Is it worth recovering sofas?

There is a lot of really useful information here but I am wondering how I tell whether the frames of my sofas are well made. They are 21 years old and look as though there is still plenty life left in them. I have a 3 seater sofa, a 2 seater sofa and an armchair which cost £1300 in 1991. They are well upholstered so I don't know how I can judge whether they are well made or what wood had been used. They have survived my children growing up from being 14 and 12 years old.

I had two chairs recovered and was very pleased with the result .

squiggy I would think that if they are still going strong after 21 years and were not cheap to start with then they are probably worth it. Back then, you (mostly) got what you paid for. If you turn them over, are they well finished underneath where skimpy work would not show?

Also, the last bit fixed would have been the canvas across the base. a corner of that could be unpicked to see how the frame was made - what kind of joints, is it glued or nailed together and so on. Fieldwake could probably give you pointers to look for.

elegran does the frame work also have to be treated with fire retardents as well as the upholstery? I know that we cannot accept donated suites into the charity shop I work at unless they have the fire resistent marker on them.

I don't know. I'm not sure how you stop wood from burning? I think, but can't confirm, that it is just the upholstery and padding, because that can release such toxic fumes when it burns, and it can catch fire so easily, from a cigarette end, say. The wood catches when a fire has already got going.

I shall have a Google and come back to you. Or maybe Fieldwake's son could tell us.

I have found an online copy of " A Guide to the Furniture and Furnishings
(Fire) (Safety) Regulations"

It only mentions upholstery fabric and fillings, so it does not look as though the wooden frame is included.

Also, interestingly, it says "Non-foam fillings which are supplied to furniture manufacturers and reupholsterers need not pass any fire resistance test." so horsehair or similar stuffing does not need a label, though a mixed filling would.

www.bis.gov.uk/files/file24685.pdf

Thankyou, Elegran. I do so dislike the 'disposable' society we live in so I think it may well be worth investigating. Even the material has stayed the course of 21 years, apart from one little area, a tribute to our cats! No cats now though, just one little granddaughter.

elegran thanks for taking the time to look up information, I was being nosey really as a lot of people want to donate furniture but they can't understand that they must have the fire safe stamp,they think that people who use our service should be grateful for what they are getting,but safety must come first at all times.

I hope it works, Squiggy I hate waste too. When we were first married, our tiny home was furnished mostly with things that our parents had replaced. Some of them are still in daily use.

glammanana Could you print out the regulations and wave them at people donating unsuitable furniture? That would at least show that you are not just being bolshie, and that your heads would roll if there a tragic accident.

We had a flyer through the door last week from the British Heart Foundation asking for furniture donations - they specifically mentioned 'lounge furniture' but there was no mention of any fire safety label requirement.

We had two big Schreiber padded armchairs surplus to requirements when we bought Stressless chairs. They were old enough to have no labels so we put them on Freecycle, making it very clear that they had no documentation. They were snapped up by a couple of our own age who did not smoke and had never fallen asleep dead drunk in front of an open fire so did not think they were in any more danger of fire than they had been through their earlier years. Ten other Ten other people emailed to ask whether the chairs were still available.

I will do that elegran in fact I will do it after lunch and put in my bag as I am working to-morrow thanks a lot
anagramI'm not sure when the regulation came in a few years ago I think,most of the suites have the safety label on,but personally I look at some of it and it would not last as long as the older suites without the label,just goes to show you doesn't it.

You will be overwhelmed with replies.

I think several of them were from dealers, because they said things like "If you still have them I will take them off your hands" Out of the goodness of their hearts, of course, not for what they could sell them for.

Does anyone who lives in that area know a Glasgow fabric remnants shop? I won't name it but it's not a common sort of shop. I tracked it down online because they sell a particular plaid material that I was looking for to recover an armchair, and the retailers charged more than I could afford. The two ladies I spoke to were incredibly helpful, went searching for my material and assured me it would be posted to me by the end of the day, then emailed me to say my card wouldn't be debited until I received the material. I wish we had a shop like that round here. I bought 6 metres of this lovely material and saved 70% on the RRP. Saved a fortune.

Oh good for them, when! There aren't many idiosyncratic shops like that around anymore, more's the pity.

I had two 1970s Parker Knoll recliners recovered about 10 yrs ago when I bought a new sofa and chair. We bought extra of the fabric I had chosen for the new chairs. It was very worthwhile. The old chairs and newer sofa are sufficiently similar in style, to work well together.

The reupholsterer was recommended by the independent furniture store we bought the extra seats from. They are still very comfortable.

My DH has been an upholsterer for the last 35 years, running his own little one man band. He always says yes to re-upholstering a sofa or chair that has a good frame. He is thinking of retiring very soon but all his old customers keep coming back and pusuading him to do just one more job for them. Alas I think he will be working in his shed until he is 90.

agapanthus Did you ever get your sofas re-covered? We've got two Collins & Hayes settees also. They're about 15 years old. Although we've had all the covers cleaned a few times, I they're faded and past their best.

If you - or anyone else - has had their settees (particularly Collins & Hayes) re-covered, was it a great success? Has anyone used "chain" companies like Plumbs and Lynn Poly? (I think that's what they're called but I haven't seen any of their adverts lately so they might have folded).

We had our dining chairs recovered they look super!

Was well worth it they got new lease life!

We have had our Cintique chairs for about 35 years. They have been recovered several times. I did them myself the first time. We may well have bought new chairs had I been able to find some that didn't make me feel like Jenson Button in the 'cockpit' of his formula 1 car. Modern chairs seem so narrow, I do like room for my knitting as well as my bottom.

33 yrs ago I bought an oak framed 3 seat settee and chair since then have had the chair made into another 3 seat settee.
Replaced the cushions and covers a number of times making the covers removable for washing. We really have had our monies worth out of these settees.

After all these years it was time for something new when the family started complaining that they weren't comfortable any more.

I've been searching for 18 months to find the right size settees to replace my two old settees. I finally found the right settees (to order) two weeks ago.
I longed for something different leather instead of fabric, roll on June when my new settees will be delivered.

Just taken delivery of my re-upholstered favourite wing armchair, which I bought 7 years ago. To replace it with the same one would cost £900 today. I got the material myself (see earler post on 27/3) and I now have a beautiful, brand new chair costing £400 that will last for many more years. Definitely worth it, if the frame is good.

Every time I see this thread title, I think "CPR for sofas"

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