Do-it-yourself sofa upholstery: step by step instructions, photos, videos

Any thing eventually becomes unusable and upholstered furniture is no exception. But in the case of furniture, it is possible to restore its original appearance and properties. This article will discuss self-upholstery of the sofa. How, what and in what order to do, what materials to use. 

Damage and types of repairs

Damage to a sofa or other upholstered furniture can be of different “severity”. Depending on the existing injuries, a different set of works is required. Here’s what might happen to your furniture:

• Only the fabric has fallen into disrepair (cats broke on the armrests, for example), i.e. There are no dips in the soft part and no protruding parts. Then everything is more or less simple and you can get by with replacing the upholstery fabric.
  

• There are cracks in places. This damage is due to the wear and tear of the components that form the soft part of the sofa. Depending on the degree of damage and the design of the sofa itself, it may be necessary to replace the synthetic winterizer and other underlying layers. In more severe cases, repair of spring blocks is required, if any, or foam rubber / silicone if the sofa is spring. If the upholstery looks quite decent, it can be washed and used again.
• Crack at the bottom of the seat. Sometimes, due to high loads, the springs break through the bottom of the frame. Most often this happens if it is made of fiberboard. In this case, you will have to disassemble everything, remove the spring dock, replace the fiberboard (preferably with plywood).
  

• Frame damage. One of the most annoying things is cracks in the frame bars. The sofa will have to be completely disassembled, the broken bars replaced, then everything restored. This is a complete upholstery sofa. Essentially, you are assembling a new one.

So the upholstery of the sofa may include different work. From a simple upholstery replacement to a complete refurbishment, including part of the frame. The most troublesome part is with spring blocks. This is a long and painstaking job. If the “historical accuracy” of your furniture is not important to you, it is easier to replace a failed spring block with foam rubber or (better, but more expensive) furniture silicone. If everything is done correctly, the sofa will become even more comfortable: incorrectly tightened springs cause a lot of inconvenience.

Types of “soft part”

In general terms, let’s talk about what the seat and back of the sofa can be made of. There are options:

• Without springs:
  • Foam rubber (polyurethane foam, the name PPU is also found) of high density (also called furniture).
  • Foam latex. In terms of quality and convenience, it is better than foam rubber, but also much more expensive.
• With springs:
  • with classic springs connected in one block;
  • serpentine springs that support the foam/latex filling.

These are the most common types of sofa seats. In more expensive models, the spring block can be supplemented with a layer of polyurethane foam or latex, which makes the seat more elastic and comfortable at the same time. When constricting, then they look at the state of both parts, replace or leave – depending on the desire and possibilities.

But these are not all layers. In addition to springs, polyurethane foam / latex, a synthetic winterizer or thermal felt (or ordinary felt) is also laid. This is if the sofa is more or less modern and not too expensive. Older exhibits may contain matting or burlap, batting (or something very similar), horsehair, dried seaweed, and other now almost exotic materials for stuffing a sofa. When repairing a sofa, they will need to be replaced with the same ones (if there is a desire to look) or similar in thickness and properties. So, in order to understand how a sofa upholstery should be done, first figure out what is inside it.

We disassemble the sofa and evaluate the scale of work

The upholstery of the sofa begins with its disassembly. In the process, you will be able to assess the extent of the damage and decide what exactly you will need to do. For this part of the job, you will need:

• a large screwdriver to unscrew the visible bolts (if any);
• a small flathead screwdriver, pliers, or a staple remover to remove the staples that hold the upholstery in place.

Actually, everything. First, remove the individual pillows, if any, remove the sidewalls. It’s hard to tell here – there are a lot of designs. Look carefully, you will definitely find something. If there are sliding parts, you can try to start with them.

Separating the upholstery

The next step is to separate the fabric from the frame. It is attached with staples to the wooden bars of the frame. We pry the brackets with a flat screwdriver, pull them out. Some can sit very tightly, it is easier to pull them out by grabbing them by the raised back with pliers or pliers.

We remove the fabric carefully, trying not to damage too much. We then use it as a sample for a new sofa upholstery. There are several layers under the upholstery fabric. Maybe felt, synthetic winterizer, some kind of fabric. If the repair of the sofa was started only for the sake of replacing the upholstery, look at the condition of these materials. If there are signs of wear, it is better to replace. After all, it would be a shame if, in a few months, the sofa would need to be reupholstered again, but already due to the fact that the layers of the lining were worn down.

Once the fabric is off, it’s time to evaluate which parts you’ll need to change. With upholstery and lining under it, everything is clear. It is desirable to keep the pie in the same composition. If old materials were used that are not currently on sale or they are too expensive, replace them with modern analogues. The main thing for folding sofas is to reach the same height of the seat and back that were before, since folding mechanisms are designed for certain parameters of “pillows”. In order not to make a mistake with the thickness of materials, find unworn (or least worn) areas and measure the thickness.

 Assessing the damage

This stage is needed if the sofa seat is uneven, there are humps and depressions, protruding springs (and from below too). In seats that consist only of foam rubber, everything is simple: they usually go under replacement. They can be made from high-density foam rubber, having folded several layers, you can order ready-made foam rubber in a store selling furniture parts. It is reasonable to order a latex mattress according to the exact dimensions (measure after the fabric and all layers have been removed).

If there are springs in the sofa, having removed all the covering layers, we get to them. If there are no broken springs, the frame and its connections are strong, without backlash and cracks, the substrate for the springs is in good condition, you can stop there. We change the covering layers, sew a new cover, stretch and fasten. This completes the upholstery of the sofa.

If there is at least one damage listed above, the spring block will have to be separated. It is attached to the frame frame with U-shaped brackets or nails. Now you have completely disassembled your sofa into components. Next is the replacement and repair of damaged parts, and then reassembly.

Classic box spring sofa pie and possible problems

To understand how to repair a sofa at home, you need to know what layers of materials and in what sequence are needed. For example, in a sofa seat with a spring block, the sequence would be like this (from bottom to top):

1. Frame made of plywood or wooden blocks. The plywood frame is more reliable, but it is longer and more difficult to make. Therefore, pine bars are usually used. They are connected according to the tenon-groove principle, gluing the connection with wood glue. If desired, the connections can be reinforced with dowels or corners (aluminum).
   

2. Base for spring block. There may be options: lamellas (slats of elastic material), fiberboard, plywood. The most budget option is fiberboard, the most expensive is lamellas. The slats are attached to special stops (lat holders). When using plastic stops, there is a possibility of breakage. At the same time, low-quality lamellas can bend (in the normal state they are bent slightly up) or break – to reduce the cost, they are often placed through a large gap. All this leads to the fact that the sofa seat is pressed through. Instead of wooden lamellas, snake springs can still be used. They also have sufficient elasticity, but cost less. The problems with them are the same.
3. The spring block. The block can be with independent or dependent springs. The first is cheaper, the second supports the body well. Such mattresses are also called orthopedic.
4. Felt or thick fabric (Tick, another similar dense fabric will do). This layer is needed so that the springs do not push through the foam rubber above.
5. Polyurethane foam (PPU, foam rubber – all names of one material). A special dense foam rubber is used. If you choose, in addition to density, look at such an indicator as the durability coefficient – the higher the number, the better (and more expensive). This indicator displays how long the foam rubber will restore its original shape after the load is removed. Its thickness is taken from the original, factory cake. It is possible to make thicker without restrictions only on upholstered furniture that does not unfold (bench, sofa, armchair).
6. Syntepon. It is necessary so that the fabric does not “wash” PPU. It is usually glued to a layer of foam rubber – so that during operation it does not gather into folds. Glue is taken in a can.
7. upholstery fabric. The best are tapestry, chenille. They do not crumble, it is easy to sew from them. Flock and jacquard are good fabrics, but some of them “creep” at the seams. Therefore, when sewing, the seams must be strengthened. By the way, it is better to sew upholstery for a sofa with special threads of the Tytan brand. Ordinary, even thick ones, will quickly tear.

These are all layers and their features. You can add something (for example, a double layer of synthetic winterizer), remove it – it is highly undesirable.

The device of the sofa on the springs “snake” and options for its restoration

Snake springs in expensive models are used as an additional means to increase elasticity. In budget models, a foam block can be placed on this base. They are attached to a wooden or metal frame across the seat – each spring separately. The installation step depends on the planned load. If your sofa began to sag, or the springs lost their elasticity, or broke, it is treated with a replacement.

To increase elasticity and extend the life of the sofa, the number of “snakes” can be increased when reupholstering the sofa. Another option is transverse reinforcement with hard corsage ribbons (which are used for straps on bags, backpacks).

The tape is nailed on one side to the frame. Professional furniture makers then stretch it with a special tool, but you can replace it with an ordinary bar wrapped around in the middle with coarse-grained sandpaper. You wind a couple of turns of tape on this beam, pull with both hands (make sure that the frame does not bend), fix the tape with staples or nails, release and cut off the excess. The same method is also suitable for increasing the life of a mattress with slats.

An example of sofa repair with step by step photos

The old sofa became quite uncomfortable, began to fail in places and creak. There is no way to buy a new one, it was decided to drag and change the upholstery. As usual, the sofa upholstery begins with disassembly. The legs were removed first. The railing was fastened on two large bolts, they were unscrewed and removed without any problems. Further disassembly is also easy – we unscrew the bolts that appear in turn.

When all the components were separated, the old upholstery was removed. Staples were removed easily – a frame made of pine timber. The spring block itself turned out to be without defects, but there was a crack in the frame, one of the bars of the frame led, the fiberboard sank, although there were no cracks.

Frame repair

Since the frame bears the main load, it is better to replace damaged elements. We carefully measure them, draw them schematically, put down the dimensions in millimeters. With the drawing we go to the carpentry shop. Pay special attention: the wood must be dry, preferably kiln dried. If you know how to work with wood yourself, you can do it yourself.

It was decided to connect the frame, as it was, with a spike / groove, smearing it with carpentry glue. But in order not to loosen up, the connection was reinforced with metal dowels.

First, the joints are glued, clamped in a vise. A hole of small diameter is drilled under the dowel, the dowel is driven in. The frame is in a vice until the glue dries.

We will use plywood 4 mm thick as the basis for the spring block. The sheets are standard, a little more than 1,5 meters, and the length of the sofa is almost two. It turns out two pieces. It is better to make the joint of the pieces on the jumper, it is more reliable. We cut out the rectangles of the desired size, coat the frame with carpentry glue, lay plywood, nail it with small nails. The length of the nails – so that they do not stick out from the outside of the frame. We additionally support the junction with a bar (50 * 20 mm).

The updated sofa will serve in the country, so we are trying to keep the budget to a minimum, we use an old blanket instead of a substrate for springs. We stretch it well, fasten it with brackets using a manual construction stapler.

If possible, it is advisable to put thermal felt here. It is more reliable and not so expensive. It is cut to size, straightened and nailed around the perimeter. You can use staples or carnations with large hats.

Repair and fix the spring block

To fasten the spring block, you can use powerful U-shaped brackets, and it is better if their legs are sharpened. But the stapler does not work with such, therefore, staples were cut from steel wire with a diameter of 1,5 mm, hammered.

In addition to fastening to the frame, the springs are also fixed with nylon constrictions. Twine was taken, folded in two layers, fixed with the same wire staples. We tighten the constriction so that it does not press down on the springs, but the tension should be sufficient so that the block does not “ride”.

Some dense material should be placed on top of the springs, usually felt. In this case, the old flooring was used. Something like felt. It is quite dense and durable. Fold in two layers, cut to size. This layer must be attached to the spring block. The coating is dense, you can’t pierce it with a needle, even a gypsy one. An awl of a large diameter will do, but it is not. We pierce the coating with a nail, which we push with the handle of a screwdriver. We thread a thick thread into the holes made. The stitch pitch is about 3,5 cm. To speed up the process, we use several nails at once.

Further, “according to the plan”, foam rubber should go, on top of which a synthetic winterizer is placed. In this project, it was replaced with two layers of densely elastic material that had been stored in the attic for a long time. Instead of a synthetic winterizer, another old blanket was used. To prevent the blanket from moving, it was grabbed around the perimeter with threads (in the usual technology, the synthetic winterizer is glued to polyurethane foam or latex using glue from a spray can).

Case and cover

Sheathing this sofa turned out to be easy: the shape is simple, without decorations. The old cover was torn open, and a pattern was made from a new, not very expensive upholstery fabric. In the place that falls on the corner of the sofa cushion / seat, a thick tape was sewn from the inside – so that the fabric would not be rubbed. The fabric is inexpensive, so the edges had to be tucked up so as not to fray. Often they are left untreated.

The finished cover was laid out on the floor, the restored part of the sofa was placed in it. At this stage, it is important that the fabric is stretched evenly and does not wrinkle. We began to nail the cover from the middle, moving towards the edges. Staples with thick backs are used so as not to damage the fabric.

The back of the sofa was restored in a similar way, the armrests were fitted, then all the parts were screwed to the folding mechanism. The thickness of the pillows matched, so there were no problems.

According to the test results: the seat turned out to be harsh, but for a tired back it is the very thing. For the house, of course, it is better to put foam rubber, and for lovers of comfort – latex.