hope that answers your question. Scott
@@FixingFurniture Thank you for your answer.
I noticed that you did not put holes in the new seat base as were in the old base. I know that many chairs I have, have holes in the base wood which I thought was for air flow and to prevent the fabric from blowing out when someone sits on the chair giving the air somewhere to go. Are these holes necessary?
Very insightful video and thanks for sharing. However, I might have different opinion on flat pack designs. I would say the design of joinery and choice of right material rather than the mere fact of being a flat pack design is what makes a product quality one or not. We have flat pack designs that can withstand quite a lot of abuse; be it stand on it or balancing on back lags (a big no no as you know!)
You're welcome. I'm glad you're happy with your flat-packed chairs Fater.
It's OSB. Nice for underlay of your walls finish, but in no world should be used in furniture
But how do you attach it back to the chair?
Without the vent holes drilled in the seat plywood, air is not going to escape as effectively as it did previously when someone sits on it - gives you that feeling like it is going to pop when you sit on it initially.
That is for sure just cheap as chips particle board which has deteriorated over time. They're common in a lot of applications, and unfortunately cheap furniture is one. IKEA bookcases are made from the stuff, just with a laminate surface glued on top.
If someone made a bookcase out of this stuff, there would be quite an avalanche of broken shelves at some point. I hope there isn't much more of this stuff hidden in furniture out there. Scott
@@FixingFurniture well I somewhat doubt it started out that brittle to begin with. Particle board, while not known for its sturdiness, tends to degrade over time and turn into crumbly messes like you have there. Especially if they're in damp environments that process is much accelerated. Also I suspect this wasn't exactly the high density fiberboard we're talking about here, almost looks like whatever they scraped off the floor of the particle board and OSB factory.
I wonder if it is so weak because it got wet
Hi Scott, I just found your channel and I watched your video on how to identify what kind of finish a person might have on their furniture project (July 12, 2019.) Subbed. I have a pair of tower speakers that I bought back in the early '80s which have an oak veneer on the top and sides. I'm pretty sure the oak veneer has only had an application of oil when they were built (it was a kit that a speaker retailing company was buying, building, and selling.) Since purchasing the speakers, I haven't done anything to the oak finish other than dust it, occasionally. Question: If I find that it is an oil finish, would it be ok to use Murphy's Oil Soap to clean the speakers before applying more oil? Also, if oil, what type of oil might you suggest? Thanks.
I would not use a cleaning solution that contains water as it could cause some damage. Denatured alcohol is a good cleaner. As for what type of oil to use, there are a few, depending on what you want the piece to look like. Here's an article to help decide. Please be aware that oil-soaked rags can start on fire by themselves if not disposed of properly so please research that to be safe. Good luck. Scott
www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/finishes/choosing-best-wood-finish
@@FixingFurniture Ok, thanks for the info.
Very helpful tips, like matching the centers and especially testing the tension.
But watch out with the "You never know what might be coming from other countries."
UA-cam is international. And I'm from another country.
Good point Erik. Thanks for mentioning that! Scott
The plywood could have used some air relief holes.
You're the second person to mention that. I wasn't aware that was a thing so thank you for sharing your knowledge and contributing to the furniture repair community! I love that we can come together and help each other out. Scott
@@FixingFurniture air holes are useful if you have a fabric like vinyl or leather that does not breath and you need a place for the air to escape 😉.
I have a project now saame thing stood on chair. Its a cheap board.
Interesting videos about restoring furniture. However, you might lower the microphone level as it keeps distorting on your videos.
Thanks for the feedback Olle. Do other UA-cam videos sound the same way or is it just ours? I've had the opposite complaint from some people not being able to hear well. Thanks. Scott
@@FixingFurniture Well, it is mostley significant in this video. Kim sound absolutely perfect, no distortion on her voice. I don't know what equipment you have, but your setting on your microphone is way to high. Being an old sound engineer I never put peaks higher than -12 when recording digitally as I can adjust the level in post production. You also have a basey voice, so it you cut the base from 100 (maybe 150) Hz your voice will be easier to come thru for those who have hearing problems.
By the way, after looking on your videos I could help my 97 year old mother repairing a three legged table that had lost one of the legs. She is happy, I am happy and all thanks to you. Keep up the good vork Scott!
It seems the chinese instead of using glue they had to spit to hold that particle board together.
I wonder if it got very wet to fall apart like that
Worst piece of particle board I've ever seen! If I was shown 4:16 out of context I'd say it's assorted bird seeds held together by compressed bird droppings…
Lol, yeah that wouldn't hold well together would it? Thanks for the chuckle. Scott