Features of DIY sofa repair, tips for beginners
During operation, upholstered furniture wears out and loses its original appearance. Dents on the seat, failure of the spring unit and damaged upholstery are the most common problems. You can solve them without serious costs by repairing the sofa with your own hands, without resorting to the help of professionals. Work does not require special skills, but it must be done carefully and consistently.
Content
Design and possible damage
All upholstered furniture, regardless of design, includes the basic elements. It:
- a frame consisting of solid wood, metal or chipboard;
- soft part (foam core filler, spring block);
- upholstery, which is used as furniture fabric, natural or artificial leather.
The sofa can be sleeping or designed exclusively for sitting. The folding, in addition to the above elements, has a special transformation mechanism, with which you can organize a place to relax at night. The failure of its elements is the main reason why the sofa does not function well. For restoration, you will have to determine the type of mechanism in order to repair it or install a new one. The most popular are:
- "Book". Most common. To unfold the sofa, you need to raise the seat to a position where you hear a click, and then lower it.
- Eurobook. The seat is pushed forward, the back is lowered into the resulting space.
- "Click-gag." Models with such a mechanism have a metal frame, while you can transform the sofa in 2 ways - completely or in a reclining position.
- "Accordion". The back of the sofa is double-sided. It rises, extends, both parts are straightened. Most often, due to the high load, the elements of the mechanism are deformed, they cannot be repaired, replacement is necessary.
- "Dolphin". Most often found in corner models. The lower part of the sofa is pushed forward, which is leveled to the height of the seat with the help of pillows or filler.
If the mechanism is not broken, but the sofa is not being transformed tightly or the sofa does not unfold, it is necessary to inspect the structure and find out what interferes with normal operation. Perhaps some furniture items are bent or rusty. In this case, you can try to solve the problem without changing the mechanism completely. Other frequently occurring breakdowns and methods for their elimination are presented in the table.
| Problem | Cause | Solution method |
| The seat is being squeezed | Filler deformation | Do-it-yourself or custom-made foam rubber replacement in the sofa. Use a special, furniture, whose thickness is from 40 mm and more |
| Creak when pressed on the seat, uneven surface (hollows and bulges) | Spring unit malfunction | Inspection of the spring unit, assessment of its condition. Repair or replacement |
| The sofa failed in the middle | Frame problem | The frame is a frame made of wood or metal, covered from above with sheet material (furniture board, plywood or chipboard). It is the upper part that experiences a large load, so it can crack over time. It is necessary to dismantle the damaged element and install a new one.
If the wooden frame is cracked, they are completely disassembled, a part similar in parameters is made and replaced. The metal frame at home cannot be repaired - you will need a welding machine |
| Torn, frayed or stained upholstery | Wear, mechanical damage | Furniture banner |
Necessary tools
Before proceeding with the repair at home, the furniture needs to be disassembled. The necessary tools, consumables and new materials should be prepared to replace those that have become unusable. For DIY repair of the sofa you will need:
- screwdriver;
- flat screwdriver;
- open-end wrenches (diameter 10, 12, 14 mm);
- pliers;
- angle wrench.
To troubleshoot, you will also need:
- self-tapping screws;
- joiner's glue;
- furniture stapler and staples;
- construction knife;
- roulette;
- pencil.
To replace the upholstery, you will need furniture fabric or leather to restore a sagging sofa - a new spring block, a filler (foam or polyurethane, as well as synthetic winterizer or batting). To repair the frame, you need bars and sheet material (plywood, chipboard). When repairing an angular sofa equipped with a dolphin driving mechanism, new rollers may be required. In cases where the metal frame is bent or cracked, it will not be possible to straighten it on its own; elements will need to be replaced.
How to disassemble a sofa yourself
Repair work begins with disassembly. In the process, it is recommended to photograph every step so that during assembly you can see if everything is done correctly. Procedure:
- Dismantling the armrests. They are fixed to the frame with bolts on the sides of the wooden frame. To open access to them, the seat is pulled out or raised (depending on the design of the furniture), then the fasteners are unscrewed with keys of the corresponding diameter.
- Removing the transformation mechanism. It is mounted on the sides of the frame, back and seat. Using a screwdriver or a Phillips screwdriver, unscrew the fasteners.
- Dismantling the backrest with the seat. Both elements are interconnected by a transformation mechanism. After removing the latter, they are easily detached from each other and from the frame. In some models, the back can be screwed to the frame, then you need to remove the bolts holding it.
- Upholstery removal. The back and seat are turned upside down, with the help of a flat screwdriver, the staples that hold the fabric on the frame are gently pulled out. Each piece of material is signed or marked so as not to get confused when hauling.
- Dismantling the filler and spring unit. Between the upholstery and foam rubber there is usually a layer of batting or sintepon. Carefully clean it by unfastening the staples, then inspect the filler. If there are noticeable depressions, dirt or traces of destruction on it, they are removed. Assess the degree of damage to the unit. If there are burst springs, broken joints, bent sections on the frame, you will have to replace it with a new one. The old one is removed by pulling nails or staples from the frame.
Upholstery removal and further actions are performed only if the soft part of the sofa is repaired or the upholstery is changed. For problems with the frame or the transformation mechanism, a full analysis is not required. In order to most accurately understand the possible scope of work, you should first familiarize yourself with thematic videos, for example, on the topic “Repairing upholstered furniture”.
Do-it-yourself repair according to the type of breakdown
The sequence of actions during repair depends on the type of breakdown.Often, several operations are required at once. For example, along with the change of the spring unit, you can replace the foam in the couch.
Soft part
If the sofa sags, when dents are pressed, dents remain on it, then the filler is changed. After dismantling the furniture, removing the upholstery and internal contents, they begin to cut parts from the new material. In the sofa, foam is replaced as follows:
- A piece of new foam rubber is spread on a flat surface, and the old one is laid on top. With the help of a pen, they outline the contours, cut out with a construction knife.
- Apply the workpiece to the frame, check if there are any protruding parts, if necessary, cut off the excess.
- The lower part of the part is coated with wood glue.
- Lay the workpiece on the frame, press it evenly tightly.
After the glue has dried, a layer of batting or synthetic winterizer is laid on top of the filler, attaching the edges of the material to the underside of the frame with a stapler. Then the sofa is sheathed with new upholstery. To increase the service life of furniture fabric, an additional non-woven lining can be used.
Spring unit
Replacing the spring unit is not always required - if the main part is intact, then you can try to fix the problem areas. This will require pliers, wire cutters and red-hot wire of small diameter. Start by inspecting the unit. Bent springs can be restored to their original position using pliers without dismantling or disassembling the structure. If the elements are damaged, they are replaced with new ones. To do this, carefully cut the problem spring with a pair of pliers, install a new spring in its place, connecting it to the block with a wire.
If there are a lot of broken springs in the sofa, you will have to dismantle the unit completely and install a new one.
In budget models, instead of the spring block, a “snake” can be used - a design of separate thick springs attached to the sides of the frame at an equal distance from each other. Repair in this case is simple. Typically, the loss of elasticity of the seat is caused by the detachment of one or more elements from the frame, so it is enough to fix the spring back. If these products are cracked, and there is no way to find new ones, textile belt tapes are used. The procedure for repairing the spring block in the sofa:
- The tape is wound on a wooden block.
- The free end is applied to the place where the removed spring was located. The tip is bent and, with the help of a furniture stapler, is firmly fixed to the frame.
- Apply tape to the opposite end of the frame. To ensure high-quality tension, pull the bar and nail the textile sling with brackets, cut off the fixed piece from the main skein.
In this way, you can not only solve the problem of missing springs, but also additionally sheathe the entire frame to extend the life of the "snake" and give the seat more elasticity.
Frame
To carry out the repair of the frame, the armrests, the upper and lower parts of the structure are dismantled. Inspect the parts and identify damage. If there are cracks in the frame, the structure is completely disassembled, the broken element is measured and a new part is made. For its manufacture, only dried wood is used - raw in the process is deformed, which will lead to new problems. If there are no skills to work with the material, order the part according to its size in the carpentry workshop, then assemble the frame again.If necessary, strengthen the frame by installing additional transverse logs, screwing furniture bolts or self-tapping screws at the joints of the parts, smearing areas with a tongue-and-groove joint with wood glue.
Transformation mechanism
Repair of a folding sofa is most often associated precisely with the replacement of the transformation mechanism or its individual parts. Normally folding the sofa may interfere with rust on this element. To remove it, use special anti-corrosion sprays, for example, WD-40. The liquid is sprayed on the problem areas, and after the time indicated on the packaging is wiped with a dry cloth. After this treatment, all parts are lubricated. Repair of mechanisms of sofas with damaged (bent, cracked) elements is useless, a complete replacement is necessary. You need to purchase a design of the same type and install in place of the old one.
Case and Cover
After disassembling the sofa, the upholstery is carefully removed from all parts. Then:
- They spread the furniture fabric face down on the floor, straighten all the folds.
- Old covers are laid out over it. Outline the contours with tailor's chalk, making allowances on each side of 5-7 cm.
- Cut out with scissors patterns.
- Cut fabric is spread on a flat surface with the wrong side up. A part is placed on it, which must be tightened, face down.
- The edges of the upholstery start on the back side, with the help of a furniture stapler attached to the frame. The fabric should be sufficiently stretched so that wrinkles or wrinkles do not form on the surface of the product.
- First, the material is fixed with 2 brackets on each side, then, evenly spreading, they are driven along the entire perimeter of the frame.
Repairing sofas on your own is not a complicated process technologically, but requires care and accuracy. With a competent approach, you can return furniture functionality and original appearance with minimal cost. The restoration time will depend on the skills of the master and the amount of work.
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